Berry summer salad + avocado dressing

If you follow me on Instagram then you know that I'm kicking off my summer series with Gabbie Cox of Ciao Bella blog. A couple of weeks ago we made a pit stop to Whole Foods here in Fayetteville to grab some ingredients for the perfect salad. Summer is unofficially here and I don't know about y'all but it has me craving all the fresh fruit especially berries! I wanted to share one of my favorite meals with y'all along with an adapted avocado dressing recipe from Whole Living Lauren.


The best part about this salad is you can add chicken to it to make it the main course or leave it out for a side salad.  I'm all about simple ingredients and easy preparation especially when it comes to dinner. Ain't nobody got time for all the mess of a complicated meal! (Or maybe I'm just too impatient! ha!)

 

I wanted my dressing to have a thicker and creamier consistency so I went with an entire avocado... if you want a thinner dressing than use half of an avocado for the dressing.

Once Frank realized Gabbie and I weren't sharing a bite he was ready to head outside to enjoy the cooler temps. We shot this a few Saturdays ago when we had lots of rain.

 

Ingredients:(feeds 4)

Salad:
1 lb of chicken (4 oz. per person.)
2 cups strawberries
1 1/4 cups blueberries
1/4 cup feta cheese (optional)
4 cups spinach
2 cups arugula
salt
pepper
garlic powder
1 tbs coconut oil

Dressing:
fresh basil (I used thai basil which is a bit stronger than the regular)
2 garlic cloves

1 whole avocado (you can adjust amount of avocado to desired consistency)
juice from 1/2 lemon
1.5 tbs white wine vinegar

2-3 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Combine all the dressing ingredients into food processor and blend until smooth and chill in the fridge. Adjust liquids/avocado for desired consistency.

2. Cut chicken into strips and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. 

3. Heat coconut oil over medium/high heat.

4. Once the coconut oil is melted place strips of chicken in the skillet and continue to cook on each side for 5 minutes.

5. In the meantime, wash the berries and cut strawberries into slices.

6. Combine spinach, arugula, berries and the cheese in a bowl. Once the chicken is finished cooking place chicken and top and serve promptly as to not wilt the spinach and arugula.

7. Add dressing as desired!

Click images below to shop the post.

Be Well,

Lindsey