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I don’t know about you guys, but I eat a lot of salad in a regular week. There was definitely a time in my life when I ate salad every day after falling victim to diet culture. This meant counting calories obsessively, avoiding carbs and heavy workouts almost every day. But those days are YEARS behind me and I am SO glad. Now-a-days, I eat to nourish my body and soul. I finally got past seeing foods only for their caloric value (or lack of). And I honed in on how good salads make my body feel. This Everyday Autumn Salad is, of course, no exception!
With lean protein from chicken breast, healthy fats from avocado and pecans, satiating complex carbs from the sweet potato, and hints of sweetness and tartness from the apple and goji berries, this salad is SO satisfying, and it makes me feel great! I seriously ate this for lunch for a week straight and my gut and body loved it!
Notes on Ingredients + FODMAP Info
Chicken Breast – I always, always brine my chicken breast before roasting. Letting the chicken breast sit in a salt water solution adds extra moisture and a little more tenderness before it’s roasted in the oven. A short 10-15 minute brine is all you need to for a noticeable difference!
Garlic-Infused Olive Oil – If you’re using store-bought garlic-infused oil, beware of ingredients that could make it high FODMAP, like “garlic oil,” “garlic essential oil,” “garlic essence,” “garlic flavoring,” or “natural roasted garlic flavor.” My favorite garlic-infused oil is by Garlic Gold, which I usually order in bulk off of Amazon.
Italian Spices – Instead of buying a premixed jar of Italian spices which tend to have garlic powder, I combine what I already have on hand. Feel free to change these spices to your preference!
Dijon Vinaigrette – This simple vinaigrette is zesty and free from added sugar. Prefer a sweeter dressing? Turn this into a maple Dijon vinaigrette and add a touch of maple syrup to taste!
Avocado – Low FODMAP in ~1oz servings, which is 1/8 of a large avocado. Use 1/2 of an avocado to make this salad FODMAP friendly. Definitely increase the amount if you can tolerate it!
Toasted Pecans – I lightly toast pecans either in a small skillet on low heat, or in the toaster oven. It takes only a couple of minutes and really brings out a nutty richness. It also makes them even crunchier! Highly addicting.
Dried Goji Berries – Goji berries are low FODMAP in 3 tsp servings. Using 1/4 of a cup is the perfect amount to keep this low FODMAP. You can sub this out for 1/3 cup of dried cranberries which is low FODMAP in 1 tbsp servings. Just be sure that the dried cranberries don’t have high fructose corn syrup or apple juice added!
Apple – Apple is actually low FODMAP in 0.99oz servings! This is about 2 slivers of apple, but I’ll take what I can get! A 1/2 cup of chopped apple is less than 4 servings, so this is FODMAP friendly. Be wary if you’re on the elimination phase.
Enjoy!
If you make this Everyday Autumn Salad, leave a comment, give the recipe a rating or tag me on Instagram! It gives me so much joy when you guys try my recipes. And I’d love to know if you enjoy them as much as I do! 🙂
Everyday Autumn Salad with Chicken Breast – Low FODMAP, Paleo, Whole30
Ingredients
For the Oven
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 2 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- 1½ tablespoon garlic-infused olive oil
- 1 teaspoon low FODMAP Italian spice mix OR the below spices
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon dried sage
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- fine sea salt to taste
- 2 medium sweet potatoes peeled & diced into 1/2-inch cubes
For the Dressing
- 3 tablespoons garlic-infused olive oil
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
Assembling the Salad
- 3 ounces spring mix
- 2 ounces baby arugula
- ½ cup chopped apple red variety
- ½ large avocado peeled & diced
- ½ cup chopped pecans lightly toasted
- ¼ cup dried goji berries unsweetened
Instructions
Roast the Chicken Breast & Sweet Potato
- Prepare brine by combining 2 cups of warm-to-room-temperature water with salt in a medium bowl. Stir to dissolve salt and set aside.
- Pound chicken breast with meat tenderizer or rolling pin to an even thickness, until about 2 centimeters or 0.8-inch thick. Place into brine and let sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes.
- While the chicken is brining, preheat oven to 425°F. Line 9×13-inch baking tray with foil and lightly grease with olive oil, avocado oil or coconut oil to prevent sticking.
- Once 15-20 minutes is up, remove chicken, rinse with water to get off excess salt form the surface and pat dry.
- Place chicken on one side of the baking sheet and cubed sweet potato on the other side. Drizzle garlic-infused oil over both. Sprinkle spices and black pepper over chicken breast, giving them a rub to distribute oil and spices. Lightly salt and pepper sweet potato to taste.
- Roast in oven for 18-22 minutes until chicken breast juices run clear, or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Let chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing for serving.
Prepare the Dressing
- Place all dressing ingredients into a small bowl and whisk with a fork or small whisk to combine all ingredients. You can also place ingredients into a small mason jar, cover with lid and shake vigorously.
Assemble the Salad
- Lightly toast pecans
- Combine fresh arugula and spring mix in a large bowl. Toss greens and sweet potato with 2/3 of the salad dressing. Place on serving dish if using.
- Sprinkle diced avocado, chopped & toasted pecans, dried goji berries and apple slices evenly over the salad greens. Layer on cooked chicken breast and drizzle the remaining dressing over the top of the salad to serve.
- If using as meal prep or if only serving 1, store ingredients separately and assemble with each meal.
Notes
- If using store-bought garlic-infused oil that is not certified FODMAP-friendly, make sure to use a brand that doesn’t list “garlic oil,” “garlic essential oil,” “garlic essence,” “garlic flavoring,” “natural roasted garlic flavor,” or anything similar in the ingredients list. There’s no way to know whether these ingredients are low FODMAP. More on that in this article on FODMAP Everyday.