Never underestimate the power of a good lunch to see you through the day, a fresh meal full of color and crunch that keeps one foot moving in front of the other.  Put down your take out container or child’s leftover sandwich crusts and eat a meal that treats your body kindly.  If we care for our bodies like we care for our families and jobs imagine how we could run.

Loaded with raw slivered almonds, fresh strawberries and thinly sliced green onions, this chicken salad sustains you through your afternoon.  A goat cheese and buttermilk dressing with a bit of honey and chopped tarragon lightly coats the shredded, store-bought rotisserie chicken breasts.  Earthy baby spinach rounds out this slightly sweet and creamy chicken salad.  Serve with a couple of pieces of fresh crusty bread or not, roll it into a wrap or eat directly out of the bowl; whatever suits you.

Strawberry Almond Chicken Salad with Balsamic Goat Cheese Dressing

Goat Cheese Dressing Slightly Adapted from the Food Network

Serves 4

Ingredients for Balsamic Goat Cheese Dressing:

4 ounces goat cheese, at room temperature

2 tablespoons buttermilk

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Pinch of Kosher salt

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves

Directions:

Grab a medium bowl and whisk together the goat cheese and buttermilk until smooth.  Next, add the honey, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, pepper, salt and chopped tarragon leaves.  Season to taste with additional salt and/or pepper.   Set aside.

Ingredients for Chicken Salad:

1 rotisserie chicken,  breasts shredded

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1 green onion, finely sliced

handful of strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced

sea salt

fresh ground black pepper

balsamic glaze ( I bought a bottle, but you can also make your own.)

Handful of baby spinach, washed and dried

Optional:

Crusty bread, grilled

whole wheat wraps

store-bought croissants

Directions:

Remove the breasts from  your store-bought rotisserie chicken and shred using two forks.  Place shredded chicken in bowl with goat cheese dressing.  Next add almonds and the green onion.  Mix together until combined.  Gently fold in strawberries.  Season to taste with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.  Scoop out a good portion of chicken salad and place on a bed of baby spinach.  Drizzle with balsamic glaze.  Serve with grilled crusty bread, whole wheat wraps, or store- bought croissants.  Enjoy!

5 Salad Meal Links

I love fruit in chicken salad, but watermelon?  Pinch of Yum’s Balsamic Watermelon Chicken Salad is on my must try list.  I’m so curious about this recipe.  I think my kids might even eat it!

Looking for a hearty vegetarian salad? Check out Edible Perspective’s recipe for avocado pesto chickpea salad.

Peach and roasted vegetables sounds like summer in a bowl.  Head to Love and Lemons for the recipe.

Girl Verses Dough created a new spin on tuna salad: Brussels sprouts tuna salad.  Yum!

It’s Thursday and the weekend is almost here.  Treat yourself and make Joy the Baker’s easy spinach and strawberry chopped salad.