Creamy Poppy Seed Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps {+ my travel snack essentials}

This creamy, poppy seed chicken salad is meal prep staple; loaded with tender chicken breast, crunchy cashews and sweet grapes in each bite.

Hands in the air if you love Whole Foods salad bar ?! Make that two hands in the air for me ? because I love Whole Foods Salad Bar. Like so much that I spend most of my personal budget {you know that set amount of spending money you and your hubby each get per month} on Whole Foods Salad Bar {and coffee}.

In fact, this past weekend dietitian Stacie and I were in Newport Beach, California helping Lori Harder run her amazing Bliss Project and the first thing we did when we landed on Friday was find the nearest Whole Foods. Where we grabbed lunch and stocked up for our weekend in the hotel.

My travel/hotel snacks include:

• Suja Twelve Essentials green juice {which you can also get at Target}.
• Health-Ade kombucha, original and lemon-ginger flavors. Normally I get GT’s or Dr. Brew Kombucha, but I’m all about trying new brands when they are available. This will help you stay regular while you travel {aka avoid constipation and back up}.
• Vigilant Eats Superfood Cereal, banana chia and expresso maca mulberry {this was another first for me and I feel in love and will be ordering the banana chia for future travels}.
• GoMacro and RX bars.
• Raw nuts and trail mix {in copious amounts}.
• A couple fresh apples.
• Hard boiled eggs from the salad bar.
• Fresh massaged kale and butternut squash salad from the salad bar. I’m a big breakfast person so I had a couple hard boiled eggs over this salad and one superfood cereal for breakfast every morning {post run fuel}.
• And lots of bottled water.

So what does my travel snacks and love for Whole Foods have to do with this deliciously, creamy poppy seed chicken salad? 

creamy poppy seed chicken salad

This recipe is similar to the Sonoma Chicken Salad you’ll often find on the Whole Foods Salad bar and/or in the deli. I love this salad, but not so much the hefty price tag Whole Foods charges for it so I decided to re-create my own version of it.

It’s a meal prep staple for me. This creamy, poppy seed chicken salad is loaded with tender chicken breast, crunchy cashews and sweet grapes in each bite. Making it the perfect cold lunch salad or snack. 

And I often make this recipe when I’m hosting or contributing to a girlfriend’s bridal/baby shower. It’s an easy potluck-style heavy appetizer, side salad, or main course. I personally like it served lettuce wrap style. But you can also serve it as a stand-alone salad or sandwich style.

The salad consists of 7 ingredients: cubed chicken breast, red seedless grapes, raw or roasted cashews, celery, red onion, green onion, and butterhead lettuce leaves.

Toss these simple ingredients in the poppy seed dressing and viola you have a creamy, chicken salad for a party or meal prepped just for you.

Note, I used the Hampton Creek Just Mayo for in my dressing as I love small ingredient list and the healthy fats this adds to the recipe. But if you’re not a mayo fan, you can always sub the mayo for plain greek yogurt {2% or full fat}.

Serve with a side of butterhead lettuce leaves for a fresh, filling, but light lunch!

creamy poppy seed chicken salad

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

This creamy, poppy seed chicken salad is meal prep staple; loaded with tender chicken breast, crunchy cashews and sweet grapes in each bite.

Author: lindsey, nourish move love

Recipe type: salad

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• Chicken Salad:
• 2 c cooked chicken, cubed
• 1 c seedless red grapes, halved
• 3 celery stalks, finely chopped
• ¼ c red onion, finely chopped
• 2-3 green onions, finely chopped
• ¼ cup raw or roasted cashews, roughly chopped
• ½ head butterhead lettuce leaves, washed
• Poppy Seed Dressing:
• ½ cup just mayo {or sub plain 2% or full fat greek yogurt}
• ½ fresh lemon, juice of
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds
• pinch of pink sea salt to taste

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl mix together the mayo, lemon juice, dry mustard, poppy seeds and sea salt.
2. Next add the cubed, cooked chicken, halved grapes, celery, red and green onions until well mixed.
3. Mix in the raw or roasted cashews.
4. Serve as a simple salad or in lettuce wraps, on top of a bed of greens, or on top of cucumber slices.

Notes

*makes a great meal prep salad and will last in the fridge for up to one week.

3.5.3208

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