A Great Summer Salad

It's summer! That means fresh, delicious, healthy, and inexpensive produce is at your disposal. Summer is my favorite season just for this reason! I wanted to make something light, refreshing, and best of all easy after a long week at work. I chose black beans full of fiber and protein, corn bursting with flavor, juicy tomatoes, an excellent disease preventer, and creamy avocado, high in monounsaturated fats (good fats) to be the stars of this light and refreshing salad. To add a little bit of spice, I added some finely diced jalapeño and some cool lime juice to act as the dressing. This salad shook up my taste buds and left me feeling satisfied. It was the perfect end to my crazy week!

Suggestion: Still hungry? Try some whole wheat Tandoori Bread and Hummus on the side!

Black Bean and Corn Salad

4 ears of corn
2 cans of black beans
2 avocados
3 medium tomatoes
1 or 2 jalapeños (depending on your palate)
2 limes
salt to taste
pepper to taste
A handful of cilantro


Shuck the corn. Cut the corn off of each ear (do this in a bowl to prevent the kernels from going everywhere). Sauté the corn (in a little olive oil) over medium heat until the corn starts to become lightly browned (make sure to stir the corn every once in awhile). After the corn is done (5 minutes or so), put in a bowl to cool, and place the black beans (rinsed and drained) in the pan just to warm through (2 minutes). Place the warmed black beans in the bowl with the corn and place the bowl in the freezer to cool quickly.

While the corn and black beans cool, dice the tomatoes and avocado and place in a bowl. To make the dressing, finely (the smaller the better) dice the jalapeño/s and mix in with the lime juice. Add a good amount of salt and pepper.

Remove the corn and black beans from the freezer and mix the tomato, avocado, and dressing into the bowl. Toss well and taste to season further. Chop a handful of cilantro and place on top to garnish. Happy Eating!