I stepped on the bathroom scales Sunday morning and shuddered. I didn’t need to see that number to know why my pants have gotten too tight around the waist.

So after lunch Sunday, my husband and I sat down and mapped out a week’s worth of healthful dinners to prepare at our house. In order to do so, we each chose three cookbooks to go through to help us find some fresh, new ideas.

I found a grilled lime chicken entree that looked delicious. That is now on the menu for Thursday. Charlie found a recipe for a pork tenderloin in a fig sauce that we’ll make tonight, now that I’ve secured some fresh figs for it.

Monday night was BLTs made with turkey bacon and fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes; Tuesday was homemade pizza.

We didn’t come up with a plan for Friday, so I took an old Cooking Light magazine with me into the breakroom at lunch Monday. I came across this recipe for Herbed Greek Chicken Salad which sounds and looks delicious.

I can’t wait to try this one out. The only ingredient I don’t have on hand is tahini paste. If I can’t find it at the grocery store, I’ll just leave it out.

Herbed Greek Chicken Salad

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder

3⁄4 teaspoon black pepper, divided

1⁄2 teaspoon salt, divided

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes

5 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, divided

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 teaspoons tahini (sesame-seed paste)

1 teaspoon fresh minced garlic

8 cups chopped Romaine lettuce

1 cup peeled, chopped cucumber

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

6 pitted kalamata olives, halved

1⁄4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Combine oregano, garlic powder, 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper, and 1⁄4 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken and spice mixture and sauté until chicken is done. Drizzle with 3 teaspoons juice; stir. Remove from pan.

Combine remaining 2 teaspoons juice, remaining 1⁄4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper, yogurt, tahini, and garlic in a small bowl; stir well. Combine lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, and olives. Place 21⁄2 cups of lettuce mixture on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with 1⁄2 cup chicken mixture and 1 tablespoon cheese. Drizzle each serving with 3 tablespoons yogurt mixture.

Serves 4.

Ginna Parsons is the Daily Journal’s food/home/garden editor.