Receta Creamy High Protein Chicken Salad (No Mayo)

by Rocquie

THIS DELICIOUS CHICKEN SALAD IS MADE WITH NO mayonnaise. It doesn't use yogurt either as I find it too unstable for a salad with planned leftovers. The dressing is made with low fat cottage cheese which is blended with lemon juice, honey, garlic, onion, salt and pepper, paprika, and cayenne. The salad consists of tender chunks of moist chicken, sliced celery, cubed granny smith apples, and pistachios. I bought  a whole chicken, about 2 1/2 pounds, and poached it with aromatics. It is easy to do and results in the juiciest, most flavorful, and tender chicken. As an added bonus, you are making chicken broth, for later use, at the same time. The delicious cottage cheese dressing is clearly superior nutrition-wise. One cup of 2% cottage cheese contains 194 calories, 5.5 g of fat and 26.7 g of protein (almost half your daily value). One cup of mayo (and yes people do put that much in salads) has 1500 calories, 160 g of fat, and only a trace of protein. Everyone loved this chicken salad and no one missed the mayonnaise. Creamy High Protein Chicken Salad 3 cups cooked chicken 1 cup sliced celery 1 granny smith apple, peeled and cubed 1/2 cup roasted pistachio nuts, roughly chopped 1 cup 2% cottage cheese 1 clove garlic 1/2 large sweet onion (I used Vidalia) roughly chopped 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 1 tsp. honey 1/4 tsp. paprika 1/8 tsp. cayenne Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste Combine chicken, celery, apple, and nuts in a large bowl. Add cottage cheese, garlic, onion, lemon juice, honey, paprika, cayenne, and salt and pepper to a blender or processor. Process until smooth and creamy. If you want it a little thinner, add some milk. Stir into the chicken mixture until blended well. Best if chilled for at least an hour before serving. Even better the next day.