Recipe for Chicken and Shredded Cabbage Salad with Mustard and Celery Seed

If you come to my house and peer into the veggie crisper, you'd find green and red cabbage in there at least 90% of the time. I love the taste of raw cabbage, and this type of cabbage salad is something I never get tired of eating. How handy that cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable, and therefore deemed one of the world's healthiest foods! Chicken and cabbage salad is also a great way to use leftover rotisserie chicken if you're like me and just have to buy those roasted chickens at Costco. The celery seeds in this are something my mother always put in coleslaw, and I always think of her whenever I use them. They're possibly an ingredient that not everyone has in the spice rack, but they're not expensive, and I think they add a lot to this type of salad.

Make the dressing by combining mayo, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, celery seed, onion powder, and salt or Vege-Sal.

Then dice chicken into cubes and mix in 1/2 cup dressing. Let chicken marinate in the dressing while you chop the cabbage.

Chicken and Shredded Cabbage Salad with Mustard and Celery Seeds
(Makes about 4 servings, recipe created by Kalyn on one of many occasions she had leftover rotisserie chicken and cabbage in the vegetable crisper.)

2 cups diced leftover chicken (or cook 2 boneless chicken breasts in chicken stock, cool and dice)
1 cup finely sliced red cabbage
3 cups finely sliced green cabbage
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste

Dressing:
3/4 cup mayo (I usually use a mixture of regular and light mayo, but do not use fat free!)
2 T fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 T Dijon mustard (or less if you're not that fond of mustard)
1/2 tsp. onion powder (can also use 1 tsp. grated onion)
2 tsp. celery seeds
1/2 tsp. Vege-Sal (or use regular salt, but Vege-Sal is perfect in this)

Whisk together dressing ingredients. (If you have time to make the dressing ahead, it will help the flavors develop.) Dice chicken into bite-sized pieces, place in medium-sized plastic bowl, and stir in 1/2 cup of dressing mixture. Let chicken marinate in the dressing while you slice cabbage and green onions.

Thinly slice cabbage, then coarsely chop into smaller pieces. (I like to use this mandoline I got from a student, but you can chop the cabbage with a knife as well.) Slice green onions. Put sliced cabbage and onions into bowl with chicken and dressing. Add more dressing until salad is a moist as you prefer. (You may not need all the dressing.) Season to taste with salt and freshly-ground black pepper.

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South Beach Suggestions:

Salad like this is perfect for any phase of the South Beach Diet or any other low-glycemic eating plan. Light mayonnaise is best for South Beach, although mayonnaise is often made with soybean oil, which is considered a "good fat" for South Beach.

More Salads with Cabbage and Chicken:
(Recipes from other blogs may not always be South Beach Diet friendly; check ingredients.)
Red Cabbage and Chicken Asian Salad with Tangy Cilantro Dressing from Kalyn's Kitchen
Vietnamese Cabbage Salad with Chicken and Cilantro from Kalyn's Kitchen
Warm Red Cabbage Salad with Bacon and Goat Cheese from Kalyn's Kitchen
Chicken Salad Cabbage Cups from Kath Eats Real Food
Chicken Cabbage Salad with Feta from Anne's Food
(Want even more chicken cabbage salad recipes? I find these recipes from other blogs using Food Blog Search.)