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Cuban Style Quinoa Salad with Mango Avocado Salsa ~ A quick and delicious salad for the busy parent on-the-go made with quinoa, black beans, sweet plantains, mixed greens and a yummy mango avocado salsa.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of DOLE Sunshine Latino and #WeAllGrow Latina Network. The opinions and text are all mine.
As I start to pay more attention to the foods I eat and try to make better eating decisions thinking about my health, I have been searching for new ways to make it easier for me to eat the good meals.
I often have to trick myself by mixing greens and healthier ingredients into the traditional meals I cook at home. I also look for fun ways to create meals that are a fusion the flavors and ingredients I enjoy eating with those of a healthier nature.
That is how I came up with this delicious salad. I also decided to make it ahead and pack it in a mason jar. This way I can just take it with me anywhere and avoid making bad eating decisions while on the go.
I have been eating a lot of Cuban food since I moved to South Florida. I love it! So much so that I was inspired by some of the typical ingredients in Cuban food to prepare this salad. Hence, the black beans and sweet plantains.
To add more freshness and sweetness to this salad, I made an awesome mango avocado salsa using onions, jalapeños, tomatoes, cilantro, avocado and a can of DOLE® Mango Slices I had in my pantry. Remember how I was telling you a few weeks ago that you should always keep jarred fruit and fruit bowls from DOLE Packaged Foods® in your pantry? This is why!
Dole Packaged Foods offer moms a convenient way to offer healthy fruit snacks at any time. Beyond that, I love how I can use it to create my own fun recipes for any meal of the day.
You can make this mango avocado salsa to enjoy on its own with some corn chips for snack or mix it in with this Cuban style quinoa salad for lunch.
I tend to really enjoy salads that are more on the sweet side. Between the mango avocado salsa and the sweet plantains, there is plenty of sweetness in this salad. So if your sweet tooth is not as developed as mine, I suggest you skip on the plantains.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup DOLE® Mango Slices (, drained and cubed)
- ½ cup red onion (, chopped)
- ¼ cup tomato (, chopped)
- 1 medium jalapeño (, chopped)
- 1 avocado (, sliced and cubed)
- 1 tablespoon cilantro (, roughly chopped)
- juice of 1 lime
- salt and pepper to taste For the Salad
- 4 tablespoons Italian dressing
- 1 cup black beans (, drained and rinsed)
- 1 cup quinoa (, cooked)
- 8 slices sweet plantains (, cooked (1 sweet plantain))
- 2 cups mixed greens
INSTRUCTIONS
- To make the mango avocado salsa, in a medium bowl, mix mango, onion, tomato, jalapeño, avocado, cilantro and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- In each quart size mason jar, divide all ingredients evenly. Layer the dressing, black beans, quinoa, sweet plantains, mango avocado salsa and top with mixed greens.
Nutrition
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Invite Dole into your home and be surprised with everything they offer. Visit DoleSunshineLatino.com (in Español) for more recipes, fun crafts and inspiration!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Dole Sunshine Latino. The opinions and text are all mine.
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