Strawberry Poppyseed Chicken salad (like from Panera)

So basically I have been trying to live right. And by right, I mean exercising and eating better so that I can finally say good riddance to the extra weight that has been chilling on my waistline for the past few years. I’ve traded doughnuts for salad (and I’m ever so slightly cranky from said doughnut deprivation).

A couple of weeks ago, I found myself making a few pickups from Panera for the strawberry poppy-seed chicken salad. And then I said ok, enough of making that run to Panera. I’ll make the salad myself.

So on my grocery run last weekend, I picked up the poppy-seed dressing from Meijer and some romaine lettuce, pecans, blueberries, strawberries, and pineapples. I already keep a pantry stock of mandarin oranges because Ash loves them. I also already had leftover baked chicken breast at home. Baked chicken breast has been a staple in my meals as of late.

I came home, put the chicken breast in the oven to warm, and put together the salad. And not to toot my own horn but toot. It was better than Paneras! I’ve had enough of the ingredients to make the salad twice now. And it makes enough to have multiple servings.

The second time I made this salad, Brian asked me why I hadn’t blogged about it because it was so good. So, here it is. The blog post about me copying Panera’s strawberry poppy-seed chicken salad that ends up being better than Paneras!

Here is what you need for the salad: