My memories of early mornings in high school include stumbling around the kitchen for something to grab on my way out the door, half wondering how I managed to dress and get downstairs in the first place, with the no-nonsense voice of Jillian Michaels coming from the dimly-lit living room.
My high school days started at 5:45am in order to make it to school by the time the first bell rang at 7:13am (I think they made it 7:13 just to mess with us). And nearly without fail, my mom would be up too. Dressed in workout gear and complaining a lot less than me about the absurdly early wake up call, she would head downstairs, pop in a Jillian Michaels DVD, and finish her workout before my brothers were even thinking about starting their day. Even through my haze of teenage angst, I knew this was nothing short of impressive.
I had hoped that my early mornings would stop after high school, and they did for awhile. College is all about creating the perfect schedule that allows for maximum sleeping in, and I took that task seriously. But then I graduated to the real world with inflexible schedules. I learned quickly that I was going to have to channel my mother’s dedication to the early mornings if I wanted to fit in my daily workout.
So everyday my alarm would go off at 5am and (nearly) everyday I would drag myself out of bed, leaving my husband to sleep for a few more hours. From there, I’d either head to the gym or click on my headlamp for a run through inky blackness, sometimes getting lucky enough to see the sunrise.
And now that I’m a mom, I don’t see myself getting a break from this pattern of early morning workouts anytime soon. Despite years of 5am wake up calls, I am still the polar opposite of a morning person. I hate waking up early. Absolutely hate it. It’s exhausting for me just to think about. So what is it that makes me physically capable of pulling myself out from my cocoon of blankets every morning?
I don’t know the scientific answer to that, but I think one of the explanations has to do with my mom. She showed me every morning how to get up, get moving, get it done, and get on with your life. She would work to better herself in the semi-darkness without an audience, keeping the landings of her burpees and squat jumps light as not to wake her sleeping family. Even her self-care was selfless. So even though I doubt I’ll ever get to her level (as you can probably tell at this point, I love to make myself into a martyr of the early morning), the example she set is still what pulls me to my feet when I feel like sinking back into sleep. Thinking of her early mornings channels something many night owls consider a super power – I get up, get moving, get it done, and get on with my life. So thanks for showing me how to find time for myself in a day, mom. Even if it is technically before the day even really begins.
Anyway, ramblings like that are why they created the “jump to recipe” button, right? If you’re not interested in my morning struggles, I can’t say I blame you. So let’s talk salad for a bit!
We’ve got pesto. We’ve got tomatoes. And mozzarella. And, oh, what’s this? Bacon? And eggs? And some avocado for good measure? Sounds to me like caprese and cobb have really hit it off in the salad bowl (Forgive me. I blame it on early mornings).
I made a huge batch of this salad a few weeks back for lunches and it was just what the doctor ordered. I distinctly remember that week having a few tough days and how I needed to channel my excitement for this salad in order to get through the morning. No shame, I’ve relied on less to get me though.
If you do plan on making this salad ahead of time, store your greens separately from the tomato/mozzarella mixture and also separately from the farro/bacon/chicken mixture. This way you can heat up the farro mix before adding it to the salad. I almost always prefer warm salads, especially when (turkey) bacon is in the mix. Add the avocado and dressing right before serving, which shouldn’t be news to you if you’ve ever eaten something with either avocado or dressing on it.
The dressing is pretty simple really. Just pesto (homemade or store bought, up to you!), some lemon juice, olive oil, and a bit of greek yogurt. I added the yogurt because I liked the creaminess, but feel free to eliminate it of you want more of a vinaigrette. Still a great choice! Oh and I added farro because 1) I love it and 2) I think it adds nice substance to salads. But croutons would also be a great addition to this salad, or quinoa. So feel free to swap those out if you’d prefer.
Hopefully this will be another meal to add to your Index of Great and Hearty Salads. Personally, it’s my lifelong goal to build up my own Index of Great and Hearty Salads to pass on to my salad-loving children (watch them all eat nothing but chicken fingers and buttered noodles…). Enjoy!
Caprese Cobb Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 6 strips turkey bacon (or regular bacon)
- 2 chicken breasts raw
- 1/4 cup pesto homemade or store-bought
- 1 bunch kale stems removed, roughly torn
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup Ciliegine (mini fresh mozzarella balls) sliced in half
- 1.5 cups cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- 1/2 cup fresh basil julienned, divided
- 2 cloves garlic minced, divided
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 avocado pitted and diced
- 1.5 cups farro cooked (about 1/2 cup uncooked)
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
For the dressing
- 1/4 cup pesto homemade or store-bought
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup greek yogurt
- water
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the Salad
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
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On a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, lay out bacon strips and chicken breasts. Cover chicken breasts with pesto and bake for 35 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
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Meanwhile, combine Ciliegine, cherry tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup basil, and half the garlic in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
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In a large bowl, massage kale with a bit of salt. Add tomato mixture.
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In the same bowl used for the tomato mixture, combine farro, olive oil, and the remaining basil and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
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Once chicken and bacon are cooked and slightly cooled, roughly chop and add to the bowl with the kale and tomato mixture. Add farro, avocado, and dressing. Mix well and serve.
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If prepping the salad for the later date, store chicken, bacon, and farro together so you can heat it up before adding it to the salad and postpone adding the avocado and dressing until ready to serve.
For the dressing
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Combine pesto, lemon juice, greek yogurt, and olive oil in a food processor. Pulse until well-combined.
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Thin to desired consistency with water and season with salt and pepper.
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Dressing will keep for about a week.
