Nutrition Tip of the Week + Chicken Salad Recipe

Want to add more protein while reducing fat and total calories from some of your favorite summer salads and dips? Greek yogurt serves as an excellent substitute for mayonnaise.

Just to compare: 1 cup of nonfat Greek yogurt has 120 calories, 22 grams of protein, 9 grams of carbohydrates, and 0 grams of fat. One cup of mayonnaise contains a whopping 916 calories, 2 grams of protein, 56 grams of carbohydrates, and 78.5 grams of fat.

I like to make my own version of low-fat, protein-packed Waldorf chicken salad with this substitution.

Ingredients

• 2 cups shredded or canned chicken (ideally, I do chicken in the crockpot, shred it and chill it, but in a pinch I use canned chicken)
• 3-4 celery stalks chopped
• 1 cup of seedless red grapes quartered or halved (depending on size)
• 1 tablespoon salted sunflower seeds (optional but adds some extra flavor and balances the sweet grapes)
• 5–2 cups plain Greek yogurt of choice (I prefer 2% but sometimes use nonfat)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Dill (only if you like it)

Directions

1. Combine chicken, celery, grapes, nuts in a large mixing bowl.
2. Combine spices with yogurt in a separate smaller bowl. (You can add a squirt of lemon juice to extend freshness.)
3. Add yogurt and spice mixture to the bowl with the chicken and mix until everything is evenly coated.
4. Chill before serving.

Above will make about 6 servings

Occasionally, I will modify this recipe and throw in chopped apples instead of the grapes. For a more savory version, chopped pickles are a great substitution for the fruit.

Coach Gillian Ward is Barbell Logic’s Director of Nutrition. She has spent a lifetime as a high-performing athlete, coach, and fitness and nutrition educator. If you have a question for Coach Gillian that you’d like to see answered in future issues of the Friday Five Newsletter, please fill out the form below.