Selena Gomez Eats This High Protein Lunch Every Single Day. Here's Why We Love It Too.
Why oh why did we write this while hungry?
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by The Candidly Team
Are we really the sort of people who write about what a celebrity eats for lunch? It turns out, yes, yes we are.
But we promise we have a good reason this time. And that reason is that we, as responsible and respectable adult women, have no effing clue what to eat for lunch 97% of the time.
It’s this weird, blank spot in our brain we encounter each day, and many times it leaves us scrambling to just grab whatever instead of what’s good for us.
Point is we’ll take lunch order inspiration where we can get it. Jen Aniston? Why not? Selena Gomez? We copied her clothes, why not copy her lunch?
And Selena’s lunch, added to the fact that she says she’s happy to order the same one every day when on the set of Only Murders in The Building, is kind of a great idea! It’s simple. It’s old school. It’s full of protein, and yet, we kind of forget it exists as an option.
Ladies and gentleman, we give you the chicken salad sandwich.
Ok fine, that isn’t her chicken salad sandwich. It’s ours. It has 50 grams of protein per serving and the recipe can be found HERE.
But enough about us. Let’s talk about why Selena’s lunch order is so solid.
Chicken salad is both easy to prepare and easy to make healthy. Apparently, Selena prefers hers with grapes and a pickle on the side.
And apparently her ritualistic lunch order is a habit picked up from Only Murders co-stars Martin Short and Steve Martin. “They eat the same thing every day and now I eat the same thing every day,” she said in an interview.
So why a chicken salad sandwich?
Protein, protein, protein.
You’ll actually feel full, focused, and satisfied until your next meal.
You can add a sea of other healthful elements that only make it more delicious.
Not all chicken salads are the same, but they all have the same basic elements. So to grasp its potential benefits, let’s run through those elements:
The Chicken
We use a store-bought “naked” rotisserie chicken from Whole Foods, which has 200 calories and 23 grams of protein per 3oz. But you can also buy and roast boneless breasts, which have about 128 calories and 26 grams of protein per 3oz. Shred or chop to your liking and your base is lots of satiating protein without a huge number of calories.
The “Mayo”
Yes, you can use mayo or light mayo, but we use Greek yogurt, because it’s one recipe where we scarcely taste the difference. The creaminess is there, and any spices we add take care of the rest of the flavor. Our favorite is Fagé 0% which has 15 grams of protein and 80 calories per 5.3oz carton. There’s also calcium for our bones and probiotics for our gut, so again great rewards in every spoonful.
The Celery and Onions
Celery is full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, lots of vitamins and minerals, and lots of water for hydration. Onions have heart healthy and potential anti-cancer properties. They have vitamins C and B which help with immunity and metabolism respectively. And they also have potassium, a heart healthy mineral that does a host of things we wrote all about HERE.
The Grapes
Grapes have the antioxidants resveratrol, polyphenols, and anthocyanins. These are associated with healthy aging, healthy hearts, and potential anti-cancer properties. If you have to pick a color, pick red or purple. They have more anthocyanins, which give them their dark pigment, and have a host of health rewards we wrote about HERE.
The “Bread”
You can do a lettuce wrap. We do it a lot, and it’s fine, guys. Not sad like some other lettuce-wrapped things. But we also opt for a whole grain bread like Ezekiel or THIS* low-calorie, whole wheat pita. It has only 70 calories per full pita with 6g of fiber and 6g of protein.
The Greens
Don't underestimate the things that feel like garnish. Tarragon, for example, a popular herb for chicken salad made all the more popular by the Barefoot Contessa herself, has manganese, iron and potassium. Another popular herb that gives your chicken salad some glorious Mediterranean-style freshness is dill, which has vitamins C and A, manganese and iron. Of course, you can add ample amounts of whatever lettuce you love. Dark greens like arugula, spinach, romaine and kale are great sources of fiber, folate, and carotenoids.
Other Lovely Additions
Walnuts: could help lower LDL cholesterol
Extra virgin olive oil: for extra richness and a dose of healthy fats
Chia seeds: For Omega 3s and fiber
Blueberries: For ample antioxidants and fat burn
Selena’s side pickle: Fermented foods are full of good bacteria for your gut.
Spices: We LOVE a curried chicken salad. This is where you get all the flavor that makes this meal not just healthy but deeply delicious.
So, that’s it. Nothing to overthink - just an unimposing, little chicken salad sandwich to solve our lunchtime woes.
And what better way to leave you than with the lunch we’re off to enjoy?
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