Chicken salad doesn’t have to be a diet buster

By Kathy Manweiler

When Cheryl Smith wanted to serve chicken salad at her parents’ 85th birthday party, she called me to ask for some recipe advice.

“My mom likes chicken salad,” the Wichita, Kan., woman said. “I’ve thought of making it with yogurt and sour cream. What kind of a sauce would you use?”

She wanted some healthy ingredients that would work well with green onion, dill and pecans. I suggested that she add some celery and make a sauce from equal portions of light sour cream and light mayonnaise.

Even though yogurt is lower in calories and fat, I prefer using some light mayonnaise in a savory salad like this because yogurt adds a tang that doesn’t agree with my taste buds.

To cut down on the amount of pecans needed for this dish, I toast the nuts in the oven before chopping them to intensify their flavor.

If you want to cut more calories or you’re not a fan of pecans, just leave the nuts out.

You can have a serving of my chicken salad for 219 calories and 14.5 fat grams.

For the party, Smith planned to put the chicken salad in phyllo shells. A healthier option would be a whole wheat pita (170 calories). I like to serve this salad on a 180-calorie ciabatta roll, but you could also just eat the salad itself with some fruit or extra vegetables on the side.

KATHY’S CHICKEN SALAD

3‚Ñ4 to 1 pound raw chicken breasts — enough to make 11‚Ñ2 cups of chopped, cooked meat — trimmed of all visible fat

3‚Ñ4 cups celery, chopped

1‚Ñ4 cup green onions, chopped

3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

1 ounce pecans

1‚Ñ3 cup light mayonnaise

1‚Ñ3 cup light sour cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the pecans on a nonstick baking sheet and bake for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the pecans are lightly toasted. Remove the pecans from the oven and let them cool. Chop the pecans finely and set aside.

Put the chicken breasts in a pot of boiling water, reduce the heat, cover the pot and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and no longer pink. Once it’s thoroughly cooked, remove the chicken from the pot, cool the meat and then chop it.

In a small bowl, combine the light mayonnaise, light sour cream and chopped dill.

Put the chopped chicken in a large bowl with the celery and green onions. Gently fold in the mayonnaise-sour cream mixture, then sprinkle in the pecan pieces. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serves 4.

Per serving: 219 calories, 14.5 fat grams, 41mg cholesterol, 183mg sodium, 17 protein grams, 1 fiber gram, 5 carb grams.