I love salads! It's a declaration clearly! I love salads for very simple reasons, once, they’re quick to put together, secondly, they’re so, so simple and easy to prepare and thirdly they are a healthy option that could even help us keep track of our weight - if we want or need to of course.
We could never go wrong with a good old salad, can we?! Of course, it depends on what you put in but, salads in general, are a nice, light, and delicious option for any time in the day or year, whether it is breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Whatever time you fancy it, can make a main dish or a side dish.
This particular kidney beans, avocado, and coconut salad I like it loads because it is pretty refreshing and the coconut gives it that little exotic, delicious twist.
Today I came from work and I was thinking about what could I put on the table for a quick dinner that will be nutritiously balanced and that I could just make in a jiffy. I came up with this salad idea which I have made a good few times before (a few hundred times, oh yes, I am exaggerating but if I say a few tens of times, I'm definitely not) except the coconut. This was a new addition and guess what, it worked really well here!
I'm really lucky that my family puts up with all my cooking experiments and not only that, but they have told me that they love the crazy variety of stuff that I come up with sometimes. They have confessed that the fact they never know what will be for dinner is pretty exciting!
Alternatives
Feel free to leave the coconut out if you don’t like it and add a good dash of freshly minced garlic.
There are quite a few ingredients that could be added to this salad recipe and replaced with whatever you love that you can combine to your total liking:
- cherry tomatoes
- carrot
- cucumber
- parsley or any preferred fresh herbs (I normally add a bit of parsley, but in this recipe, I didn't only because of the coconut - I don't want to get the coconut flavour wasted)
The dressing/vinaigrette can also be kept pretty plain with a simple lemon drizzle.
Key lime would be even better with that coconut .... yum!
Can I make this salad ahead?
Oh yes, it will taste even better. Feel free to make this the day before and keep in the fridge. The only thing I would not mix in the salad would probably be the avocado, the herbs, and the vinaigrette. Leave these to be added just before eating the salad.
Delicious!
Other salad recipes you may like:
Orzo and chicken delicious salad
Let's get some chopping done then!
Kidney beans, avocado and coconut salad
Equipment
- knife
- chopping board
- jar
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 2 cans kidney beans (red)
- 1 can sweet corn (organic)
- 1 handful coconut (fresh, diced)
- 2 cans tuna (in brine)
- 2 medium avocados
- 1 1/2 medium peppers (red)
- 1/2 medium pepper (green)
- 2 stalks celery
- 1 medium onion (red)
- 3 tbsp coconut (fresh, grated) for garnishing
- 1 pinch salt to taste
- 1 pinch pepper to taste
- 1 pinch chili (red) to taste (optional)
For the dressing:
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 clove garlic (finely grated) (optional)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tbsp mustard
- 1/2 lemon or lime juice (optional)
Instructions
- Dice all diceable ingredients, coconut, red and green pepper, celery, red onion and place in a larger bowl.
- Open the tuna cans, beans and corn.
- Drain and wash the beans and add to the diced veggies.
- Add the drained tuna and the corn.
- In a jar, mix all dressing ingredients, place lid on and give it your best shake ever.
- Drizzle the dressing, serve and enjoy!
Notes
! These should be the nutrition facts for 1 serving of this recipe.Total servings for this recipe: 4
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