Family-Style Chicken Caprese Salads

Hi there! It’s been a minute since I have posted a new recipe so I’m really excited to get this one up today! I created this recipe way back in the summer when still pregnant with baby girl. I love my Chicken Caprese Salad Jars and, one night when in search for an easy summer dinner idea for me and my husband, I decided to make a deconstructed version of that and see how it would go. Turns out it was a hit! This salad is really easy to throw together and while it is simple, it is also full of flavor! My husband loves it every time we make it. You can bake or grill your chicken for this dish or you can do what I end up doing much of the time and use store-bought rotisserie chicken and shred it into the salad. You can also use your favorite store-bought balsamic vinaigrette, but I always end up whisking mine together from a few ingredients I always have on hand (recipe below). This has been a great go-to recipe for busy weeknights and, bonus, you can pack up any leftovers and store in the refrigerator for a salad for lunch the next day! I love this salad because it’s got most of your meal components in one bowl - protein, dairy, veggie, and whole grain. Sometimes I include quinoa in this salad (it is in the jars) but when I don’t we always have fresh bread with it (and may dip it in our leftover vinaigrette - yum!). Hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

Happy Fueling!

Taylor

family-style chicken caprese salad

Makes 2 to 3 salads

SALAD INGREDIENTS:

• 6 cups mixed greens

• 1 cup diced mozzarella cheese (I buy one ball of mozzarella and that makes at least 1 cup diced)

• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes (typically about 1/2 a pint)

• 1 1/2 tablespoons jarred pesto

• 1 cup warm pulled rotisserie chicken (or bake/grill your own and shred)

• About 2 to 3 tablespoons Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing (store-bought or my recipe below)

• 6 leaves fresh basil, julienned or torn

BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

• 1 teaspoon honey

• pinch of salt

BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk quickly to combine all ingredients.

2. Drizzle over your favorite salad or use as a dip for fresh bread and enjoy!

SALAD DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, toss the mixed greens with the Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing (you can use more or less dressing as preferred).

2. In a medium bowl, toss together the cheese, tomatoes and warm chicken with pesto. If chicken has been stored in the refrigerator warm it up for about 15 seconds in the microwave.

3. Top the mixed greens with the pesto coated chicken, cheese & tomato mixture.

4. Add torn or julienned basil to the top and serve!

Tahini Caesar Salad Jars: An easy & satisfying dairy-free salad for parent & young athlete

Wow, I have not posted in a while because life has obviously taken a sudden turn. My typical workday has been turned upside down and new responsibilities and priorities have taken over. However, while life currently looks very different, I still want to write and I still want to share nutrition information and recipes that I think might be valuable to you guys. As you know if you’ve been following along, I try to keep my recipes simple with minimal ingredients and so I hope you can use my site for some helpful resources during this crazy time. These recipes might be helpful because, for some of you, this new schedule has left you with even less time during the day. Yet, for others, this new way of life may mean more time at home and a need to fill some free time for you or for you and your kids. For those in the former group, these take around an hour to completely prep and then you have lunches to quickly grab out of the fridge during the week. For the latter group, this might be a good time to experiment in your kitchen with whatever groceries you have or are able to have on hand and today’s recipe might be a good one to try! Today I’m sharing my Tahini Caesar Salad Jars that you heard me talk about a ton in previous months. It uses pretty common ingredients (except the tahini may be uncommon for some), and, from my recent experience, these items can still found on the shelves in grocery stores.

In the last few months, in an effort to find some easy prep meals and simplify my weekday mornings, I have been trying out different salad jar combinations. My first experiment was these Chicken Caprese Salad Jars and they turned out wonderfully!! Check out my post for the recipe AND how you can tailor them to meet the needs of the young athlete. My second experiment was these Tahini Caesar Salad Jars. If you’ve been following me for a while then you may remember the Tahini Caesar Dressing that I posted a while back. I seriously do love this dressing and am convinced that it makes everything better! I knew I wanted to use that dressing in my ingredient combination for these jars. It took a few tries to get the proportions right for me, but I think this is perfect for your everyday lunch. The tahini dressing takes no time to whip up and you can do that and saute the mushrooms in a skillet while you let the quinoa cook (quinoa is a very low maintenance grain to cook!).

I love the final flavor combinations of this salad as well. I really don’t know which salad jar I like better! With this recipe you will have a little extra tahini dressing and I would save it in an airtight container in your fridge to use for salads, bowls or dipping sauces later in the week. It’s a fabulous and easy way to add a punch of flavor to otherwise simple and, maybe a little bland, dishes.

So, what about the athlete? How does this salad jar fit into his / her sports nutrition plan (I know many athletes are not able to practice right now. However, I feel it’s still a good time to learn and so I will continue to share tips and facts with you in this space.)? Well, the same rules apply for these as for my Chicken Caprese Salad Jars so I would make sure to give that post a read if you need to up the carbohydrate or change any of the proportions. And, a reminder, while this is a great all-in-one salad, it should not be the only thing the athlete has for lunch. Especially if the athlete is in training season or competition season, this one jar will not be enough. My Chicken Caprese Salad Jar post also has ideas of sides to add along with this lunch so definitely check it out!

So, here you go, the recipe for my Tahini Caesar Salad Jar.s I hope it simplifies your weekdays just a little and helps fuel you and / or your young athlete!

Happy Fueling!

Taylor

Tahini Caesar Salad Jars

Makes 3 jars

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 tablespoons Tahini Caesar Dressing

• 1/2 to 1 cup, uncooked quinoa (I always go ahead and cook 1 cup dry so I have leftovers for dinners during the week. If you don’t want leftovers, prepare about 1/2 cup dry quinoa)

• 3/4 cup halved cherry tomatoes

• Salt, to taste

• 3/4 cup quartered roasted baby bella mushrooms

• 1 1/2 cup diced or pulled store-bought rotisserie chicken

• 3 cups chopped romaine lettuce

DIRECTIONS:

1. Whisk together all ingredients for the Tahini Caesar Dressing.

2. Cook quinoa according to package directions.

3. While quinoa is cooking, heat a small skillet to medium heat and add the quartered baby bella mushrooms. Cook about 5 to 10 minutes until they start to soften and release their water. Remove from the heat.

4. Ideally, allow the ingredients to cool as much as you can but, if time doesn’t allow, go ahead and begin assembling.

5. To assemble each jar add:

   • 2 tablespoons Tahini Caesar dressing

   • 1/4 cup cooked quinoa

   • 1/4 cup halved cherry tomatoes

   • Pinch of salt

   • 1/4 cup quartered roasted baby bella mushrooms

   • 1/2 cup diced or pulled rotisserie chicken

   • Another drizzle of tahini dressing

   • 1 cup chopped Romaine lettuce

6. Once cooled, add the tops to your containers and store them in the refrigerator for lunches during the week! You can eat them straight from the jar, or dump out the ingredients into a big bowl and toss all ingredients together. I enjoy it both ways, just depends on where I’m eating lunch that day!

Chicken Caprese Salad Jars: An easy fueling lunch for busy parent OR athlete!

This is a new creation that is fast and absolutely fabulous! I feel like I’m being dramatic in saying that, but really, it is so delicious. I thought it would be pretty good, but after mixing it up and taking a bite, I even surprised myself! The mix of flavors is just so. darn. fantastic. The balsamic melds with the quinoa and then you mix that with the basil and mozzarella, pinch of salt and pepper, the sweet tomatoes and the flavor-packed tender rotisserie chicken. Really, friends, I hope you make a bunch of these for busy weeks ahead!

I love these, yes, because they are delicious, but also because it’s everything in one jar! Just make sure you have a fork on hand to dig in! This recipe is easy for a quick break between shuttling kids or taking care of babies, a satisfying and energizing lunch between meetings at work, AND an easy lunch for the young athlete! I eat this straight from the jar or deconstruct the salad on one plate. Now, I absolutely LOVE the ingredient combo in this one and think the flavors and textures are spot on, but you can, of course, mix it up if you want. I fully intend to do this in the weeks to come. Although, I’ll probably always end up coming back to this guy. Just. So. Good.

Constructing Salad Jars for the Young Athlete

Now, let’s shift focus to the young athlete for a minute. What if you are making this for your athlete? Maybe it’s for his or her school lunch or a pre or post game / practice dinner? What should your salad jar consist of? How much of each ingredient should you include? Here is how I would think about it:

1. You need at least 3 different food groups (out of the 6: meat or meat equivalent, fruit, veggie, grains/starch, dairy, healthy fat)

2. You need a source of protein (one food group), you need a source of carbohydrate (grains, starchy veggies, fruit, milk / yogurt), and you need some colorful veggies!

3. The meal needs to work with the training schedule and performance goals AND be something he or she actually WANTS to eat (that’s a big one!). What are the athlete’s goals right now?? What sport is he or she in? What foods does he/she like? This will determine the composition and portions of the jar!

   • If your young athlete is in a season of heavy training…

     • there should be more grains & starch than what is in my salad pictured here (I am not in a season of heavy sports training and 2-a-days). The grain/starch choice is your athlete’s main source of energy in this dish. Protein must be present as well, and make sure you can squeeze some veggies in there!

   • If your athlete is in the off season or maybe his/her sport is not as intense …

     • he or she will want a greater amount of the veggies than the grains and starch. Still make sure their is a source of protein!

   • If weight loss is a concern and you’re trying to help your athlete maintain his/her weight during the season…

     • Make whole grains and/or starchy veggies the majority of the jar. the 2nd highest ingredient should be the protein (for maintaining / building lean muscle). Include the veggies that you can. Accompany with some healthy fat, as tolerated.

   • Make sure to include a little healthy fat for satiety, even if weight maintenance isn’t your goal, unless practice or performance is within the next couple of hours or so (although some athletes in lower intensity sports can tolerate fats like peanut butter, nuts and seeds, and avocado just fine before practice).

   • Make sure there is something that adds flavor! In my Chicken Caprese Salad jar, the balsamic vinaigrette at the bottom of the jar infuses through everything and adds a new dimension of flavor. Then, to top it off are the shreds of basil, a drizzle of pesto, and the rotisserie chicken.

4. What didn’t fit in the jar? This is the great feature of a meal, but in most cases, it shouldn’t be the only thing. Veggies didn’t fit? Add them on the side with some hummus or Greek yogurt dip. Don’t feel like you got enough grains? Accompany with some whole grain crackers or a hearty granola bar. Athlete still feels hungry after lunch? Add a Greek yogurt, cup of cottage cheese or string cheese to pump up the protein, which aids in satiety. And there’s always room for fruit! It’s adds energy from quality carbohydrates as well as fluid and a little something sweet to accompany the meal.

Do you already do salad jars in your home? If so, tell me about it by commenting below! I and others would love to hear your ideas! Questions about portions or ingredients? Put those in the comments as well.

Happy Fueling!

Taylor

Chicken Caprese Salad Jars

Serves 1

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Tbsp Balsamic vinaigrette (store bought or homemade, see recipe below)

• 1/2 cup Cooked quinoa

• 1/2 cup Diced fresh mozzarella cheese

• sprinkle of salt & pepper

• 1/2 cup Halved cherry / grape tomatoes

• 1 tablespoon jarred pesto (or more if desired)

• 1/4 to 1/2 cup Pulled rotisserie chicken (you can make yourself but I’m typically using store bought)

• 1 teaspoon Julienned Basil

INGREDIENTS FOR QUICK & EASY BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE DRESSING:

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

• 1/2 tablespoon honey

• a pinch of salt & pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. If using homemade dressing, whisk all ingredients together in a small mixing bowl or pour all ingredients into a small mason jar, close the lid, and shake up to combine all ingredients.

2. Using a medium-size spoon (like a soup spoon), spoon ingredients into jar, one layer at a time in the following order:

   • Balsamic vinaigrette

   • Quinoa

   • Fresh mozzarella

   • salt & pepper

   • Halved tomatoes

   • Jarred pesto

   • Chicken

   • Basil

     *I try to press it down just a little to make sure I can get all the delicious ingredients inside.

3. Screw the top on and store in the refrigerator until ready to use!

4. Enjoy!