Low Fat Chicken and Apple Salad Recipe

Today I’m sharing one of my heart healthy recipes, low fat chicken and apple salad. Many heart healthy recipes have two things in common. They’re low in fat, of course, but they’re also high in fiber. Dietary fiber helps to lower cholesterol, and it also aids in digestion. Traditional chicken salad is delicious, and I love it, but it isn’t exactly low fat. Mayonnaise is one of the main ingredients, and it’s very high in fat. Typical chicken salad recipes might also fail the fiber test, too. The two major components, chicken and mayonnaise, are completely devoid of dietary fiber. And if you add boiled eggs to your recipe for chicken salad, you’ll add lots of fat and cholesterol, without adding any fiber at all. So, the question is, how do we make yummy chicken salad that’s good for us? I’ll show you how with a chicken salad recipe and a chicken salad sandwich recipe, and both qualify as heart healthy recipes.

Dietary fiber foods are those that contain fiber that our bodies can’t digest. They range from low fiber to moderate amounts of fiber to high fiber content. As the undigested fiber moves through the digestive tract, it can take some bad stuff along with it, including cholesterol. Fiber also helps avoid constipation and can help with weight loss. It might also help prevent colon cancer.

What dietary fiber foods would be good with recipes for chicken salad? Well, there’s celery for one, which is great in chicken salad. Others include apples, pears, berries, plums, carrots, onions, and dried beans. Wheat germ and flaxseed meal are high in fiber, too, so you might want to add a spoonful or two to your chicken salad. Nuts are high in fiber, but they’re also pretty high in fat. For low fat recipes and heart healthy recipes, choose nuts that contain high amounts of healthy fats. Walnuts, for example, contain omega-3 fatty acids, which are beneficial.

Chicken salad recipes are as different as the cooks who make them and the diners who consume them. No rules apply to recipes for chicken salad. If you like it, put it in! Of course, chicken salad recipes have to contain chicken – that’s a given. They also need something that makes all the ingredients cling together, often called “binders.” You’ll want to add some spices or herbs, too. Some people stop right there with their chicken salad recipes, but others like to add lots more ingredients.

There are lots of plenty of tasty ingredients to incorporate into recipes for chicken salad. All of them, of course, won’t qualify as additions to low fat chicken salad recipes. These would include things like bacon bits, whole boiled eggs, and cheese. For low fat chicken salad, you can add fresh fruit, chopped veggies, and dried fruits. Dried cranberries are awesome in chicken salad, and raisins, dried pineapple, and dates are good, too. Chicken salad with apples is wonderful, and it’s one of my faves. The white from boiled eggs are also low in fat, so you can add them to your low fat chicken salad recipes.

This is a pretty easy chicken salad recipe I’m sharing with you here, especially if you’re using leftover cooked chicken. If you don’t have any leftovers you can use in the salad, and if you don’t feel like going to the trouble of boiling chicken parts, use canned chicken. You can use white meat, dark meat, or a mixture of both. Personally, I prefer white meat for chicken salad recipes. For one thing, I think it’s more visually appealing, and for another, white meat is lower in fat than dark meat. And if you’re trying to use heart healthy recipes, lower fat is a good thing.

If you decide to make this a super easy chicken salad recipe by using canned chicken, be sure to drain the meat well before combining it with the other ingredients. I also like to flake my canned chicken before use. The chunks can sometimes be pretty large – too large for chicken salad recipes. Actually, I do more than flake the chicken. I shred it!

The easy chicken salad recipe below includes apples. in case you’ve never tried chicken salad with apples, it’s really wonderful. The crunchy sweetness of the fruits are a nice accompaniment to the creamy dressing and the savory chicken. By the way, leave the peeling on the apples – they’ll provide extra fiber, and the bright color will make your chicken salad more appealing.

What type of apples should you use in your chicken salad recipes? That depends on what flavor you want to add. If you want more sweetness, use red delicious, and for more tartness, use Granny Smith apples. personally, I like sort of a middle-of-the-road variety for my chicken salad with apples, so I usually incorporate Gala apples into my recipes for chicken salad. That’s the type I used in my low fat chicken and apple salad recipe below.

This chicken salad sandwich recipe is actually a wrap, and it’s delicious! It’s also super healthy – low in fat and extra high in dietary fiber.

Ingredients:

1 cup diced chicken, shredded

¼ cup fat-free mayonnaise

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 tablespoon diced or chopped green bell pepper

1 tablespoon chopped or diced red bell pepper

Salt and pepper, to taste

½ cup fat-free cream cheese

1 tablespoons Splenda

2 teaspoons mustard

½ teaspoon minced garlic

½ teaspoon chili powder

1 tomato, sliced very thin

4 low carb, high fiber tortillas

Directions: Combine shredded chicken, mayonnaise, lime juice, and salt and pepper.

In another small bowl, combine softened cream cheese, Splenda, mustard, garlic, and chili powder. Divide evenly among the four tortillas. Spread.

Divide tomato slices among tortillas, arranging them on top of cream cheese spread. Spoon chicken mixture over tomatoes. Roll tortillas up, wrapping each in a paper towel or napkin. Place in the freezer for about ten minutes, until cream cheese spread has firmed. Remove from freezer and slice sandwich wraps immediately. Cut into halves or fourths, or make slices that are about an inch thick. Dip in ranch dressing, honey mustard dressing, or blue cheese dressing. This chicken salad sandwich recipe is also great with sweet-spicy barbecue sauce, served on the side.