A new twist on my favorite Greek salad! These Greek Chicken Salad Lettuce Cups are low in carbs, high in protein and perfect for a light, fresh weeknight dinner or lunch!

What a great weekend it was! The sun and warm weather finally came back and almost all of the snow is melted, well except for the 10 foot tall pileups of black icy sludge still sitting in the parking lots…those will be there for another month I’m sure. My husband and I took full advantage of the perfect weather and spent a lot of time outside. Saturday we went walking at our favorite south Denver park, Washington Park, and Sunday we went out on some of the trails near our house. With the exception of one day this week, it looks like the Colorado weather I love will be sticking around.

With warmer weather hopefully sticking around for a while, it’s time to start thinking about lighter, fresher meals. After all, warmer weather means swimsuits and more skin showing and if you’re like me there might be a couple pounds of winter weight that needs to be shed. It served it’s purpose during the cold months keeping us warm, but now it’s time to say “bon voyage”!

Some of the things I do to lose that pesky winter weight are drink more water, eat more protein, limit my desserts to the weekend, keep up with my running (that’s really never been an issue for me), spend a little more time in the gym working on weight lifting and core workouts and cutting back on carbs. Since I do run so much a carb-free diet would never work for me and in the long run I don’t think it works for anyone nor should anyone be attempting it. However, cutting back on them for a few meals every week won’t hurt. One of my favorite dinners or lunches to make that is low on carbs is lettuce cups.

Instead of the usual salad, which after so many of them it starts to get old, I switch it up and load a lettuce cup with whatever filling I’m currently in the mood for. In this case I decided to take one of my favorite salads and make these Greek Chicken Salad Lettuce Cups. I’ve eaten many Greek salads over the years. When we go out to eat and I’m in the mood for a salad I always go with Greek. I’ve had some really good ones and some really terrible ones. These Greek Chicken Salad Lettuce Cups were my way of taking all the toppings I love (feta, roasted red pepper, artichokes, cucumbers and kalamata olives) and putting it all together in one delicious, healthy and easy to make meal! These lettuce cups are not only new way to eat Greek salad, but low in carbs, high in protein and perfect for a light, fresh weeknight dinner or lunch!

Greek Chicken Salad Lettuce Cups

Name: Greek Chicken Salad Lettuce Cups
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 pound chicken breasts; 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano; 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley; 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning; 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder; Kosher salt and black pepper to taste; Cooked chicken breasts, diced; 1/2 cup English cucumber, diced; 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, chopped; 1/4 cup red onion, diced; 1/4 cup chopped defrosted frozen artichokes, jarred may also be used; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat leaf parsley; 2 ounces feta cheese, cut into cubes; 8 Kalamata olives, chopped; Butter or romaine lettuce for serving the chicken salad in; 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar; 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil; 1 tablespoon honey; 2 teaspoons dijon mustard; 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano; 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

Chicken Seasoning

1 pound chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste