Strawberry Avocado & Blue Cheese Salad

-with grilled chicken and flax seeds

I'm baaaaaack!

First things first, I have my computer! Woot woot! As many of you know, my Mac unceremoniously kicked the bucket last week. If I'd known the Mac was going to do it's final swan song, I would have taken my month-long break then. Instead, I was forced to take another break just when I was getting back into the swing of things. Talk about frustrating. I had ideas swirling, words that needed to be put to paper, recipes to be shared...and no where to put them. I also keep my journal on the computer, so there went that creative outlet too. Since I usually do all my blogging, social media, and catching up on the news in the morning, it was a week of catching up on sleep. I found it hard to drag my butt out of bed when I didn't have the computer to drag my butt to. 

But that's all over now! The new Mac arrived in the mail yesterday, and the hubby immediately got to work. The first thing I'd asked him to do was to try to recover my photos from the old Mac. I had about 300 photos on the old computer, made up of 3 different recipes shoots that needed to be edited. I really didn't want to lose those, but due to me spilling coffee on the old Mac...

Did I forget to mention that?

Yeah, I spilled coffee on the old Mac the morning of the day that it died. Even though the Mac waited till 3 pm to take its last breath, I still think it was my fault the old computer died. Plus, I was in a never-resting state of anxiety that the hubby wouldn't be able to pull any information off the old hard drive. Luckily, the hubby had no problems and when I woke up this morning, there were those 300 pictures staring me in the face. 

That made my day. Also, the display on this new computer is AMAZING. When the hubby first was showing me the computer, he took me to my blog. I gasped, and had to ask, "Is that MY page? It almost looks (voice drops to a semi-whisper) professional!". 

He chuckled and told me that's how good computers look. And all this time, I never knew :)

Needless to say, all food and drink is banned around the new laptop, and is not allowed within 3 feet of it. 

I was fairly productive during my break however, and now I have about 600 photos total to go through and edit. It feels daunting, but I'm just happy to get back at it. I have about 50 million summer fruit recipes to share and only a month's time to do it! People in Blogland are already posting pumpkin recipes. For the love.

In the meantime, I have to recommend this salad. It's light, delicious, and summer-perfect. I'd planned on making a Blue Cheese dressing to go on the salad when I spied my Poppyseed Dressing in the fridge. Poppyseed Dressing is so good, I keep it on hand at all times. I made the executive decision to go ahead and use that dressing instead. If you keep the dressing on hand, all you have to do is slice up the fresh fruit and veggies for the salad.

Judging from the picture, the salad is actually more fruit than veggie... Because avocados and tomatoes are technically fruit. Maybe that's what makes it so good? Hehe.

During the summer, I like to keep grilled chicken on hand. I'll grill 3-4 breasts, and then divvy that up between different meals. Grilled chicken breast is perfect to use in salads, on sandwiches, in pastas, casseroles, etc. Keeping it already prepared on hand is a great timesaver. There have been a lot of  nights lately where the hubby just wants juice and I'm left to fend for myself. I'm not the biggest fan of cooking for one, so having chicken ready ensures I'll get a balanced meal.

Just chop up the breast, and put it right on top.

Oh yeeeeeeah.

Flax seeds are the perfect crunchy topper for the salad. They don't have a strong flavor, and like I said, they add texture to the salad. Flax seeds are extremely healthy for you. There's medical evidence that shows they may reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. They are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, and are a great source of fiber. You can find them in the grocery store, either in the organic section or around the sunflower seeds. Try them! You won't regret it.

Time to wrap up this glorious post! Just know not as much time will pass between this post and the next. This girl is back on track.

Have a great Tuesday friends!

Ingredients (serves 2):

4 cups Romaine lettuce

2 ounces Blue Cheese, crumbled

1 avocado, pitted and sliced

1/2 cup grape tomatoes, sliced

1 cup strawberries, chopped

1/4 cup red onion, chopped

1 cooked chicken breast, chopped

Poppyseed Dressing

2 tbsp flax seeds

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, put lettuce. Top lettuce with blue cheese, avocado, tomatoes, strawberries, onion, and chicken breast.

2. Toss salad with desired amount of dressing, to taste.

3. Divide salads between 2 plates, top each plate with 1 tbsp flax seeds. Serve immediately.

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from Gimme Some Oven.

If you liked this recipe, you may enjoy these-

Smoked Salmon Caesar Salad

Apple Walnut Salad

Mediterranean Falafel Salad

Linked to: Treasure Box Tuesday, Create It Thursday, Thank Goodness It's Thursday, Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party, Snickerdoodle Sunday