Black beans, mango, and corn make up the main part of this colorful salsa. Cilantro, red onion, mint, lime juice, and honey add irresistible flavor. Packed with protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber, this salsa is a beautiful, healthy, and tasty addition to any table. Top a salad with it to add nutrition and flavor, or spoon it onto tortilla chips, or as in my photos, try it with crispy polenta discs. Or just take a spoon and eat it straight! Either way, it is delicious!
If left to my own devices, I would probably eat way too much bread and cheese. So it’s really nice when I can find a super-healthy, clean eating recipe that I love, a dish that can energize my body and help me work hard and stand strong. The balance of flavors in this salsa is wonderful. A bit of sweetness from the mangoes and honey is mixed with a bit of zing from the lime juice and cilantro. It is a great snack, salad topper, or side dish.
I adapted this recipe from my husband’s beloved “Thrive Energy Cookbook” by Brendan Brazier. I was drawn to it because my grocery store has had mangoes on sale for the past couple of weeks, so we have had mangoes in our fruit bowl waiting to be used. Now that I have found this salsa, I expect it will become a regular in our rotation, because it is so delicious, easy, and versatile. I used thawed frozen corn instead of fresh, and substituted honey and olive oil instead of the agave nectar and hemp oil called for in the Thrive recipe.
The days and evenings of this month have been very full. I have not posted as often as I would like to. It’s not that I haven’t been in the kitchen–quite the contrary! I just haven’t gotten the photos or the recipes organized. But that is about to change. I am about to get back on track. Recently, I started playing the piano again, after almost three years away from it. Since my dad died, I have been unable to touch the piano. I think it has something to do with the emotions released when playing the piano.
In any case, although I am very rusty, it feels good to have that part of my life back again, and I know my dad would be glad about it too. I stumbled across a really pretty song that I am now working on, called The Dance, written by Tony Arata. Apparently, Garth Brooks also is known for singing it. I am not usually a country music aficionado, but this song really caught me. The melody is so beautiful, and the words….they are a good reminder. We don’t always know how things are gong to turn out. Sometimes it’s better that way, otherwise we may not take risks or go for our dreams. If we try to avoid heartbreak, disappointment, or failure, we might miss out on the things that make life worth living. “Our lives are better left to chance….I could have missed the pain…but I’d have had to miss the dance.” It’s not like we haven’t heard this message or something similar to it before, but when it is put to music in a beautiful song, sometimes it’s like hearing the message for the first time again.
I hope you all have a great weekend, and enjoy the beautiful fall colors if you live in an area like mine, where the leaves are just starting to turn beautiful shades of red and gold. And if you try this salsa, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do here! I’m sharing this recipe at Angie’s Fiesta Friday, co-hosted this week by Julianna @ Foodie on Board and Zeba @ Food For The Soul.
Black Bean-Mango Salsa
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of cooked or rinsed canned black beans
- 1 cup of mango, peeled and diced
- 1 cup of sweet corn kernels, fresh or thawed from frozen
- 1/4 cup of red onion, finely diced
- a handful of fresh cilantro leaves, torn and stems removed
- 3 or 4 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lime juice (about 1 lime)
- 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of honey
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Stir gently and thoroughly. Best served immediately, but can also be kept tightly sealed in the refrigerator for up to a week. Use on top of salads, with tortilla chips or polenta discs, or however you like. Enjoy!
This recipe is adapted from the Thrive Energy Cookbook by Brendan Brazier.
When I am trying to figure out what to make for myself and my family, often necessity is my best guide. Because I needed to use a zucchini, and because my husband and I accidentally both bought bananas on the same day, I made this great bread that I will definitely make again! Though I have made zucchini bread and banana bread separately many times, those two ingredients are a great combination. I am especially pleased with this recipe, because the moistness seems just right. I have had zucchini breads that are too dry or too oily, but this one tastes very well-balanced. The recipe is a combination of lots of different recipes I have used over the years, and it is definitely a keeper.
This is the time of year when zucchini starts to roll in around here, and I feel like it is one of the vegetables most frequently given away. It seems like someone is always passing out zucchini, and I am happy to use it! With a break in the heat wave, I finally felt like turning on my oven to bake. This bread makes a great gift, and it freezes really well too.
There has been a lot going on since I last posted, including two spring snowstorms, two weekend getaways for spring break, and a birthday for my son, among many other things. While most people around here prefer to go south for spring break, we went on two mini vacations, first a couple hours west, and then a few hours northwest. And while it would have been nice to lie on a beach in a bikini in the sun, sitting in an outdoor hot tub while the snow swirled around us and landed in our hair was truly exciting and refreshing.
The natural beauty of fruits and vegetables continues to amaze me, and maybe that’s partly because the seasons are always changing, and the plant life reflects the seasons. I always feel so contemplative, so wistful, when my kids have birthdays. Growing children are such poignant representations of the passage of time, the cycle of life, always changing. I hope you all have a great weekend! Savor the spring! There is a 
