Grilled Chicken Salad with Blueberry Elderberry Vinaigrette
Salads are one of the easiest and tastiest ways to load your diet with highly pigmented fresh fruits and veggies. My personal goal is to eat one salad a day, and part of the fun is figuring out new salad recipes so that I don't get bored. Raw, fresh and brightly colored foods are full of anti-oxidants which help the body stay healthy and fight off disease. Anti-oxidant rich foods are often indicated in disease management diets, including cancer. The top 12 cancer fighting foods include brightly colored vegetables, fruits and berries, along with lean organic meats, nuts, natural oils and cultured dairy products. I found a great info-graphic from Recommended Things that serves as my go to dietary guide, and it inspired me to create this version of a Grilled Chicken Salad with Blueberry Elderberry Vinaigrette. Our Blueberry Elderberry Vinaigrette recipe is inspired by a strawberry vinaigrette I learned to make many years ago, and it’s full of anti-oxidant rich elderberries and blueberries! Its the perfect dressing for a salad full of brightly colored fresh ingredients like red pepper, blueberries, mandarin oranges, baby greens, lean organic chicken and yummy goat cheese. The vinaigrette recipe makes about a cup of dressing, so you’ll have plenty left over to store in the fridge for several more creative, beautiful and tasty salads!
Salad Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless organic chicken breast halves
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- Mixed baby greens for two
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 2 fresh “Cutie” mandarin oranges, peeled and separated into wedges
- ½ fresh red pepper, cut into thin strips
- ½ fresh cucumber, sliced into thin rounds
- 1 cup crumbled goat cheese
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup Norm’s Farms Blueberry Elderberry Preserves
- 4 T Balsamic Vinegar
- 2 T Maple Syrup
- 1 to 2 T Norm’s Farms Elderberry Blueberry Extract (Children’s Formula)
- ¼ tsp dried mustard
- Pinch of salt
- Fresh Ground Black Pepper to taste ( a pinch or two)
Directions
- Prepare the Blueberry Elderberry Vinaigrette: Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well combined.
- Rub chicken breasts with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and grill, 5 to 7 minutes per side until done. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. If you don't have or don't want to bother with the grill, pan fry the breasts in a cast iron skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat, for 5 to 7 minutes per side, until the chicken is done. Let rest for about 5 minutes before slicing.
- Arrange baby greens on two large plates. Top with blueberries, mandarin wedges, red pepper strips, cucumber rounds, and sliced chicken. Top with crumbled goat cheese.
- Drizzle with Blueberry Elderberry Vinaigrette and serve.