cranberry bread sandwich

Whet your appetite with this Chicken Salad Sandwich on pistachio cranberry bread. Every bite is filled with tasty texture. A delicious comfort food.

Comfort Food: Chicken Soup, Chicken Salad…

Chicken salad sandwich
Chicken Salad Sandwich on Cranberry Bread

Ask “What is comfort food?” and I will answer, “Chicken soup, chicken salad.” Served on pistachio cranberry bread, this chicken salad (which would pair nicely with chicken soup) tastes delicious.

I ate this chicken salad sandwich for my first meal after having no appetite for days when sick with Covid. Lying in medical emergency room bed and being tested (EKG, lungs, etc.), I heard my stomach growl loudly. I asked if I could have my daughter bring food to me and felt relieved to be told yes.

Texting my daughter, I told her I wanted a chicken salad sandwich. She found an amazing cranberry “scratch” bread from her local HEB grocery store bakery.

My daughter made the chicken salad sandwich right away and dropped it off at the front desk of the facility. The sandwich was delivered to my room. However, I couldn’t eat it until hours later after being admitted to the hospital. Finally in my room, I ate at 1:00 a.m.

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Make Your Own Homemade Pistachio Cranberry Bread

Make your own homemade pistachio cranberry bread if you can’t find it in your local supermarket. Bake it in the oven, or purchase a bread machine. The bread machine I had for years somehow disappeared the last time we moved, so I’ve been shopping for one.

I love to use electric kitchen appliances such as a bread machine, pressure cooker, and air fryer. They prevent the kitchen from heating up so much in the Texas heat – and that’s more than half a year. Furthermore, these handy appliances make cooking easy and quick.

The recipe for this chicken salad includes bread purchased from a local grocery store. But pistachios and cranberries can be added to a bread recipe such as this delicious double-loaf yeast bread below.

Bread
Homemade Yeast Bread

However, someone who is borderline or other type of diabetic must be careful about added sugar. Therefore, a recipe like a low-sugar cranberry bread might be another possible option. 

Make it Heart Healthy with Whole-Grain Bread

Since I like chicken salad so much, I look for whole-grain bread that actually tastes good.

Heart-healthy diets recommend whole-grain bread. Most of the pistachio cranberry bread recipes I’ve seen, though, are made with enriched flour.

Glycemic Index

During hospitalization, my blood sugar tended to be high. So I was surprised at some obviously white breads I was allowed. I had learned to stay away from flour and white pasta which have a high glycemic index.

The Diabetic Meal Plans website indicates that even whole grains can have a high glycemic index. See the website’s suggestions of best flours to use if you’re a diabetic.

A Sourdough Option

Consider using sourdough bread because it is lower on the glycemic index scale. I’ve tasted some delicious sourdough breads including a cinnamon roll. So give sourdough bread a try for your next chicken salad sandwich.

Finding sugar-free sourdough cranberry-pistachio bread recipes made with whole-grain flours is not so easy. But I’ve found a few that look great such as this one by Far house on Boone:

Adhering to a heart-healthy eating lifestyle can be challenging. But that doesn’t mean you can never eat a sandwich on enriched bread.

And I do indulge occasionally by enjoying that very tasty cranberry pistachio bread.

Nevertheless, the more I research, I find I need to stay away from most breads. And that’s difficult when you love bread like I do. It is an ongoing challenge for me.

My thoughts about finding delicious bread recipes with sugar alternatives and heart healthy? Never, never give up.

The Recipe:

Chicken Salad Sandwich

a heart-healthy sandwich with chicken and veggies on pistachio cranberry bread

Course Lunch
Cuisine American
Keyword sandwiches
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings 1
Calories 415 kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 Organic Air-Chilled Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
  • 1 teaspoon McCormick Salt-Free Garlic and Herbs
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon McCormick Black Peppercorn
  • 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
  • 1 stalk Celery
  • 2 tablespoons Chopped Onion
  • 1/2 Chopped Apple
  • 1 Carrot (small or one-half large)
  • 1/3 cup Mayonnaise
  • 1 slice Pistachio Cranberry Bread This bread is sold at HEB in the bakery ("scratch" bread). Use any fruit/nut bread of your choice.
  • 1 slice Swiss Cheese (Low Fat)
  • 2 leaves Romain lettuce
  • 6-8 Red Grapes (optional)

Instructions

  1. Slice the chicken breast into thin long pieces.

  2. Then cut the long chicken pieces into very small chunks.

  3. Season the chicken with the salt-free seasoning.

  4. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on the chicken chunks.

  5. Grind a teaspoon of the black peppercorn and add to the chicken.

  6. Put the olive oil in a skillet, and turn the burner on high.

  7. Add the chicken chunks, and turn the burner to medium when the chicken pieces have lightly browned.

  8. Cover and cook approximately ten minutes, stirring often.

  9. When the chicken chunks look done, set them aside in a small bowl.

  10. Slice the apple and cut into small fine or chunky pieces, whichever you prefer.

    (The skin was left on the apple for this recipe.)

  11. Slice the celery lengthwise into fourths, and cut those fourths into fine pieces.

  12. If you add the grapes (gives more sweet flavor to the salad), slice them into halves.

  13. Shred the carrot, cut into small pieces, and add with the other veggies and fruit to the chicken.

  14. Stir the vegetables with the chicken, and add the mayonnaise.

  15. Slice the bread in two pieces, add mayo or mustard, lettuce, two tablespoons chicken salad and cheese.

  16. Serve with strawberries, oranges or tangering, and grapes (or other fruit).

Recipe Notes

The chicken in this recipe was cooked on an electric oven. Your oven may cook faster or slower, and the time may vary for doneness as you stir the chicken.

Which of these ingredients do you include

in your chicken salad?

  • mayonnaise
  • mustard
  • boiled eggs
  • pickle relish
  • dill relish
  • apples
  • celery
  • walnuts
  • pecans
  • strawberries
  • shredded carrots
  • red grapes
  • green grapes

You can probably think of other ingredients that make a great chicken salad. I’ve tried all of the above ingredients in chicken salad (not all in the same salad). Texture and a mix of salty and sweet – that’s what I like the most in my chicken salads.

Comfort Food

Chicken sandwiches as well as chicken soups sound logical for a comfort food menu. You, of course, do not have to be sick or have lost your appetite to enjoy a tasty chicken salad sandwich.

Maybe you just love chicken salad like me. Then take a minute to check out more comfort food chicken salads below.

If you love chicken salad and strawberries, it’s fun to make the Valentine’s Day version. Great for special occasions, this colorful salad will look tempting on a Valentine’s Day tablescape.

chicken salad
Chicken Salad for Valentine’s Day

It’s so easy to pick up chicken salad at the grocery store. Store-bought chicken salad often contains more sodium. Make your own with fresh ingredients, and you could eliminate half the sodium and possibly half the sugar. 

Fill your sandwich with as many veggies as you like. Finely chop the veggies and chicken for chicken salad with a more smooth texture. Or make it a chunky salad by cutting your veggies into larger pieces.

Remember taste and texture along with heart healthy, and you’ll enjoy a delightful nutritious sandwich.

 

 

 

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