I have two Guiding Principles for my cooking efforts.
First, that what I’m making is whole, minimally processed, and high in humanely-raised plant nutrition. My food world is vegetable-centric, with grains, meat, fruits, coffee, wine, beer, ice cream, and chocolate revolving harmoniously around the nulticolored sun of vegetables. Among many virtues of nutrition, high vegetable intake assures a diet of low glycemic impact, which we understand to be the method of fueling most supportive of healthy metabolism (read: vigor and healthy body composition) for the long run.
Second, that the preparation energy be amortizable over more than one meal, making it easy to have a high-quality meal with no cooking effort the next day. (Think lunchbox for work and being spared the temptation of lesser and/or more expensive fare).
Here’s a salad that hits both targets splendidly. It gets additional points for being high percentage raw, for being a meal in and of itself, for having just the right combination of tangy and sweet yumminess, for producing great leftovers, and the vinegar-free dressing will be of interest to some. I found it recently on my Epicurious phone app during a grocery shopping trip, so I could make use of the shopping list while I was there. Love that efficiency! (see point #2).
Chopped Mexican Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing
4 generous servings
Salad
- 2 1/2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1 can (15.5 oz) black beans, rinsed and well drained
- 3/4 cup chopped seeded tomato
- 3/4 cup chopped peeled jicama
- 3/4 cup fresh corn kernels, uncooked (or frozen or canned)
- 3/4 cup thinly sliced radishes
- 1 ripe avocado, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1/4 cup crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese
- Fresh mung bean sprouts
Honey-Lime Dressing
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 1 tsp chopped jalapeño pepper (use canned for less heat)
Preparation
Toss all salad ingredients in a large bowl. In separate bowl, mix dressing ingredients. Pour dressing over mixture and toss again. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Nourish thyself!
