It may be March, but I am still aggressively clinging to my healthy lifestyle goals for New Year 2026.
Does it get easier? No.
Am I still trying? Also, no — but I am pretending very convincingly.
I recently made “croutons” out of chicken skins. If nothing screams commitment to a keto Greek chicken salad lifestyle, it’s convincing yourself that rendered poultry fat is basically bread. At this rate, I’m expecting RFK Jr. to show up and congratulate me for returning to traditional fats and rejecting Big Breadcrumb.
Welcome to winter in a ski town with no snow.
Life in Big Bear Lake without snow is like opening a present and finding socks. As a tour guide in a ski-town tourism economy, when the forecast stalls all winter long with no powder in sight, stress levels go from mild to mountain-high.
Add sick pets to 
that equation and suddenly you’re up all night Googling “is coffee toxic to cats?” (Spoiler: it is.)
Yes, I am currently snuggling a Norwegian Forest Cat who faintly smells like a latte. His name is Leo. Or Cappuccino Leo, depending on the day. Just an hour earlier, Leo’s brother ran smack into me while I was trying to relax, sip on a latte and read the only book I have been able to pick up in four months. And that is how Cappacino Leo came to happen.
I haven’t finished a book in four months. Four months. That’s how chaotic this winter of 2026 has been — and not even because we’ve had snow. No, instead I’ve been running Jeep tours in my favorite gently thrifted romper in 50-degree February weather.
But in the middle of ski-town chaos, I’ve found sanity in small things.
Like a bowl of Greek chicken salad with high-protein feta lemon dressing.
Finding Sanity in a High-Protein Greek Chicken Salad
When life is spiraling, I chop cucumbers.
This Greek chicken salad is packed with lean protein, fresh vegetables, and a creamy feta lemon dressing that feels indulgent but keeps things low carb and keto-friendly.
The real star? That high-protein feta lemon dressing. It’s bright, tangy, and loaded with protein thanks to whipped feta, cottage cheese and Greek yogurt. It clings to grilled chicken like emotional support.
If you’re deep in ketosis and pretending you don’t miss bread, feel free to heat up those chicken skins and call them croutons. Are you in ketosis? Or are you simply delusional for croutons? I don’t judge. I’m hiking in a romper in February.
Pro Tip: Pine Nuts Are Drama Queens
If you’re adding pine nuts to your Mediterranean chicken salad, store them in glass or in the freezer.
Pine nuts go rancid faster than ski-town gossip. The freezer helps. If you are lucky.
Why This High-Protein Greek Salad Works
- High protein to stabilize stress-induced snacking
- Fresh lemon for brightness
- Feta for salt and sanity
- Low carb enough to keep your keto friends quiet
- Perfect healthy winter salad recipe when you need something fresh but comforting
This Mediterranean chicken salad is what you make when:
- There’s no snow
- The pets are chaotic
- The tourism economy is stressful
- And you’re still trying to be the kind of person who chooses homemade lemon dressing over ranch
Will it fix ski-town weather patterns? No.
Will it make your pets behave and stop abusing each other?
Will it make you feel slightly more in control? Absolutely.
And sometimes, that’s enough.
High-Protein Greek Salad for the Keto-Curious and Chronically Busy
2 romaine lettuce hearts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 rotisserie chicken breast, chopped, skin removed and set aside
1/4 cup roasted pine nuts
3 teaspoons sun-dried tomatoes
3 teaspoons of sliced pepperoncini peppers
8 kalamata olives, chopped
Creamy Feta Lemon Dressing
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
Juice of half a lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup of cottage cheese
2 teaspoons of Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons of mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of freshly cracked pepper
2 teaspoons fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup parsley
3 teaspoons of water
Preheat your oven to broil. Set the chicken skin pieces on a baking tray and roast them for just three minutes until crispy. While you are doing this, throw all your salad fixings in a big bowl: Romaine lettuce, the rest of the roasted chicken, kalamata olives, pepperoncini peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and the pine nuts.
Combine all of the Feta Lemon Salad Dressing ingredients in a NutriBullet. Add a little more water if the dressing is not to the consistency that you like. Dress your salad with this Creamy Feta Lemon Dressing. Garnish your salad with the crispy chicken skins and pretend that they are croutons.
