Chicken, tuna, and egg salads are go-tos for weekly food preparation. There are so many options to make them bariatric friendly.
There is no exact recipe — it’s more like a process. No, it’s not made IN the kitchen sink, but there are so many yummy, nutritious options that I call it my (Everything But the) Kitchen Sink Chicken Salad. Mmm. Make a big batch and put the rest into 1/4 cup containers with lids for meals all week long.
How to Make Your Chicken, Tuna, or Egg Salad Bariatric Friendly
Look for substitution opportunities.
Start by finding a substitute for the mayo. Mayonnaise has a ton of calories for the relatively low nutritional value. There are many substitution options so try some of them in different combinations to find what tastes best to you.
Some observations from my palate:
Fat Free Mayo – Yuck. I tried it a few times and it is nothing like the real thing. I gave up.
Light Mayo – It tastes reasonably similar to regular mayo, but still isn’t low cal enough to call it bariatric friendly. So I add a little light mayo and a few other substitutions to get a good flavor and texture.
Fat Free plain Greek yogurt – I love it, but I think it isn’t rich and creamy enough to substitute for mayo by itself.
Optional IngredientsCottage cheese is a terrific mayo substitute, but be aware of what you are using. Full fat cottage cheese is full of calories and sodium. Fat free cottage cheese is watery and doesn’t taste very good. I use lowfat, low sodium cottage cheese and find that it is a good balance.
My go-to mix to substitute for mayo: 1 part light Hellman’s/Best Foods mayonnaise 1 part fat free plain Greek yogurt to 2 parts lowfat cottage cheese.
Hard Boiled Eggs – Mash up the yolks to a nice creamy paste before adding it to the mix.
Jennifer’s Kitchen Sink Chicken Salad Base
8 ounces cooked chicken breast or tuna
2 Tablespoons light mayo
2 Tablespoons fat free plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup lowfat cottage cheese
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped red onion (any kind of sweet onion is great)
Pepper to taste
Salt, just a teensy bit but not for tuna salad. Tuna has a lot of salt in it.
Optional:
- Slivered almonds
- Chopped fresh parsley adds a nice flavor
- Chopped bell peppers (red, orange, yellow or green)
- Diced cucumber
- 1 Tablespoon slivered almonds
- Chia seeds
- Mashed hard boiled egg yolks for more protein and a creamier texture (chop the hard boiled whites for extra protein in the salad)
| Nutrition Facts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Servings 6.0 | ||
| Amount Per Serving 1/4 cup | ||
| Calories 78 | ||
| % Daily Value | ||
| Total Fat 3 g | 4 % | |
| Saturated Fat 0 g | 1 % | |
| Monounsaturated Fat 0 g | ||
| Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g | ||
| Trans Fat 0 g | ||
| Cholesterol 3 mg | 1 % | |
| Sodium 86 mg | 4 % | |
| Potassium 33 mg | 1 % | |
| Total Carbohydrate 1 g | 0 % | |
| Dietary Fiber 0 g | 1 % | |
| Sugars 0 g | 1 % | |
| Protein 12 g | 24 % | |
| Vitamin A | 1 % | |
| Vitamin C | 0 % | |
| Calcium | 1 % | |
| Iron | 1 % | |
Good recipe! We put chia seeds in nearly everything and I can’t seem to fix a salad without tons of pumpkin seeds.
Do you ever eat salmon? We eat fresh caught salmon once a week.
Great idea! Chia seeds are a wonderful addition to all kinds of things. I add them to soups, my green smoothies, morning hot cereal and pretty much any time it occurs to me.
I love salmon, but I don’t make it often. I should revisit that idea.