Though I love hearty entree salads, I have a hard time serving them.


A salad for dinner? It just never seems like enough.


I guess it’s the country girl in me. You know the type – when a country girl asks ‘what do you want for dinner’ she really means which slab of meat do you want. She’ll figure out the rest from there…

So, if the main event is something other than a slab of meat – like a salad that includes meat as an afterthought – it feels a little weird to me. Like I’m going to leave people hungry or something.


It’s all mental, by the way. You know I don’t eat according to this philosophy. At least not all the time.
Regardless, it definitely presents a major hurdle when recipe-choosing.

It’s only fitting then that after seeing Heidi Swanson’s recipe for Black Bean Salad in Super Natural Every Day, I thought it would be a great side to a grilled chicken breast. But once I had the chicken grilled, I thought it might be even better chopped up and added to the salad.


I was right. It was great. And even though there wasn’t a big slab of meat, it was indeed enough. More than enough.

Black Bean Salad with Grilled Chicken

Adapted from Super Natural Every Day
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled and diced
1/2 cup roasted tomatoes, diced (raw tomatoes are equally good)
1 cup cooked black beans
1 cup cooked edamame
1/2 cup pepitas, toasted
1/2 cup feta
juice of 1 lemon
2 T olive oil
1 T kosher salt
Preparation:
Mix chicken, black beans, edamame, tomatoes, pepitas and feta. Dress with lemon juice, olive oil and salt, to taste.

Last Year – Summer Ratatouille