Monday, February 18, 2013

Avocado Chicken Salad (Mayo-Free!)

I decided I need more Paleo lunch options, so I was surfing the web and came across some recipes for things like chicken salad on some Paleo sites.  Now, let me be clear: I have never liked chicken salad for one reason and one reason only: mayonnaise.  I hate mayo.  It grosses me out.  I cannot even have it in my house.  If there is a recipe I want to make that calls for mayo, I sub something else in its place.  So I thought, why not do that in this case?  A typical substitute for mayo would be sour cream or Greek yogurt, but clearly those are not Paleo options.  I could make my own "Paleo" mayonnaise, but that still has the word "mayonnaise" in it, which makes me squeamish.  So I went a whole other route: Avocado.  Why not mash it up to make it the base for a great chicken salad?  Well that's what I did, and it tasted great.  I will definitely be trying this again!

Here's what I used:
(This makes 2 servings)
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 cooked chicken breast (I poached mine), cut into chunks
  • 1/2 apple, cut into chunks
  • 1/2 cup grapes, sliced in half
  • handful of sliced almonds
  • dash of salt (sea salt if you are hard core Paleo)
  • splash of lemon juice
Most people also use celery, but it's another one of those foods I randomly just hate.  I can't explain it, sorry.  It's weird, I know.  So, use it if you like it.  Actually, throw in anything else that sounds good to you!

Anyway, to make it, just mash all the ingredients together, and it's ready to eat!  Simple and delicious.  I think I will make this ahead of time and bring it to work for lunches and such.  And the best part is, I can finally say that I like chicken salad!  Mayo-free is the only way for me.

3 comments:

  1. That looks really good! Do you think the avocado would turn brown if you prepared it ahead to take for lunch? Or maybe the lemon juice prevents that? I need more good lunch options too, I'll definitely be trying this one!

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    Replies
    1. I had that same thought, and I haven't tried it yet. I think the lemon juice may help, but it may turn brown anyway. It would still taste fine, just wouldn't be as pretty. I may try to just combine all the other ingredients and then mash the avocado in there that day to keep it from turning! We'll see!

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  2. you can always leave the avocado pit in the chicken salad. It's ugly and weird but the pit keeps avocados from turning brown. I always leave mine in my guac, so I feel like it would work the same..

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