Take A Bite

When you’re trying to be healthy at a tex-mex restaurant, so you order a salad only to have it change your life. I had this salad from Mesero for the first time last Friday. It comes across very basic on the menu, but I literally couldn’t get enough of it. The Del Corazon reads: bibb lettuce, hearts of palm, avocado, heirloom grape tomato, house-made vinaigrette. I’m having a moment with hearts of palm and artichokes after finding out they are sneaky full of fiber. So when I saw them in this salad I said add chicken and call it dinner.

It was one of those meals that as I was eating I knew I would have to recreate it. I know it sounds strange to have such a draw to a salad, but your girl loves her an entree salad so go with me. I woke up Saturday morning ehhhh slightly hungover after a few too many ranch waters and wanted nothing but said salad. I could have had it delivered but we were looking at $20+ after fees, so I walked my booty to my neighborhood Trader Joe’s and bought enough ingredients to serve four people at the same price delivery would have been.

I’ll wrap it up now and you can keep scrolling for the recipe. Oh and because this is everything, del corazon translates to from the heart, and I love this salad with all my heart.

Del Corazon Ensalada
serves 4

Ingredients:
1 - 7oz bag of butter lettuce
2 cups of spinach
1 avocado, cubed in large chunks
12oz. can hearts of palm, drained and sliced
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes

Dressing:
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (if you don’t have red pepper flakes a few dashes of hot sauce works great)
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp. olive oil
3 tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 tbsp. mustard (dijon or whole grain works best)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Start by prepping all of your toppings and salad dressing. The chicken cooks fast, so I like to do it last that way you can add the hot crispy chicken right to the top of the salad.

In a large salad bowl toss the butter lettuce and spinach together. Add the avocado, tomatoes, and hearts of palm on top. In a small bowl or mason jar, add all of the dressing ingredients, reserving 1 tbsp. of olive oil. Whisk or shake to combine, then set aside.

Heat the reserved tablespoon of olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the cubed chicken and let cook on one side, without moving, for about 2-3 minutes. You want to get that good crispy crust. Flip and cook for 2- 3 minutes on the other side. From there sprinkle a large pinch of salt over the chicken and stir around in the pan to make sure it is fully cooked through and crispy golden brown. Add the hot chicken to you salad. Pour on the dressing and toss to combine. Finish with some fresh ground pepper and cilantro leaves if you choose.

Annie

Okay so maybe not every salad kit. I suppose Caesar salad and coleslaw would fall into the “salad kit” category, but those seemed like a cop-out. I also omitted the saute kits. I limited this research to the tall skinny (do you know what I mean?) salad kits intended to be more of a meal or hefty side. I tried a majority of their current offerings. The only one I didn’t try was the Peanut and Crispy Noodle Salad Kit, because of #peanutallergy.

First, a few tips for eating Trader Joe’s salad kits. Tip #1, I recommend tossing the pre-packaged dressing. They give you way too much to dress the amount of the salad in the bag. Salads are typically a healthy option, but the salad dressing can make a salad go from good to bad, quick. Every dressing I saw in these kits had sugar in them. Not that I don’t eat sugar, but I don’t want to expend my sugar consumption in a salad dressing. A little olive and vinegar is all you need. I noted how I dressed each salad as I reviewed them.

Tip #2, beef them up with extra greens. I brought these salads for lunch most days and they are the perfect amount to get 2 servings out of one bag. At $2.99 to $3.99 a bag, a $2 or less lunch is a win. However, I would add to their volume by buying an extra bag of spinach to make the salad a little bigger.

Tip #3, add protein/healthy fats. These are all great with avocado, some shredded rotisserie chicken, chopped up turkey burger, chicken sausage, shrimp, salmon, you name it.

Sesame Crunch Chopped Salad Kit
bok choy, savoy cabbage, red cabbage, carrots, sesame sticks, cashews and nori seaweed flakes with toasted sesame ginger vinaigrette

This kit was surprising. The flavors were bolder than I thought and the nori seaweed flakes gave it an interesting kick. I would buy again, but it wasn’t my favorite. It would be a good green addition to an Asian meal. For instance, paired alongside TJs coveted Mandarin Orange Chicken or potstickers.

I added avocado and used coconut aminos to dress my salad.

Southwestern Chopped Salad Kit
green cabbage, romaine, cotija cheese, roasted pepitas, tortilla strips, green onion, cilantro and a southwest avocado dressing

This salad is a Trader Joe’s staple and comes up on several lists for the top items to try at TJs. My friend Maddie who inspired this whole blog post told me it was her favorite, but wanted me to research the other options out there to help her break out of her routine of buying this same salad every time. For good reason, it’s great and would make for a great side dish to Tex Mex or barbecue.

I added avocado and used salsa for the dressing! It would be great with shredded chicken, grilled shrimp or taco meat.

Tahini, Pepita & Apricot Slaw Kit
shredded carrots, broccoli stalks, green cabbage & kale with a tahini orange dressing

You had me at tahini. I stinking love tahini. Even though the only tahini part of this salad was in the dressing…which I threw away. The apricot was also the subtle star of this salad show.

I didn’t have any tahini but I 100% would have done a drizzle of apple cider vinegar and tahini if I had it. Instead, I did apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, and olive oil. With it being a slaw and having stiffer vegetables, it needed a thicker creamier dressing to break through them, than just a vinaigrette. I added avocado too of course.

Veggies & Greens Salad Kit
crisp & crunchy blend of veggies including cauliflower & Brussels sprouts with radcchio, kale, dried pear crumbles, pistachios & honey ginger dressing

This salad was an underdog that came out being one of my favorites. It seemed underwhelming with a name like “veggies & greens,” but I was pleasantly surprised. I had forgotten about the dried pear and thought it was dried ginger (which I love). Either way, it was the perfect sweet note. The pistachios were salty and roasted. I wish there were more.

I ate this with avocado and made a simple dressing of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. This is my go-to dressing. Like I mentioned above, this too needed a thicker dressing with all of the stiff greens. I even heated this salad up for 30 seconds in the microwave. May sound weird, but I kind of enjoy eating salads warm and it too helped break down the stiff greens a bit. This would make an excellent easy side dish or with a piece of grilled salmon over the top.

Organic Mediterranean Style Salad Kit
Romaine lettuce, shredded broccoli stalks, radicchio, celery, seasoned flatbread strips, feta cheese, dried tomatoes and roasted chickpeas with a red wine vinaigrette.

This is in rotation as one of my favorite Trader Joe’s Salad Kits! I love greek salads and Mediterranean food in general. The dried tomatoes were a fun surprise and the seasoned flatbread added just a little crunch without being carb-heavy.

Yellow Curry Chopped Salad
Mixed cabbage and carrots with naan chips, cashews, golden raisins & yellow curry ginger lime vinaigrette.

I love a curry moment and had bigger expectations for this salad that what delivered. I actually didn’t toss the dressing that came with this salad, but I did only drizzle a tiny amount. I wanted that good curry flavor, however it lent way more sweet than rich and spicy and savory like I want from curry. The naan chips were also hard as a rock and not quite what I was wanting.

Lemony Arugula Basil Salad Kit
Arugula, rainbow ribbon carrots, almonds and parmesan cheese with a basil lemon vinaigrette.

This is one of the more versatile TJs salad kit. It may be my all time favorite. It’s the perfect base for an entree salad if you beef it up with avocado, and more veggies. I love it as an easy side dish for pan seared salmon.

Buffalo Ranch Chopped Salad
Green cabbage, romaine lettuce, cauliflower stalks, celery, kale, carrots & blue cheese crumbles with a buffalo ranch dressing.

I am not usually a buffalo or a ranch girl when it comes to flavors, but I wanted to give all salad kits a fair shot. I tried the dressing on this salad and it was not for me, so I set it aside and drizzled this with a little barbecue sauce. Delicious honestly, but I love barbecue sauce. Some shredded chicken, extra carrots, and chopped celery would be great added to this salad. If you are a buffalo aficionado, some crock-pot chicken shredded with buffalo sauce would be awesome here.