I’m a little obsessed with chicken salads.

Ok, a lot obsessed.

The most recent obsession was inspired by a lunch from Clementine, a cute little cafe a few blocks away from my office. I love getting 2 or 3 of their fresh and seasonal salads from the deli case. Everything I’ve had has been great, and I had heard good things about the chicken salad on their fall menu. I never pass up chicken salad and this one did not disappoint.

As I was eating, I realized that there are reasons that restaurants and cafes have ridiculously delicious chicken salads:

• Not as many veggies. I always try to cram in WAY too many veggies. There is something to be said about some veggies for crunch, but I usually overdo it.
• Real Mayo. Not light, and definitely not fat-free. Sigh. Oh and lots of it never hurts.
• Shredded chicken. It has to be shredded in my opinion, cubed chicken just isn’t the same.

I’m not really sure why I’m considering this a fall chicken salad (the apples?) but apples are a fall fruit and I’m finally ready to embrace fall so just go with it, ok?

In order to get the “lots of mayo” flavor without all of the calories, I used a combination of reduced-fat mayonnaise and greek yogurt which ended up being the perfect amount of each. The salad will last 3-4 days in the fridge – perfect for a week of lunches!

Nutrition Facts:
 

I’ve gotten into the habit of cooking a chicken in the crock pot on Sundays. Cooking it in the crockpot is easy (and doesn’t require the oven – it is still hot in Southern California!) and creates delicious, flavorful and really easy shredded chicken.

I’ve been eating buffalo chicken salads, curried chicken salads and plain chicken in my current favorite salad: greens + cucumber + chicken + avocado + hemp seeds + balsamic vinaigrette. There are endless ways to use shredded chicken – here are some of my favorites:

• Mexican Influence: enchiladas, tacos, quesadillas, nachos, tostadas
• Salads & Appetizers: pesto chicken salad, chinese chicken salad, buffalo dip, chicken satay, lettuce cups
• Soups: tortilla soup, smoked chicken chowder, creamy chicken pasta soup, spicy thai coconut soup
• Sandwiches & Wraps: BBQ sandwich, chicken caprese sandwich, chicken caesar salad wrap, chicken panini
• Pasta & Pizzas: baked pastas, lasagna, peanut noodles, bbq chicken pizza
• Casseroles: chicken & broccoli noodle casserole, chicken pot pie, bbq-stuffed potatoes 

What do you make with shredded chicken?