These are my two favourite recipes of 2016, and even though we’re just finished January I think they have staying power. I have made this healthy version of a Chinese chicken salad three times in the last month! It takes a little bit of prep time but it keeps for a least a few days and makes a huge, veggie filled salad. I love soup, particularly thick pureed soups – tomato and tortilla are the top of my list. This tomato soup is made with greek yogurt instead of cream so it’s a lot more guilt free then your standard tomato soup but is still so filling. I’ll be making it again and again in the winter months.

Clean Eating Chinese Chicken Salad

I am a big salad eater but I tend to stay away from Chinese style salad because they’re usually full of heavy noodles, deep fried wontons and sugary dressings, at least in all our North American style restaurants! This version still has tons of crunch with all the different veggies and I added a few organic, unsalted peanuts.

What you’ll need:

• 1 red and 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped into bite size pieces
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 3.5 cups raw tri-colour slaw
• 2 cups cooked and shelled edamame
• 1/2 an English cucumber, sliced very thin
• 2 cups cooked and chilled chicken breast, chopped into bit site pieces
• 2 handfuls bean sprouts
• 1 cup unsalted peanuts
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

For your dressing

• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon pureed ginger
• 2 tablespoons raw organic honey

Whisk all your dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Then you can start building your salad, this is how I layer it…

Started with peppers, then added carrot, cucumber and sprouts.

Slaw and edamame, and finally chicken. I then toss the salad while it’s dry to mix up all the veggies and chicken. Add you dressing and toss, then add your chopped cilantro and peanuts and toss a second time.

I would recommend chilling it covered in the fridge for a couple hours, it tastes better cool and the dressing mixes with all the veg and the chicken. I made it on my lunch break, chilled it and then had it for dinner – it was perfect.

This salad is a rainbow!

If you so desire add a few wonton crisps (I just bought some at the grocery store with all the salad stuff), green onion, or sesame seeds. The wonton crisps add a little salty element to it, but it’s much cleaner without and I don’t think it needs it. Enjoy! You’ll soon be making it time and time again like me!

Tomato Basil Soup with Greek Yogurt

This soup is to die for you guys, and I’m not afraid to say it! It takes a little bit of work but it is completely worth it. I will never eat or serve canned tomato soup! If you’re a hearty soup lover like me, this is the recipe for you.

What you’ll need…

• 2 of the large canned diced tomatoes (the 28oz/793g cans) I used one that was diced tomatoes with roasted garlic, and one that was diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 chopped small yellow onion
• 4 chopped cloves of garlic (you can decrease that if you’re not crazy for garlic)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1.5 cup vegetable broth
• 1 cup greek yogurt
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup of chopped basil
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• salt and pepper

Add olive oil to large pot on medium high heat and sauté your onions for about four minutes, add garlic and sauté  for another two minutes.

Pour in your diced tomatoes, empty the can – no juice left and also add vegetable broth at this time. Stir in basil, oregano, sugar and salt and pepper, you don’t need much salt but I added a lot of pepper. Put the lid on the pot and cook at low heat for 10 to 12 minutes.

Now is time to add your greek yogurt and cheddar cheese. I’ll be honest and say I was a little more generous than 1 cup of cheese, but the original recipe calls or 1 cup. Stir until well blended.

Now this is the key to the soup – puree it. Pour the entire soup into a blender, juicer, food processor – whatever you have is fine – and blend for about thirty seconds, it doesn’t take much. Then add your soup back to the warm pot.

Cover again and simmer for another 7 – 10 minutes. While it’s simmering chop a little more basil and grate a bit more cheese to top the soup. In most of my pictures it’s also topped with pepper but that is optional, I just love pepper and Ryan doesn’t like much spice so I added it to my individual bowl.

My mouth is seriously watering just writing this.

This recipe was adapted from the More Fruit Please blog.

I hope everyone is having a great new year so far! These recipes should help stay on track with any healthy new year’s resolutions while still satisfying your most demanding cravings.