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Berry Avocado Salad

Prep Time 0 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

Chicken (optional)

  • 3-4 small chicken breasts or tenderloins
  • 2 tsp garlic salt
  • 1 tsp italian seasoning

Salad Ingredients

  • 6-8 c. fresh spinach
  • 1 avocado, sliced (sprinkle avocado with salt - tastes so much better this way)
  • 3-4 c. fresh berries (I used strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries)
  • 1 c. chopped candied pecans (buy in produce section or near salad dressings)
  • 1/2 c. fontina or feta cheese
  • salt, for topping

Greek Yogurt Poppyseed Dressing (or you can use store-bought Brianna's poppyseed dressing)

  • 1 c. Greek yogurt (low fat or no fat)
  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 1/4 c. vinegar
  • 4 tsp. poppyseeds

Pureed Strawberry Dressing (alternate dressing - or you can use Brianna's blush wine vinaigrette)

  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 tbsp. white vinegar
  • 1.5 c. fresh strawberries
  • 1/3 c. fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/4 c. white sugar

Instructions

Chicken (grilled or roasted)

  • Season both sides of chicken with garlic salt and italian seasoning. 
  • Place chicken on grill or on lightly greased baking sheet. If grilling, cook on each side for 7-8 minutes until cooked through (depending on thickness).
  • If roasting chicken in oven, preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit. Once chicken is on lightly greased baking sheet, roast for about 10-12 minutes on each side until chicken is cooked through.
  • Once chicken is cooked, sprinkle with more salt (if the chicken is salty it's a nice complement to the sweet fruit and dressing), then slice into small pieces and set aside until ready to assemble salad. 

Poppyseed Dressing

  • Before assembling salad, make dressing. Combine all ingredients in a large mason jar and shake together to mix (or whisk together in a bowl). Chill until ready to serve. 
  • Dressing can be made ahead of time and chilled. If you don't have time to make the dressing, any store bought poppyseed dressing works great too.

Assembling Salad

  • In a large bowl toss together fruit, nuts, feta, and spinach with enough dressing to coat. I like to then divide that out onto each person's plate and then make the plates look nice by adding the chicken, avocado, and a little extra dressing on top of each plate or bowl individually. 
  • If making for a large group, toss all ingredients together in an oversized bowl, but wait to dress until just before serving so spinach doesn't wilt.

Alternate Strawberry Salad Dressing

  • To make this salad a little lighter, you can use a strawberry vinaigrette. Puree these ingredients in a blender:
    2 tbsp. olive oil
    2 tbsp. white vinegar
    1 1/2 c. fresh strawberries
    1/3 c. fresh squeezed lemon juice
    1/4 c. white sugar
  • Before serving toss some of this strawberry dressing with the chicken, then toss the chicken into the salad and dress the salad. This is a great summer fresh variation!