Pear salad with walnuts, avocado, and grilled chicken

Ingredients

Salad

• 6 cups (1.5 L) spring mix
• 2 pears (such as Red Anjou and Green Anjou), sliced or chopped
• 200 g grilled chicken breast (about ½ lb before grilling)
• 2 slices cooked turkey bacon
• ¼ cup (60 mL) goat cheese crumbles
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) dried cranberries
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped walnuts, raw or toasted
• ½ avocado, sliced or chopped into chunks

Maple Balsamic Dressing

• ¼ cup (60 mL) balsamic vinegar
• ¼ cup (60 mL) olive oil
• 1 tsp (5 mL) maple syrup
• 1 tsp (5 mL) Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp (5 mL) minced garlic
• ¼ tsp (1 mL) each salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp (1 mL) Italian seasoning

Instructions

1. Cook turkey bacon and grill chicken if you haven’t already. See tips.
2. Prepare dressing by whisking together all ingredients in a small bowl or jar.
3. To prep salad, grab four bowls and add a base of spring mix, pear slices, grilled chicken breast, bacon, goat cheese, dried cranberries, walnuts and avocado. Drizzle salad with balsamic dressing and enjoy!

Tips:

To cook turkey bacon:

Microwave: place slices on a paper towel lined microwave-safe place. Cover with another paper towel and cook on high in the microwave for 2-4 minutes, using 1-minute increments. Every microwave is different, so you’ll have to experiment with the timing for this. You want the bacon to be cooked through and crispy enough that it snaps when you chop/break it into pieces.

Stove-top: cook the bacon on the stove-top using the package instructions. 

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