Since we’ve been back from Colorado Brett and I have been on a serious clean eating kick. We’ve been tracking everything we eat and just barely started counting our macronutrients (still figuring it out though!) But we track everything we eat in My Fitness Pal (search it in the app store and get it on your phone). You can just scan the barcodes of the foods you eat + select the serving size and it calculates the calories + macronutrients. It makes tracking your snacks + meals really easy, especially once you get all of the foods you eat consistently in there.
Anyways…this Mexican Grilled Chicken Chopped Salad was the best thing I’ve thrown together for dinner in a couple of weeks! It takes a little bit of time to prep- you have to cook the chicken, cook the corn, and sauté the peppers. But that can all be done simultaneously (ish) and you can toss the salad together. Gosh, I’ve been really lazy because it’s actually pretty easy…
A friend recommended this Tarjin seasoning so I immediately ran out and bought it. We loved it. We seasoned the grilled chicken with it as well as sprinkled a little on top of the salad once it was all assembled. It adds this great tangy chili-lime flava’. Add your favorite dressing (like the Greek Yogurt Cilantro Lime Dressing in this recipe) or just balsamic vinegar ????
As pretty as this thing is, the boys won’t touch it. THERE’S LETTUCE you guys! There’s green stuff. Uggggg how do you get your kids to eat anything green?! When we are eating clean (lots of salads, higher protein, lower carb) we don’t necessarily have to make the boys something completely different.
Here’s what we do–
We basically deconstruct our meal into a kid-friendly meal. Break up the salad into the things I know they’ll eat–the grilled chicken (easy on the chili seasoning), the corn and tomatoes, a little cheese (not the goat cheese, they’d die), and then add a healthy grain like brown rice, quinoa, or pasta.
This brown rice
And we love love love using the Re-Play divided plates! They are perfect for deconstructed meals and my kids always eat better this way. Just break down whatever you are eating into just a few ingredients they will eat- protein, veggie, grain! Babies can just go to town with their tiny fingers once it’s deconstructed too. You need these for dinner this year 🙂
And you most definitely need this salad!!!! Have a great week friends!
- 1 head romain lettuce, chopped
- 2 large chicken breasts (or 5-6 tenders), thawed
- 1-2 tbsp Tarjin seasoning
- 5-6 mini bell peppers sliced into thin rounds
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 2 ears of corn
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes,
- 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese (or feta)
- Brush extra virgin olive oil on both sides of the chicken breasts (or tenders). Season both sides with a little salt and pepper and Tarjin seasoning (see pictured above). Cook on a grill on medium-high heat until completely cooked through. Remove from grill, cut into thin slices, and set aside.
- Boil the corn in water for 10-15 minutes, husks removed. Or cook on the grill, with husks still on for 15-20 minutes turning every 5 minutes.
- Add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to a skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add sliced peppers and saute until tender. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Toss romaine, chicken, corn, peppers, avocado, tomatoes and goat cheese together in a large bowl. Divide into two bowls.
- Or you can arrange the salad on a large plate or platter (like pictured above) for a prettier presentation!
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