Wendy's Berry Almond Chicken Salad and giveaway

I was hoping to post more while on the road, but the few nights I actually had time to blog, we were at hotels who either had their wifi down or no wifi in the rooms.  I still plan to blog about our trip as we go and I am hoping to have some time to do so in a few days.  In the meantime, here is a review of a yummy new salad from Wendy's and a giveaway for a $25 Wendy's gift card.

Shortly before our road trip, I received an invitation to attend a Memorial weekend picnic with some fellow bloggers, sponsored by Wendy's, in order to review their new salad, Berry Almond Chicken Salad.  Since the picnic fell during our road trip, I was unable to attend it, but was still given the chance to review this yummy new salad.


About the salad
My family and I enjoyed this salad for lunch on Saturday while we were in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  The salad is a mix of romaine and iceberg lettuce, combined with a spring mix.  This is topped with fresh, juicy blueberries and huge, sliced strawberries, as well as shaved Asiago cheese and a warm grilled chicken breast.  A side of sliced almonds, roasted with sea salt and a package of fat-free raspberry vinaigrette, finish off the salad.  This salad is available as a full or half-size, but in order to ensure that only the freshest berries are used in the salad, this salad is only available during the summer.  Wendy's other Garden Sensation salads are available year-round.

My thoughts
I tend to dislike fast food restaurants in general, but Wendy's has always been one of my favorites.  This is partially due to their healthier options and partially due to the fact that their food is just tasty.  Having said that, I am also hesitant to order salads when I am out simply due to the fact that often they are made with an abundance of iceberg lettuce and I prefer other types of lettuce much more.  The Berry Almond Chicken Salad is made with some iceberg lettuce, but it was just enough to give it a nice crunch, and still allow the flavors of the other greens come through.  I have always enjoyed fruit in my salad, but have never used blueberries.  What a mistake!  The strawberries were great, but the blueberries added little flavor bursts throughout the salad.  Together, the berries almost eliminate the need for any dressing at all, but the fat-free raspberry vinaigrette is perfectly sweet and tangy at the same time.  The chicken was warm and tender and the almonds added a salty crunch that was perfect.  As for the cheese, I honestly could not really taste it, so I could take or leave that part.  I really enjoyed this salad and definitely would order it again.  I was also very pleased with the nutrition facts for this salad as well.  A full-size salad contains one full serving of fruit and has 450 calories.  Plus, berries are a good source of both antioxidants and vitamin C. 

The giveaway
I have been given a $25 Wendy's gift card to give away to one of my readers, so that you may try the new Berry Almond Chicken Salad for yourself.  Here are the ways you can enter:

Mandatory entry:  Tell me which of Wendy's salads you are most excited to try.

Extra ways to enter (leave a comment for each one you do):

- subscribe to The Happy Wife
- follow The Happy Wife
- share this giveaway via your blog or other social networking site.
- Follow me on Twitter
 

This will be a longer giveaway than normal, due to the fact that I forgot to bring the gift card with me soo I could mail it to the winner.  The winner will be chosen at some point on June 15th, and they will have 48 hours to get back to me or a new winner will be chosen.   The prize will be mailed out around June 21st or whenever we return home.

Disclaimer
I will be receiving a stipend for participating in this review.  I also received a gift card to purchase the salad I reviewed and the gift card for the giveaway.  Wendy's and the Motherhood provided me with the gift cards and stipend.  Regardless of what I received, my opinion is always my own and not influenced by anyone else.

Enter to Win a Twisted Wendy's Frosty

I just love Wendy's Frosties so you can imagine how excited I was to see they are running a contest to give away a year's worth of Twisted Frosties. Ok, so the odds of winning the grand prize are slim (nor do I really need that many), but they are also giving away 10,000 individual Frosties. You can play the instant win game once a day until 9/30/2008. Good luck and please let me know if you win;0)