ALMOND & APPLE CHICKEN SALAD

Sometimes, life gets crazy. Sometimes, you and your hubs get home from work and have homework to help with, plus both baseball and Girl Scouts on the same night (WHY WHY WHY), plus dogs to feed...oh and yourself and all the people who live in your house who expect to eat every single day. And that's when you need to have a ton of this chicken salad in your fridge so you have something to scarf down before you run out the door. (Again.) It's great on it's own, with crackers, on bread, or on top of greens!

Also, it's, like, the easiest thing ever to make.

These measurements are good for two very large servings, so feel free to double or triple it for mega food prep. (Make during your weekly meal prep and you're golden!) Most weeks, I throw a couple pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts in my slow cooker for 4 hours and then shred it all to have on hand during the week, and that works perfectly here. I also make my own mayo, because...I'm crazy (Just in case you would like to try this, I double the Whole 30 recipe) but you can use regular mayonnaise, of course (I suggest Hellmann's for traditional mayo or Primal Kitchen Avocado mayo if you're paleo/Whole 30). I also sometimes top it with Danielle Walker's Against All Grain Thai Almond Dressing and it is DIVINE.

Alright, let's make chicken salad!

Almond & Apple Chicken Salad

2 cups of cooked, shredded chicken 

4-6 Tbsp of mayonnaise of your choice

1 small apple, cored and chopped 

1 stalk of celery, chopped

2 Tbsp of roasted or raw almonds

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional: Against All Grain Almond Dressing

Mix all ingredients together and salt and pepper to taste. Top with almond dressing, if desired. Can be stored in fridge up to three days.

Enjoy!

HOW TO BUILD A WORK SALAD

I take a lunch to work every single day, and a great salad is ALWAYS part of my weekly rotation, no matter what the season. There's lots of advice out there on how to build a brown bag lunch salad salad, but I always follow these three rules:

1. Dressing on the bottom of the container (day of ONLY). 

2. Tons of greens

3. Three toppings, including at least one protein

Let's build a  lunch!

Step 1:

I've made my own salad dressing for the past few years. This is a Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette from the Whole 30 book, but most of the time I just use olive oil, a big squeeze of lemon, and salt and pepper.

Step 2:

For lunch salads, I buy the containers of pre-washed mixed greens to make it quick and easy in the mornings.

Step 3:

Topping 1: Grilled chicken from my meal prep.

Step 4:

Topping 2: Walnuts. I love using nuts in place of croutons.

Step 5: 

Topping 3: Avocado. I keep the peel on and dice right inside. Then I place it face down on top of the salad, and it stays nice and green until lunch time. I just squeeze it out and toss it together!

I started cutting back on salad toppings after reading one of my all time favorite books: An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler. She actually thinks you should use only one, maybe two other ingredients when making a lettuce salad, so I'm cheating a bit here with all that protein.

Happy, healthy work lunch.

Happy salad making!

EASY CUCUMBER SALAD

 

Need a last minute dish for a Fourth of July barbeque, perhaps? Let this salad help you. Three ingredients, and your done. It's crispy, tangy and delish. Not to mention, both adults and kids gobble it up. Winner!

 

 

 





Easy Cucumber Salad

(barely adapted from Tracy Benjamin at Shutterbean)

 

Ingredients:

2 large cucumbers

4 tablespoons rice vinegar

Sesame seeds

 

Cut up the cucumbers. Toss with rice vinegar and top with sesame seeds to your desire. Chill and serve. Enjoy!