Mayo-Free Chicken Salad

Well, hello! I am back from my hiatus. Maybe. Kind of. I'll get back to you on this. My last post was in June, which is absolutely horrifying. I'm sorry, I suck. My goal is to try to update as much as I can but, you know, life happens-- some bad but mostly a lot of good stuff within the past few months.

So, you should know that I slipped off Paleo (a lot) lately. I went to NYC for a week and a half in July and it was pretty much downhill from there. BUT, I'm definitely back on my grind and ready to share some new creations. I'm attempting a Whole60-- 2 months of super strict Paleo. My first Whole30 was a breeze, but I also had a lot more time then. Being a full-time student with 2 jobs, I know that this will be undoubtedly more challenging. Good thing I'm up for it and ready to kick butt.

Even though it's super late and I have an early day tomorrow, I need to get this recipe posted-- or else it's very likely it may never get done. And right about now, I'm thankful for that spontaneous 4-hour face-plant into my pillow earlier this evening.

Mayo-Free Chicken Salad
Yields 2-3 servings

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups chicken breast, roughly diced (do yourself a favor and buy a big, fat, whole rotisserie chicken and dissect the hell out of it)
2 1/2 Tbsp red onion, finely chopped
1 avocado, diced (at least 1/2 cup)
2 tsp fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
2 tsp lime juice, freshly squeezed (about 1/2 a lime)
1/4 tsp salt*
1/4 tsp ground black pepper*

*The rotisserie chicken I bought was already gushing with seasoned juices. The s+p I added was mostly to balance the avocado, lime, and onion. If the chicken you use is bland, you can add more seasonings accordingly based on your taste preference.

DIRECTIONS
1. Dump all ingredients into a medium mixing bowl. 
2. Gently toss everything together until all ingredients are incorporated well. I use a fork to toss so I can also mash a few of the avocado pieces. I prefer to keep most chicken and avocado pieces pretty chunky. I feel like it's better when you can still identify what you're eating.
3. Eat right away or store in an airtight container. 

I already prepared some of the chicken salad on top of a bed of broccoli slaw in a container for my lunch tomorrow. I may have also squeezed a little more lime juice on top of the whole shabang with a sprinkling of more cilantro. The extra lime juice will hopefully prevent the avocados from browning too much. And the cilantro just looked pretty. I eat with my eyes, obviously.

I can't wait for this chicken salad..salad. The more greens, the better. I've dolloped this chicken salad on spinach, romaine, arugula, kale.. that whole family (and extended family) of leafy greens. Though, I also enjoy the roughage of the broccoli slaw (very similar to cabbage). It adds a crunchier texture component and it also holds up well when you're putting it together the night before. FYI, not a fan of soggy greens.

I'll probably still be baking up some fat, fat, very fat treats (which I will of course try to share, as well). Let's face it, I can't stop. However, if you've ever considered eating Paleo, I encourage you to join me! You will be eating great, looking great, and feeling great. And isn't that what we all want?! Sleep on it.. as I will be resuming face-plant into pillow.