This fun and easy pinwheel presentation with fun colors and delicious flavor will make your little ones smile! Packed with protein and easy to eat, the kids will be ready to take on the rest of their school afternoon full and focused.
Notes
• You can use leftover chicken from dinner.
• For the nut-free option, use raw unsalted sunflower seeds or raw pumpkin seeds, or simply leave that ingredient out.
• Apples work well in place of the grapes.
Healthy Chicken Salad Pinwheels
(dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free option, soy-free)
Ingredients
- 3 cups (420 g) coarsely cubed cooked chicken (see Notes)
- 1/2 cup (110 g) mayonnaise of choice (or store-bought avocado or olive oil mayo like Sir Kensington’s or Primal Kitchen brands)
- 1 to 2 green onions, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup (60 g) pecans (see Notes)
- 1/2 cup (50 g) purple grapes, (see Notes)
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or as needed
- Black pepper, as needed
- 4 gluten-free tortilla wraps of choice (such as Food for Life brand brown rice tortillas or Sami’s Bakery Millet and Flax Lavash)
Instructions
- In a food processor or blender, combine the chicken, mayonnaise, green onions, pecans, grapes, sea salt, and black pepper. Pulse 5 to 7 times to combine the ingredients. You don’t want big chunks; the mixture needs to be spreadable. You can process the ingredients until they are completely smooth, or you can leave a chunkier texture for visual appeal.
- Spread a thin layer of the chicken salad on a tortilla wrap and, starting at one end, tightly roll the tortilla wrap all the way up. (If your tortilla wrap does not roll well without cracking, moisten it slightly and heat it up a bit in a warm skillet or in the microwave for 10 seconds to soften it.) Set the wrapped tortilla on a plate and continue this process with the rest of the chicken salad and tortilla wraps.
- Tightly cover the plate of chicken wraps with plastic wrap (or put the wraps in an airtight container), and transfer the plate to the refrigerator to chill and firm up for at least 30 minutes. You can do this the night before or 1 to 2 days in advance.
- After the wraps have chilled, use a serrated knife to cut the wraps into 1- to 2-inch (2.5- to 5-cm)-long pinwheels.
Notes
Excerpted from The Little Lunchbox Cookbook: 60 Easy Real-Food Bento Lunches for Kids on the Go by Renee Kohley. Published by Page Street Publishing Co. Photography copyright © Becky Winkler.