Picture of The Day – 67/365 – Baby Spinach with Chicken, Goat Cheese, and Walnuts

Look Ma! Barely Any Carbs!

How does one eat well, and avoid all those empty carbohydrates?

I used to think that a salad was what women ordered when they went out for lunch. Where was my hamburger and poutine? Well, I admit it, I was so wrong.

Salads are a great vehicle for lunch. Infinitely customizable, you can add or subtract to your liking, anything goes.

This salad was made with what was near at hand; spiced walnuts, some cherry tomatoes, a log of goat cheese, and chicken fresh off the grill. The olive oil and the red wine vinegar tie everything together while cutting through the richness of the goat cheese.

For those of you out there who have adjusted your eating lifestyle, this salad will put the zip back into lunch, and make you wonder how you subsisted on just burgers and poutine.

Baby Spinach Salad with Grilled Chicken, Goat Cheese, and Spiced Walnuts

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

For the Chicken:

200 grams (7 oz) chicken breast
5 g (1 tablespoon) Montreal Steak Spice

For the Salad:

50 g (2 cups) baby spinach
100 g (4 oz) chicken breast, grilled (see below)
50 g (about 2 oz) spiced walnuts (toasted is fine)
50 g (about 2 oz) goat cheese, crumbled
2 cherry tomatoes
15 mL (3 teaspoons) extra-virgin olive oil
10 mL (2 tablespoons) red wine vinegar

Method:

For the Chicken:

Preheat grill to high; clean and oil.
Rub chicken with steak seasoning, then place presentation side down.
Cook for 2 minutes, then turn chicken over.
Cook another 2 minutes, then turn chicken 90° and flip. (The rungs of your grill will form a hatch mark this way.)
Cook another 2 minutes, then flip.
Continue cooking the chicken breast until the inside is no longer pink. This may take from 2 to 4 minutes. The inside should be cooked, not dry, but not pink either.
Allow chicken to rest for 10 minutes; slice on bias.