The Best Chicken Salad out There!

 

Chicken Salad

Chicken Salad is the perfect thing to serve for lunch, as a salad or over a bed of lettuce. Chicken salad can be made with low-fat ingredients that will keep your waistline slim while still making sure you're full.

PREP TIME: 15mins

Difficulty: easy

Serves: 6 people

Nutritional Information

kcal: 300                                                                                   

·       Fat: 18g

·       Carbs: 2g

·       Protein:28g

      Ingredients:

• For the salad:

  • 1 pound boneless, skinless (raw) chicken breasts, cut into 2 1/2-inch chunks (or 2 to 3 cups cooked chicken meat)
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 4 to 6 green olives, pitted and minced
  • 1/4 cup chopped red onion
  • 1/2 to 1 whole apple, cored and chopped
  • 1/3 head iceberg head lettuce, sliced and chopped

  For the dressing:

  • 5 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon plum preserves, or any sweet berry preserve (or a lesser amount of honey)
  • 2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • Salt and pepper to taste

 Method to prepare the dish:

1) Poach the chicken (skip if using already cooked chicken): Bring a pot with 2 quarts of well salted water (1 tablespoon salt) to a boil. Add the chicken breast (cut into large chunks) and return the water to a simmer. Then turn off the heat, and cover the pot. Let the chicken sit for 15 minutes (time it) or more while you prepare everything else.

2) Make the dressing: Prepare the chicken salad dressing in a large bowl. Mix together the mayonnaise, preserves, and lemon juice. Taste for the proper balance of sweetness and acidity. The salad dressing should not be too sweet, nor too sour.

Add more preserves or lemon juice until you have reached the balance you want. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3) Mix in the chopped celery, bell pepper, olives, red onion, and apple.

4) Dice the chicken, mix with dressing and vegetables: Remove the chicken from the poaching water and dice it. (Or dice already cooked chicken if that is what you are using for this salad.) Mix it in with the dressing and vegetables.

5) Add lettuce: At this point you can make ahead. When ready to serve, fold in the sliced and chopped iceberg lettuce.

Salad greens contain Vitamin A, Vitamin C, beta-carotene, calcium, folate, fiber, and phytonutrients (see Table 1). Leafy vegetables are a good choice for a healthful diet because they do not contain cholesterol and are naturally low in calories and sodium. Moreover, depending on your fitness goals, You can add more veggies. An easy way to make your chicken salad more healthy is to add extra veggies! Try cucumber, spinach, peppers, tomato, carrots or beans like in this Cashew-Curry Chicken Salad recipe.