Hi Y'all

It's Paula Strawberry here with a dee-li-cious summer salad y'all are just gonna love.  Ya know that southern fried chicken?  Yum, y'all.  Well I am channeling my paula deen and whipping out a southern summer salad Strawberry Deen style. Truth be told, I'd rather scarf down a tasty, decadent dessert than gnaw on something good for me.  All this southern cuisine can be bad for your health if not eaten in moderation, ya know?  Why Lordy I just read where Miss Paula has lost that "side of the barn."  Now you know she had to have tweaked those dee-li-cious recipes she showcases on her show!  You just know it, y'all.

So I've mentioned I love salads when they come topped with crispy fried chicken strips.  I much prefer that to the grilled chicken.  But do I really NEED (shut up, Moana!) the crispy?  Hubby looked up the nutritional value one day and realized you can eat a hamburger with small fries for less calories than a "nutritious" salad with the crispy stuff.  I made myself a farewell chicken salad yesterday and loaded it with yummy toppings.  I exercised too so in my head it balanced out.  The balancing scales (that ole Kaa, the snake) registered something different!  LOL

I'm showing the pictures.  It was a yummy salad and filling!

This is how that salad showed have looked.  Isn't it bright and beautiful?
 

 Next came the lightly battered chicken strips.  Better than the fast food variety and I could limit how much chicken I added.

 Top with low calorie Ranch dressing.

Years ago I went to lunch with a friend.  She was on a certain diet and she said if she had to eat a big salad for lunch everyday she was adding lots of Ranch dressing and Catalina dressing.  I tried it and guess what?  Those two flavors are really good together.  So now I add a little Catalina punch to my Ranch dressing salads.  Try it.  You just might like it, y'all!

P.S.  I ate breakfast: Greek yogurt and oatmeal; lunch- salad (see above!); dinner- Chicken Alfredo (from a bag), a few gluten-free crackers (bought them for a party and didn't use them.  They are addicting. Not buying them again!), and um, some trifle.  I couldn't help it.  Boy got into it and it looked so yummy and well, I just had some and then had some more.  I hate diets!