Cabbage Salad with Grilled Chicken & Mandarin
834 calories from a salad you never turned the stove on for. The dressing pulls three sources together: mayonnaise, yogurt, and olive oil, loosened with a squeeze of lemon. Shredded cabbage soaks it up. Mandarin segments cut through the richness. Celery rounds add snap. And a full ounce of pumpkin seeds on top brings a roasted, earthy crunch nothing else on this plate delivers.
The full meal comes in at 47 grams of protein and 13 grams of fiber. Two slices of whole wheat bread on the side round it into a lunch that holds.
Ingredients
- celery 1 stalk
- mandarin 1
- grilled chicken strips 3 ounces
- mayonnaise 1 tablespoon
- yogurt, nonfat 2 tablespoons
- olive oil 1.5 tablespoon
- lemon juice 1 squeeze
- cabbage, shredded 6 ounces
- pumpkin seeds 1 ounce
- bread, whole wheat 2 slices
Method
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Slice the celery into thin rounds. Peel the mandarin and separate the segments. Slice the grilled chicken into smaller strips.
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In a small bowl, make the dressing by combining the mayonnaise, yogurt, oil and lemon juice.
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Place the cabbage in a bowl and stir in the dressing. Add the celery, mandarin and grilled chicken and toss together. Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds over the salad. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with the (toasted) bread.
Add the pumpkin seeds last, after tossing. They stay crunchier scattered on top of dressed cabbage than mixed into it. If the mandarin segments have released juice, drain them briefly before adding. Citrus liquid thins the dressing fast.
Most of the 51 grams of fat in this meal come from olive oil and pumpkin seeds, both unsaturated sources. Research has found that surplus calories from unsaturated fat are partitioned toward lean tissue rather than visceral fat storage, compared to the same surplus from saturated fat, even when total calories are identical.
Why This Works
Behind this recipe
Is 834 calories a lot for a salad?
It depends on where the calories land in your day. This meal delivers 47 grams of protein and 13 grams of fiber in one sitting. For a lunch that needs to carry you to dinner without snacking, that combination tends to hold. The fat is higher than most salads, but it is concentrated in olive oil and pumpkin seeds. Research has found that the type of fat matters for body composition, not just the total.
Read the full evidence reviewWhy pumpkin seeds instead of other nuts?
Pumpkin seeds bring a flatter, earthier crunch than tree nuts and hold their texture better on a dressed salad. They are also rich in polyunsaturated fat and contribute both protein and minerals to the meal. If you do not have them, chopped walnuts or almonds work as swaps. The 28 grams of pumpkin seeds are part of what pushes the full plate to 47 grams of protein.
Can I prep this ahead for lunch at work?
Dress the cabbage and store it in a sealed container. Cabbage holds up better than lettuce because it barely wilts. Keep the pumpkin seeds separate and add them right before eating so they stay crunchy. The mandarin segments and celery can go in with the dressed cabbage. The whole salad travels well at room temperature or cold.
