Chicken Salad with Grapes & Toasted Pecans

Chicken Salad
TMP Adaptation
Serves 4

½ cup eggless light mayo
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 packets of Truvia or Stevia zero-calorie sweetener
⅓ cup diced celery
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked, cubed
⅓ cup pecans, toasted, chopped
2 tsp chia seeds
1 cup red seedless grapes, halved

Directions:
What directions? Mix these goodies up in a bowl, cover & chill in the fridge for a while, and enjoy!

Nutrition data for adapted version (from MyFitnessPal.com), per serving:
283 kcal
17 g fat
25 g protein
11 g carbohydrate
2 g fiber
6 g sugar

Whole Foods Sonoma Chicken Salad
Serves 4-6

“This chicken salad is one of our classic Whole Foods Market dishes. The tender chicken breast, crunchy pecans and sweet grapes in each bite are hard to top.” -From The Whole Foods Market Cookbook

Ingredients

Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
5 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Salad
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup pecan pieces, toasted
2 cups red seedless grapes
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
Directions

Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate until ready to dress the salad. This can be prepared up to 2 days ahead.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the chicken breasts in one layer on a baking pan. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes until completely cooked through (Juices should run clear; no pink in the center) Remove cooked chicken breasts from pan; let cool for 10 minutes, then cover and refrigerate.

When the chicken is cold, dice into bite-size chunks and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in pecans, grapes, celery and dressing.

Dill pepperoncini tuna salad

This was such a pleasant change from the common mayo & celery type tuna salad! I will definitely be making this again, since it's so easy and quick to put together!

Slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Makes about 2 cups, or four 1/2 cup servings 

10 min prep. time

Ingredients:

• 10 ounces (white solid albacore) tuna in water, well drained
• 2 scallions washed, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 6 pepperoncini peppers, stems and seeds removed,  julienne-cut
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (I used 3 tsp dried)
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts*
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil **
• 1 tablespoon smooth Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice or more to taste
• 1/4 (to 1/2 teaspoon) freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Whisk olive oil, Dijon and whole grain mustards, balsamic vinegar, black pepper, lemon juice, and dill together in bowl. Toss with tuna, scallions, pepperoncini, and pine nuts in a non-reactive bowl. 

Serving suggestions: Wrap in butter or Bibb lettuce, in whole wheat pits pocket, or whatever other cracker, bread, etc you prefer! 

Original recipe notes: This can be made up to 3 days in advance and refrigerated.

Other notes:

*To toast pine nuts:

Heat nuts in single layer in small pan on the stove top, over medium high heat. Watch closely, stir/toss every 30 sec or more if needed, to avoid burning the nuts. Remove from heat when golden. 

**original recipe used 1/4 cup EVOO