Is chicken salad even healthy?
retro_gamer
Posts: 127 Member
Hi, so yesterday I bought this little tiny container of chicken salad from target and ate about 3 small sandwiches with it yesterday and today. I looked at the container today to see how much protein was in it and was shocked at the nutritional information...
350 calories for 1/2 a cup serving and 3.5 servings per container, that means that the little tiny container had over 1200 calories... that's more calories than a Burger King double whopper with cheese and small fries. Not only that but there's only about 40 grams of protein. I'm still trying to wrap it around my head how something that is hailed as healthy food can be so calorie dense, like peanut butter which I never eat, I guess It's good for people who are putting on weight but unless I hear of a healthier variant I will probably not eat chicken salad anymore.
350 calories for 1/2 a cup serving and 3.5 servings per container, that means that the little tiny container had over 1200 calories... that's more calories than a Burger King double whopper with cheese and small fries. Not only that but there's only about 40 grams of protein. I'm still trying to wrap it around my head how something that is hailed as healthy food can be so calorie dense, like peanut butter which I never eat, I guess It's good for people who are putting on weight but unless I hear of a healthier variant I will probably not eat chicken salad anymore.
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Replies
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Depends on what's in it, how much of it you decide to eat, and what you consider 'healthy'.6
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High calorie/calorie dense is not an indicator of how 'healthy' something is.
Individual foods are not healthy or unhealthy, your overall diet is what will effect health.10 -
1200/3.5 is less than 400 calories per serving. One serving in a tortilla is about 500 calories. That's a modest meal. What's the problem?5
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Get into the habit of evaluating the nutritional info for a product before you buy it. Ask yourself, "How will this fit into my food plan?"
Suggested serving size is just that - a suggestion. You control when and how much you eat of something. That amount is your portion and your portion can vary every time you eat the item. If I had a hankering for some of that chicken salad, I'd likely eat a spoonful at a time (weighed in grams on a scale by weighing the container before and after to see how much I removed so that I could enter it into my food diary) and spread it out to 10 or more portions.
The beauty of MFP is that you can enter items before you eat them to see how the nutrients balance with the rest of your day. Aim for a healthful, well-balanced overall diet rather than judging the healthfulness of each individual item. I try for 80% of my calories from nutrient-dense foods and 20% from treats.11 -
It's called information. But why ban it? I have a short list of forbiddens including Carl's Jr, Red Robins and Poutine.
But I have peanut butter in my cupboard an I would eat chicken salad.
As an aside, you can control the calories in chicken salad by using a fraction of the mayonnaise. In your home made version.5 -
Lots of mayo in that.3
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Define what you consider "healthy" ? In case you have not noticed there is a wide variance on that term around here. I know people who would have a brain aneurysm if they even took a bite of a bagel. That said, I buy chicken salad pretty frequently since I picked some up as a pure impulse buy from Sam's Club a few months back. https://www.samsclub.com/sams/sycamore-farms-chicken-salad-32-oz/157402.ip
It's calorie dense, but tasty enough I don't mind. I just use a couple of slices of low calorie bread or else a wrap and make a lunch out of it.3 -
Agreed on making it at home. Then you control the ingredient. Chicken salad is generally healthy..7
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I presume it had mayo in it, which bumps the calories. This is why I look at the nutritional info *before* I purchase it and bring it home.8
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You ate it 3 times before even looking at the nutritional info? You might want to get in the habit of looking at that info before you buy something - or at least before you eat it three times. I take it you're not logging or tracking calories?17
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I've never seen chicken salad "hailed as healthy food".
It's usually made with a lot of mayo, so pretty calorie dense. Always check the nutritional info before you buy something to make sure it fits your goals. Don't just rely of having heard somewhere that it's "healthy".12 -
This is funny because I've eaten chicken salad for lunch the last couple weeks. Pair a serving with a 50 cal tortilla and a Fiber One brownie, and I've got a reasonably filling lunch for under 500 calories.
Something being high-calorie doesn't instantly make it bad. I feel more satisfied with a slightly higher fat intake, so something like chicken salad is perfect for me.
~Lyssa5 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »I've never seen chicken salad "hailed as healthy food".
It's usually made with a lot of mayo, so pretty calorie dense. Always check the nutritional info before you buy something to make sure it fits your goals. Don't just rely of having heard somewhere that it's "healthy".
Mrs Jruzer makes a summery version with olive oil mayo, big chunks of white meat, Mediterranean spices, and grapes. Frickin yum AND it's fairly low calorie.2 -
1. I have literally never seen anyone list chicken salad as a stereotypical "healthy" food. At its simplest, it's chicken and mayonaisse. Are you thinking of a green salad with chicken on it?
2. Number of calories does not determine whether something is healthy or not. There are high calorie foods that are very nutrient dense and filling, and there are foods that are very low cal because they are mostly air or water and are barely worth eating.
3. If you are really concerned about being healthy and getting into shape, you need to stop believing in and making assumptions based on random Internet articles, fad diets, and wives tales and start paying attention to the basics and learning for yourself. You've started enough threads like this, you know what everyone is going to say- Read labels, log accurately, lift heavy. You know what to do, now do it
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"Healthy" is so subjective. If it helps you meet your macros/micros, then why wouldn't it be healthy? However it continually keep you surplusing your calories, then it's not (because of weight gain unless that is your goal).
Food really isn't "healthy" or "unhealthy". It's either nutrient dense or not, or calorie dense or not for your goals.
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I mean, salad with chicken is probably what would be considered "healthy" but it's really about context. Chicken salad as you're talking about when bought in a supermarket has a ton of mayo, mayo is largely just fat so of course it's not going to be low calorie. But again, context. Depends on how many calories you have to play with for a particular meal as to how appropriate something is for you to include in your day.
And yeah, look at labels before you buy the thing to see if it will fit into your day the way you want it to.2 -
I'm just wondering why you thought it was "healthy"? Now, it's not unhealthy but I don't consider chicken salad (storebought) to be something I'd reach for when watching my calories.
This site has a recipe for High Protein Chicken Salad that I've made a number of times. I don't have it handy, but it's pretty good. The mayo is replaced with Greek Yogurt. I think there might be a bit of mayo in it but I can't remember. Also has apples and grapes in it with red onion. Very good contrast of sweet and savory.3 -
retro_gamer wrote: »Hi, so yesterday I bought this little tiny container of chicken salad from target and ate about 3 small sandwiches with it yesterday and today. I looked at the container today to see how much protein was in it and was shocked at the nutritional information...
[350 calories for 1/2 a cup serving and 3.5 servings per container, that means that the little tiny container had over 1200 calories... I guess It's good for people who are putting on weight but unless I hear of a healthier variant I will probably not eat chicken salad anymore.
As mentioned above, its all about context. I often eat a chicken salad, as mine is "healthy" and it fits into my calorie allowance easily. But I always make it from scratch at home and through choice, (mainly because I don't like them) I don't add any salad dressing. (I also need to be careful that I make sure I have enough fat in my diet, but that's another story).I weigh my chicken, but for comparison, I think 1/2 a cup of chicken is 60g.
My meal consists of 120g of chicken; has 140 calories & 30g protein.
(Rather than 700 calories per cup of your store bought). I then have a plate full of mixed salad, including tomatoes, beetroot, cucumber, lettuce.
But you can include any salad you like. This adds a some calories (maybe 100 calories, depending on type/quantity of salad used). But I'm not even sure that yours included any actual "salad". The salad increases nutritional value, and is relatively low in calories. Adding some forms of carbs if required, ie wholemeal roll, to balance meal. This will add calories, but again the bread you used, was not counted in your nutritional information regarding your chicken salad.
It's important to look at the nutritional information supplied beforehand. As so called "chicken salad" can vary greatly.0 -
Why don't you try making chicken salad. There's healthier replacements and I'm sure what you bought is loaded with mayonnaise. 1 tablespoon of Greek yogurt is like so much less than mayo. Google the comparison1
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Wendyanneroberts wrote: »retro_gamer wrote: »Hi, so yesterday I bought this little tiny container of chicken salad from target and ate about 3 small sandwiches with it yesterday and today. I looked at the container today to see how much protein was in it and was shocked at the nutritional information...
[350 calories for 1/2 a cup serving and 3.5 servings per container, that means that the little tiny container had over 1200 calories... I guess It's good for people who are putting on weight but unless I hear of a healthier variant I will probably not eat chicken salad anymore.
As mentioned above, its all about context. I often eat a chicken salad, as mine is "healthy" and it fits into my calorie allowance easily. But I always make it from scratch at home and through choice, (mainly because I don't like them) I don't add any salad dressing. (I also need to be careful that I make sure I have enough fat in my diet, but that's another story).I weigh my chicken, but for comparison, I think 1/2 a cup of chicken is 60g.
My meal consists of 120g of chicken; has 140 calories & 30g protein.
(Rather than 700 calories per cup of your store bought). I then have a plate full of mixed salad, including tomatoes, beetroot, cucumber, lettuce.
But you can include any salad you like. This adds a some calories (maybe 100 calories, depending on type/quantity of salad used). But I'm not even sure that yours included any actual "salad". The salad increases nutritional value, and is relatively low in calories. Adding some forms of carbs if required, ie wholemeal roll, to balance meal. This will add calories, but again the bread you used, was not counted in your nutritional information regarding your chicken salad.
It's important to look at the nutritional information supplied beforehand. As so called "chicken salad" can vary greatly.
I think the OP was talking about "chicken salad" that is the spreadable type put between bread usually. Not chicken over a salad.1 -
Sorry, my misunderstanding. Confusion because I didn't realise the difference in meaning; didn't know that there is a "store bought spreadable type."1
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You gotta make it yourself. Way better anyway when it's homemade.1
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Whether it's "healthy" or not depends on what you are looking for, how it's made, etc.retro_gamer wrote: »I'm still trying to wrap it around my head how something that is hailed as healthy food can be so calorie dense, like peanut butter which I never eat, I guess It's good for people who are putting on weight but unless I hear of a healthier variant I will probably not eat chicken salad anymore.
I find this incredibly confusing because I have NEVER heard chicken salad "hailed" as a healthy food. Most I know consider it a high cal, indulgent food, because it tends to be full of mayo.
I eat it (usually homemade) occasionally and don't consider it "unhealthy," but I'd certainly not consider it particularly healthy. You can make it so that it has a decent amount of veg (I'd always have more veg on the side, however) and less fat (which adds calories, not because fat is bad).
Chicken is often called "healthy" (IMO, diets are healthy or not, not individual foods), because it has lots of protein, but covering it with mayo obviously makes a difference.
Calories alone is a bad way to think about health, however. Avocado and almonds are both high cal, but I consider both healthy, and consider salmon something that adds more to my diet than cod, on average, even though it's higher cal (and although I think both can be part of a healthy diet).
I would look at things like micronutrients and macros and what else you are eating at the meal and over the course of the day.3 -
Wendyanneroberts wrote: »Sorry, my misunderstanding. Confusion because I didn't realise the difference in meaning; didn't know that there is a "store bought spreadable type."
Are you in the UK?
In the US salad with chicken on it is called, well, salad with chicken.
Chicken salad in the US is a dish where the chicken is mixed with fat (usually mayo) plus some other additions (often grapes and slivered nuts and celery, but there are many different kinds). It can be made into a sandwich (I think a similar thing is called chicken mayo in the UK) or eaten on its own as a cold dish with other sides.4 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Wendyanneroberts wrote: »Sorry, my misunderstanding. Confusion because I didn't realise the difference in meaning; didn't know that there is a "store bought spreadable type."
Are you in the UK?
In the US salad with chicken on it is called, well, salad with chicken.
Chicken salad in the US is a dish where the chicken is mixed with fat (usually mayo) plus some other additions (often grapes and slivered nuts and celery, but there are many different kinds). It can be made into a sandwich (I think a similar thing is called chicken mayo in the UK) or eaten on its own as a cold dish with other sides.
Similar things are: egg salad (chopped up eggs with mayo/mustard and seasonings) and tuna salad (canned tuna, mayo, seasonings). All generally put between two slices of bread.3 -
retro_gamer wrote: »Hi, so yesterday I bought this little tiny container of chicken salad from target and ate about 3 small sandwiches with it yesterday and today. I looked at the container today to see how much protein was in it and was shocked at the nutritional information...
350 calories for 1/2 a cup serving and 3.5 servings per container, that means that the little tiny container had over 1200 calories... that's more calories than a Burger King double whopper with cheese and small fries. Not only that but there's only about 40 grams of protein. I'm still trying to wrap it around my head how something that is hailed as healthy food can be so calorie dense, like peanut butter which I never eat, I guess It's good for people who are putting on weight but unless I hear of a healthier variant I will probably not eat chicken salad anymore.
Nutritional quality has nothing to do with caloric density...there are tons of food that are healthy but they are calorie bombs...think nuts and avocados, etc. These are sources of quality fats which are essential to proper nutrition.
As chicken salad goes, it depends on how you make it...if it's a ton of mayo then yeah...it's a lot of fat...seems pretty obvious to me.
I've never thought of chicken salad as a "health food"...but at the same time, when you're talking about nutrition, you can't do so in a vacuum...you have to look at things within the context of the diet as a whole.2 -
I love Chicken Salad! If you can handle it, try slimming it down with Greek Yogurt instead of Mayo (some people hate doing this). I always make mine with fat free Greek Yogurt, Mustard, Grilled Chicken, Red Onions, Celery, Red Grapes and lots of dill!0
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lemurcat12 wrote: »
Are you in the UK?
Yes I am from UK. Realise what was meant now, different use of language. Have heard of (& eaten) egg version & tuna version. Where I'm from this tends to be known as "egg mayo" or in this case, it would be called "chicken mayo". Rather than chicken salad, ie chicken served with salad. Didn't mean to confuse thread, sorry.
Referring back to OP, making it from scratch at home, as suggested, will put you more in control of ingredients and therefore nutrition/calories.1 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Wendyanneroberts wrote: »Sorry, my misunderstanding. Confusion because I didn't realise the difference in meaning; didn't know that there is a "store bought spreadable type."
Are you in the UK?
In the US salad with chicken on it is called, well, salad with chicken.
Chicken salad in the US is a dish where the chicken is mixed with fat (usually mayo) plus some other additions (often grapes and slivered nuts and celery, but there are many different kinds). It can be made into a sandwich (I think a similar thing is called chicken mayo in the UK) or eaten on its own as a cold dish with other sides.
Similar things are: egg salad (chopped up eggs with mayo/mustard and seasonings) and tuna salad (canned tuna, mayo, seasonings). All generally put between two slices of bread.
......And one of the greatest food inventions known to man. Coronation chicken.2 -
I put mustard in mine instead of gobs of mayo. Much better. Plus it spruces up the taste.
Also, I put mustard in tuna salad instead of mayo.
As was mentioned above, lose the bread or tortilla or whatever you're using, and make a wrap with a lettuce leaf. I prefer iceberg lettuce.0
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