Fall in love with this super healthy salad of mixed greens, red cabbage, quinoa, chicken, red onion, dried cherries, roasted almonds and feta all tossed in a lemon parsley vinaigrette. A salad that makes you feel great!
Believe it or not, I love salad just as much as I love sweets. I’m a firm believer in a salad a day. Whether it’s as a meal or as a side to another main dish, a salad a day makes me feel great. It has to be a really really good salad though. No iceberg allowed (unless of course it’s a wedge occasion). I like my salads with the greenest of greens and lots of veggies, grains, nuts and fruits for texture and flavor.
This summer I’ve been craving salads like never before. Maybe it’s the Texas heat and the fact that I’m pregnant. I just want to feel light and fresh and salads do just that. About a month ago, I was out running errands and stopped by this fast-casual salad place called Snappy Salads for a quick lunch. You can build your own salad or choose one of their salad creations. I went with their Bam Bam salad, which is exactly like the one I’m sharing with you today with a few additions on my end, and I fell in love with it! It has so much going on yet it’s light and fresh and full of flavor.
After my first Bam Bam salad experience, I found myself back at Snappy Salads several times a week because I just couldn’t get enough of it. Well, I decided that spending nearly $12 on a salad several days a week was absolutely ridiculous when I could easily make and enjoy it at home. With just a little prep at the beginning of the week, I could eat this salad every day. And that, my friends, is what I’ve been doing. 🙂
It’s such a great salad! The combination of spinach, kale, arugula, red cabbage, quinoa, chicken, red onion, dried cherries, roasted almonds and feta all tossed together with a homemade lemon parsley vinaigrette is pure salad perfection.
This salad wouldn’t be as great as it is without the lemon parsley vinaigrette. It’s so full of fresh flavor and brings all of the greatness together so well. It will excite your taste buds and have you craving it again and again.
I’ve started buying all of the ingredients for this salad on Sunday and prepping everything early in the week so I can throw it together in a matter of minutes for lunch or dinner throughout the week. I’m obsessed!
If you love salad or are looking for a salad to fall in love with, this is the one. What’s not to love about a healthy salad that you can eat as a meal, fill you up and make you feel fabulous?! Enjoy!
xoxo,
- Lemon Parsley Vinaigrette:
- 2 cups packed fresh parsley, leaves and stems
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- kosher salt & black pepper, to taste
- Salad:
- 2 cups combo of spinach, kale & arugula
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced red cabbage
- 1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked & diced
- ¼ cup cooked quinoa
- ¼ cup chopped red onion
- ¼ cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons dried cherries
- 2 tablespoons chopped roasted almonds
- 2 tablespoons crumbled feta
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon parsley vinaigrette
- For the vinaigrette, pulse parsley, lemon juice, champagne vinegar and olive oil in a food processor until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- For the salad, place the greens, cabbage, chicken, quinoa, red onion and cherry tomatoes in a medium bowl. Toss with 2-3 tablespoons of the prepared lemon parsley vinaigrette. Add the dried cherries, chopped almonds and crumbled feta and toss to combine. Serve and enjoy!
Â
Oh you know this is my kind of salad. Immediately when you posted the photo from the restaurant a few weeks back on Insta, I was hoping you would recreate it. Thanks for the yumminess! P.S. Can’t wait to see photos from your trip! Also, we need a skype date. xoxo
Thanks friend! 🙂 That salad you just posted on insta looks amazing too. Salad love! I’ve been anxious to blog pics from our trip, but I’m having trouble transferring them from my phone to my computer for some reason. Probably took too many. ;);) Let’s definitely skype soon and also plan to see each other again asap. Miss you! xoxo
[…] Chicken Quinoa Powerhouse Salad with Lemon Parsley Vinaigrette from The Baker Mama […]