Heathy Italian Chopped Salad

One of the easiest ways to save money and eat healthy meals at home is to buy a rotisserie chicken. If you work long hours, but you're tired of eating out all the time, you could easily pick up a rotisserie chicken from a grocery store and use it all week. You could make your own roast chicken at home, of course, but for time sake, rotisserie is the way to go.



One of my favorite salads of all time is an italian chopped salad. Salami has held a special place in my heart ever since I was a kid. Some people are grossed out by it, but I love it.



So I decided to make one at home and try and spruce it up a bit--make it healthier. I used organic baby romaine lettuce and organic spinach, and chopped the greens up. In addition, I made my own vinaigrette with fresh basil, lemon juice, olive oil and red wine vinegar. I used part-skim mozzarella and good quality salami, free of nitrates and chemicals.



The thing with italian chopped salad is that you can pretty much throw in whatever you want, that's what makes it so great. You can obviously omit any of these ingredients and change the salad to your liking. I had to throw in some cheesy garlic bread with mine (Brett's request). But with these simple ingredients, I assure you, this will be one of the best salads you've ever had.




Ingredients: (serves 2)

2 cups chopped organic spinach
3 cups chopped organic baby romaine
1 cup chickpeas (drained)
1/2 cup julienne cut salami
1 cup chopped chicken
5-7 leaves of basil, chopped
1/2 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup shredded light mozzarella

For the Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
juice of half a lemon
1/4 teaspoon whole grain mustard
1 tablespoon of chopped basil
1 tablespoon fresh parmesan cheese
pinch of salt and pepper (to taste)

In a large bowl mix the greens together. Top with chickpeas, salami, chopped chicken, cheese, tomatoes, and fresh basil. In a small bowl (I prefer mason jar) whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, basil, and parmesan cheese until it emulsifies. Add salt and pepper to taste. Dress salad with vinaigrette right before serving.