Weekday Lunchbox Chicken Salad

Like a lot of people my husband and I try to save money where we can by doing things for our selves. We use our freezer liberally to buy meat in bulk, grow our own vegetables and herbs, gather wild apples, blackberries, beechnuts and other forest finds, and eat most of our dinners at home. One spot though, where I really struggles is the workweek lunch. Not only is it easy to make excuses about packing a lunch, but I also fall prey to the "sure I'll go out to lunch with you...I can save mine for tomorrow" trap. A big reason why I think this happens is that I'm not really looking forward to eating those standard lunches.

To help beat this trap, I make on of my lunch out favorites at home. Nine times out of ten when I go to the local sandwich place for lunch break during the week I'm either ordering a chicken salad sub or a a low carb salad topped with chicken salad.

This chicken salad is a little different - I've incorporated standard chicken salad with sweet, savory and crunchy ingredients to make it fresh and different. I love on a sandwich, topping a salad, or just by itself! I have made this salad with boneless skinless chicken breasts which I've made in the slowcooker with fresh herbs, but you could easily use meat from other parts of the chicken.

Lunch Box Chicken Salad (6 servings)
3 cups slow cooker chicken (see below) or any shredded chicken

1 large apple, chopped
1 medium onion chopped
1/4 chopped walnuts
3/4 cup light mayonnaise
1 Tb Dijon mustard
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Add all your ingredients to a large dish and mix. You may add more or less mayonnaise to your personal taste. This will store well in the refrigerator for several days.

Basic Slow Cooker Chicken
3-4 large chicken breasts
1 cup baby or cut carrots
1 sprig rosemary
1 handful sage leaves
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 tb pepper


Throw all your ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

This slow cooker chicken makes an awesome alternative to boiling chicken for chicken salad, soups, tacos, etc or tastes amazing on it's own!