Recipe

Chicken and Wheat Berry Buddha Bowl

Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 40 min
Serves: 1

A bright and cheerful good for you salad that is full of protein, fibre and nutrients. Cooking the chicken in a parchment packet adds moisture and a light lemon flavour. This recipe calls for making extra wheat berries which can be kept refrigerated or frozen to make this salad again in a pinch.

Ingredients

1/2 cup (125 mL) wheat berries
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) water
1 small chicken breast
2 slices of lemon
4 fresh strawberries, cut in half
2 tbsp (30 mL) dried cranberries
1 tbsp (15 mL) red onion, sliced thinly
1 cup (250 mL) organic field greens
1 tbsp (15 mL) red wine vinegar
3 tbsp (45 mL) olive oil
squeeze of half a lemon
1 tsp (5 mL) honey
1 tbsp (15 mL) butter
1/2 cup (125 mL) pecan halves
1 tbsp (15 mL) brown sugar

Instructions

1 In a medium pot add the water, wheat berries and a pinch of salt.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 40 minutes, or until the wheat berries become tender and slightly chewy.  Drain the wheat berries with a strainer; set aside to cool.
2 While the berries are simmering, place the chicken breast on a large square of parchment and season well with salt and pepper.  Add the 2 lemon slices and 1 tbsp of water.  Fold the parchment in half to cover the chicken and crimp the edges, to seal the packet.  Place on a baking tray and cook for 40 minutes at 400 degrees.  Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, discard the lemon slices and set aside to cool.
3 In a small pot melt the butter and broIn a small jar, combine the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, honey and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Cover and shake well to combine; set aside.wn sugar together.  Toss in the pecans and cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until pecans begin to caramelize (about 4-5 minutes).  Spread the pecans on a piece of parchment to harden.
4 In a small jar, combine the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, honey and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Cover and shake well to combine; set aside.
5 Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, cut it on the diagonal for bite size pieces and begin assembling your salad.
6 Place the field greens in the bottom of a bowl.  Add the chicken breast pieces to one side.  Add a pile of each of the cranberries, onion pieces and strawberries.  Top with a half cup of cooled wheat berries and 2 tbsp of cooled pecans.  Drizzle with the vinaigrette and serve immediately.
7 Leftover wheat berries and vinaigrette can be stored in the fridge.  Leftover pecans can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature.