Quinoa Chicken Salad

I feel like I’ve gotten behind in my blogging. I’m so lucky to have all of these new people following me (thanks to Welcome Home on facebook), but I’ve been severely lacking in the creative department lately. Well, I have some positive changes in my life coming up and it has energized me and filled me with so many new ideas. I feel like I can barely keep up with the ideas pouring out of me. This weekend I definitely made some headway on fulfilling them.

First up is this chicken salad. I was inspired by a recipe I saw in the newspaper for a wild rice chicken salad. While I can’t eat wild rice, I can eat quinoa. The quinoa turned out to be an excellent replacement for wild rice. Summer is the perfect time for salads, so I was happy to add this recipe to my repertoire. It’s perfect to take to a summer picnic potluck or to do like I do: make up a batch on the weekend, then eat it for lunch the rest of the week.

This salad is fairly easy to make, especially if you use a store-bought rotisserie chicken. Rotisserie chickens are one of my cooking secret weapons. I buy one on Saturday, remove the meat from the bones, then use the bones to make chicken broth. Then I use half the meat to make a salad or casserole and freeze the rest. It’s so easy.

I just learned that cashews are not low-FODMAP, but I seem to tolerate them just fine. However, 1/2 cup of pine nuts or sunflower seeds would be a just-as-delicious and low-FODMAP substitution.

Quinoa Chicken Salad
Low-FODMAP Option, Gluten-Free
serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups cubed cooked chicken (such as from a rotisserie chicken)
1 cup roasted, unsalted cashews (try 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts or sunflower seeds for low-FODMAP)
6 slices bacon, cooked crisp, drained and crumbled
1 rib celery, chopped
4 green onions, sliced (green parts only)
1 8 oz. can water chestnuts, drained, chopped

3/4 cup light mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Bring quinoa, water and salt to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until quinoa is tender and water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Cool quinoa.
2. In a large bowl, combine the cooled quinoa, chicken, nuts, bacon, celery, green onions, and water chestnuts.
3. In a small bowl, stir together the mayo, lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Stir this dressing into the quinoa mixture. Refrigerate overnight before serving for best results.