Hello, everyone!
I have been experimenting with my work lunches and decided that I needed as much spice and flavor as possible (to counteract the dullness of the work environment :)).
I love spicy-hot, check out this hot-hot walnut recipe. Therefore, I concocted a new salad mix that pleases my taste buds. I hope it pleases yours as well!
All major ingredients come from a can; therefore, the salad can be made in any season.
The salad is also fiber-rich, with no added sugar!
Zesty everyday salad
Ingredients
15.5-oz can corn kernels (make sure sugar is not added)
15.5-oz can black beans
20 oz pineapple chinks (no added sugar)
1 small sweet onion
hot pepper flakes (to taste)
hot sauce (to taste)
salt (to taste)
Directions
Dice the onion into small cubes (as small as possible). "Massage" (squeeze) the diced onion with some salt until the onion starts releasing its juice and it is less pungent. Drain the pineapple from its juice and cut the chunks into smaller pieces. Drain the beans and corn kernels, and combine these with the squeezed onion and pineapple. Mix with as much hot sauce and hot red pepper flakes as you like. Serve!
I keep my salad in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Today Mercola's website put together a summary on the benefits of eating onion. In addition to containing anti-bacterial and anti-viral ingredients, onions may suppress cancer progression. There are many research papers that have focused on quercetin, one of the active anti-cancer compounds in onions.
The question is, how do you include onions in your diet? Here is what I do:
1. Almost all my soup recipes include onions. See this spinach soup recipe, this green beans recipe, or this meatball soup recipe.
2. Most of my salad recipes call for onions. I love salads that combine fresh tomatoes, peppers, and onions. In the winter months, when the fresh tomatoes are expensive, I use the canned diced tomatoes with chopped onions, salt, and olive oil. For a potato salad, I add huge amounts of chopped red or yellow onions to boiled potatoes, and season with lemon, salt, olive oil, and black pepper. If you mix the chopped onion with the still hot potatoes, the sharpness of the onion taste will be lessened.
3. During the colder months of the year, I frequently make "plain" onion salads. The recipe is below.
Cut the onions into small pieces, add salt and "massage" (squeeze) the mix with your hands until the onion softens. This procedure reduces the onion pungency. Add olive oil and lemon juice to taste, and your favorite olives (pitted or not). If you do not like olives, just skip them. The salad would last a few days in the refrigerator. I keep mine in a glass jar and have a spoon or two on my toast on winter nights.
