Recipe: Chicken salad pitta

Light, crunchy, and full of flavour. This chicken salad pitta is a quick and easy meal that’s packed with protein, fibre, and fresh ingredients. Perfect for a healthy lunch or snack.

Chicken salad pitta: a balanced bite for any time of day

Wholemeal pitta stuffed with crunchy vegetables, juicy chicken, and a creamy yoghurt dressing – it’s a simple yet satisfying dish that ticks all the boxes for nutrition and taste. Whether you’re meal prepping for the week or throwing together a quick lunch, this recipe is versatile and customisable.

For those following a plant-based diet, the vegan alternative swaps chicken for butter beans and yoghurt for soya yoghurt, keeping it just as delicious and satisfying.

Why it works for weight loss

This recipe includes:

• Chicken breast: A lean source of protein that supports muscle maintenance and repair.¹

• Carrot: High in beta-carotene, which supports eye health and immunity.²

• Wholemeal pitta: Provides complex carbohydrates for steady energy release.³

• Greek yoghurt: Packed with probiotics and calcium for gut and bone health.⁴

Vegan alternative:

• Butter beans: Rich in fibre and plant-based protein, they’re great for heart health.⁵

• Soy yoghurt: Supports heart health, aids weight loss, improves brain function, and reduces arthritis, thanks to its rich content of phytochemicals and probiotics.⁶

References

1. Connolly, G., & Campbell, W. W. (2023). Poultry consumption and human cardiometabolic health-related outcomes: A narrative review. Nutrients, 15(16), 3550. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15163550

2. Varshney, K., & Mishra, K. (2022). An analysis of health benefits of carrot. International Journal of Innovative Research in Engineering & Management, 9(1), 211–214. https://doi.org/10.55524/ijirem.2022.9.1.40

3. McRae, M. P. (2016). Health benefits of dietary whole grains: An umbrella review of meta-analyses. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, 16(1), 10–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcm.2016.08.008

4.  El-Abbadi, N. H., Dao, M. C., & Meydani, S. N. (2014). Yogurt: Role in healthy and active aging. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 99(5), 1263S–1270S. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.113.073957

5. Mullins, A. P., & Arjmandi, B. H. (2021). Health benefits of plant-based nutrition: Focus on beans in cardiometabolic diseases. Nutrients, 13(2), 519. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13020519

6. Vij, S., Hati, S., & Yadav, D. (2011). Biofunctionality of probiotic soy yoghurt. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 2(5), 502-509. https://doi.org/10.4236/fns.2011.25073