Feed Your Body Friday: Mango, Chicken, & Rice Salad
Today’s recipe, a mango, chicken, and rice salad, is dedicated to all you fruit lovers, rice lovers, and picky eaters especially!
This eyes, nose, and palate-pleasing salad uses just 10 clean, simple ingredients. The brown rice (which you can switch for white if you prefer) accompanied by bits of chicken is a great way to distract yourself from the fact that you’re eating another salad. The luscious mango, dried goji berries, and glossy maple syrup come together to give the salad a wonderful natural sweetness while the coconut milk adds a nutty texture.
Let’s dig further into how each ingredient can prove to benefit your overall health. Brown rice is nutritious and full of fibre. To control cholesterol and blood sugar, incorporating brown rice in your diet is a smart idea. Both brown rice and chicken are packed with proteins. Mango boosts immunity and improves digestion, and the nutritious goji berries are fabulous antioxidants. To fill up the body with its daily iron, manganese, and calcium requirements, spinach is the right ingredient.
This mango, chicken, and rice looks even better than it tastes - but don’t take my word for it. Let’s get started!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook time: ~1 hour (using uncooked rice and chicken)
Servings: 2
Ingredients for Salad
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 2 cups cooked chicken in pieces
- 1 mango cut into pieces or thin slices
- 1 cup spinach
- 1/4 cup dry goji berries
Ingredients for Vinaigrette
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 2 tbsp. tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tsp. finely grated ginger
- 2 tsp. maple syrup
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp. salt to taste
Preparation:
- Cook rice as directed on the packaging
- When the rice is cool, pour into a salad bowl. Add cooked chicken, mango, and goji berries.
- Whisk together the ingredients of the vinaigrette and pour over the salad.
- Mix well.
- Serve cold or at room temperature.
In case you cannot find dry goji berries, you can substitute them with the same quantity of dry cranberries. For the chicken, you can use any leftover chicken you have or roast some chicken pieces in the oven with a light oil brushing and salt and pepper for seasoning.
This recipe is easy and quick. The brown rice does take a bit longer to cook compared to white rice but when it comes to eating healthy, a little time and patience seem fine by me! Who would have thought that rice, fruits, veggies, and chicken could come together to create a vibrant and aromatically flavorful bowl of goodness? Try this recipe at home as it will definitely suit every palate in the household!
Related article: Feed Your Body Friday: Loaded Breakfast Burritos
