Grilled Chicken and Couscous Salad with a Mint Yoghurt Dip

At just under 500 calories this dinner is a great one for that post Christmas diet! I find that using a griddle pan is a delicious way to cook meat (plus fish and vegetables) and also a healthy one. Quick, easy and healthy – what more do you need? Make sure that this is part of your mid week meal plan.

Ingredients:

Couscous Salad:

300ml vegetable stock (1 stock cube)

1 red pepper (finely diced)

1 green pepper (finely diced)

handful of olives

spring onions (finely chopped)

1 tbspn paprika

1 tspn dried chili flakes

feta cheese (low fat)

100g couscous salad

Chicken:

2 chicken breasts

1 tspn dried oregano

juice of half a lemon

drizzle of olive oil

Mint Yoghurt:

plain yoghurt (0% fat)

handful of fresh mint leaves (roughly torn into small shreds plus a few extra whole leaves to garnish on top)

half a cucumber (finely diced)

juice of half a lemon

• Add the couscous to a large bowl and pour in the boiling vegetable stock. Put a plate on top of the bowl and leave to one side
• Wrap the chicken breasts in cling film. Take a rolling pin and roll the chicken out flat. Unwrap the chicken and rub in the oregano and olive oil (or you can use a olive oil pump spray here). Squeeze the lemon juice over the chicken
• Heat a griddle pan. (Alternatively at this point you could just pop the chicken in an oven for around 25 mins (gas mark 5/ 190 degrees celsius)) Once the pan is heated add the chicken and leave to cook on one side for around 5 mins
• In the meantime add the yoghurt, mint, lemon juice and cucumber to a medium size serving bowl and mix well. Leave to one side until ready to serve
• Turn over the chicken to cook on the other side for another 5 mins. Once this is done keep turning over the chicken until cooked through and the skin is golden and slightly crispy
• Take the plate off the bowl of couscous and pour the couscous into a large serving dish. Add the dried paprika and chili flakes. Mix well with a fork
• Add the peppers, spring onions and olives and mix again.
• Scatter some crumbled feta on top and leave to one side until ready to serve
• By this time the chicken should be ready. Take the chicken out of the pan and slice up and place onto a serving plate
• Take everything to the table and serve with some fresh parsley and lemon wedges on the side