Replacement for chicken in salad?

[threecubs]

In the last couple months we have gotten rid of meat in the home. It was so much easier than I thought, and it's going quite well!

One of my favorite meals though, is a salad with chicken chunks, nuts, fruit, and sesame dressing. I've tried making it the same only without the chicken, and it just doesn't seem satisfying enough for me. Any ideas what to substitute?

[Mothering by Heart]

You could do white beans. I know, it's not the same, but they are good :yum

[Singingmom]

I like chic peas! You could marinate them in Italian dressing.

[eyesdancing]

Whole Foods sells "Wheat Meat" in the frozen section that makes fabulous chicken salad.

[ArmsOfLove]

LightLife has chik'n strips that are fake chicken. YUMMY :yum

[threecubs]

Thanks for the ideas! I think I may do some type of beans..I have had chickpeas in salad before and I do like that.

The "Wheat Meat" sounds a little like gluten chops/steaks. I don't have a Whole Foods here (I wish I did!) I actually made some of my own last week. So far, they aren't remarkable, but in a salad they may work! They are a bit sponge-y though, so maybe they might absorb too much dressing. I'll try it though!

I'll look for the light life strips. I don't think I have seen them before. I've thought of using Morningstar Farms chick'n nuggets, but I'm trying to do low-fat :).

I'm going to do some experimenting!

[rosesnsnails]

Morning Star Farms is pretty tasty, but I think they use GMO ingredients. :shrug Maybe some pan fried tofu?

[ShangriLewis]

I love gluten (sorry Crystal). I make a fake chicken/tuna salad and I use chickpeas. The stuff is awesome. I just mush up chickpeas and add mayo, relish, celery etc. Do you like Tempeh or can you get that around you? Baked tofu is good in some salads, too. Just drain and cube tofu and then marinate it. For a poultry flavor marinate in Braggs, water and some poultry seasoning. I think it's equal Bragg's and water and a couple good shakes of the poultry stuff. And, yes there is no poultry in it. Then bake in the oven till it looses all it's moisture. Barbecue sauce makes a good marinade, too.

Let us know how it goes and maybe you could share a recipe and a picture, just so we know what it looks like. Because it sounds yummy.

[threecubs]

I haven't had the money to experiment too much, but I was able to grocery shop yesterday and I found some baked tofu at the regular grocery! They had a few flavors, so I picked honey/sesame. I am eating it now and I think I like it! I cubed a couple slices and put it in my salad. I tasted a bit alone first, and while I'm not head-over-heals over the taste, it's not terrible and the texture is just what I am looking for!

I chopped up a small head of romaine, added some slivered almonds, chow mein noodles, chunks of the baked tofu, dried cranberries, and topped it with some Newman's Own Sesame Ginger dressing. Yum! It has the heartiness I was looking for :).

I also sometimes use cashews, raisins, or mandarin oranges too.

I have some tofu, and I am thinking of throwing it in the crockpot with some soy sauce and spices and cooking it like that, maybe it will be cheaper and a little tastier.

[bliss]

Chicken Fried Tofu! Dredge extra-firm tofu squares in flour with quite a bit of poultry seasoning (magic ingredient), shake off extra, then pan fry in some oil. Drain on brown paper. Even 12 yo ss whose earth name is "If it's Not Meat It's Disgusting" will eat this in chicken salad, chicken pot pie, etc.