Quick Update and Mango and Black Bean Salad

Sorry that I disappeared on you guys yesterday. My mom pulled a muscle in her back and I was called into duty. As an only child when help is needed I am the obvious choice. A heating pad and Tylenol seemed to help a lot. But I expect to be called into service again today. But I will try to post later today or at least tomorrow.

I delivered food to the folks and made something very quick and easy because I didn’t have time for anything else. I didn’t have the time to measure like I normally do but I think the amounts below are very close. Here is what I made:

Mango and Black Bean Salad with Mung Bean Noodles
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup black beans cooked (or 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained)
8 ounce bag Cellophane Noodles (made from mung beans and water)
boiling water sufficient to cover the noodles
3 collard leaves, finely julienned (I used the small ones that are too little for collard wraps)
½ pound raw spinach, julienned
2 carrots, julienned
1 red bell pepper, stem and seeds removed and julienned
3 mangoes, diced
1 cucumber, julienned
¼ cup mint leaves, julienned
¼ cup cilantro, julienned
2 limes, zested and juiced

Directions:

If using dried black beans cook them until tender and refrigerate until you are ready to make the salad.

Boil the water for the cellophane noodles. Pour the boiling water over the noodles and allow the noodles to stay in the water for 15 minutes. Then drain the noodles and rinse with cold water. You want to the noodles to be cold in the salad.

Combine all the ingredients, toss and serve.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories-  424.68
Calories From Fat (3%) - 11.09

Total Fat - 1.32g
Saturated Fat-  0.28g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 94.44mg
Potassium - 1109.39mg
Total Carbohydrates - 101.01g
Fiber - 12.04g
Sugar - 28.51g
Protein - 8.1g

Comments:

Dan and I enjoyed this salad. I have not heard what my parents thought of it. The lime juice and fresh herbs are necessary to give this salad flavor. I had initially wanted to make these ingredients into summer rolls (fresh spring rolls) but didn’t have the time to make them with all the activity yesterday.

Each serving of this salad contains approximately 15,200IU of vitamin A, 125mg of vitamin C, 160mg of calcium, 245mg of folate, 335mg of vitamin K, 175mg of phosphorus, 115mg of magnesium and 7 mcg of selenium. I was quite happy with the vitamin A, C and K in this recipe. The mango added a nice sweetness to the dish. The cellophane noodles added texture and calories. Black beans were also included for calories and protein.

Unrelated note:

As usual we went to the farmers’ market this morning and came home with an absurd amount of produce for two people. Sometimes I wonder how we manage to eat it all, but we do. Our CSA had garlic scapes today! I was practically doing the happy dance at the market. I grabbed two bags so I can make a little garlic scape pesto, one of my favorite things. I will share that with you all soon.

I need to run for now so I can check in on my parents. Talk to you all soon. I hope everyone is having a great weekend.