Want a delectable salad that works as a main course, salsa, or side? This is one of our family’s favorites. I love to make it for taco night…. Well, to be honest, I often have taco night simply because I’m craving this salad. We use it as the salsa on our tacos. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Black Bean and Corn Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups Dried Black Beans (Or 2 16 oz cans)
• 1 Bag Frozen Corn, defrosted (Approx. 16 oz)
• 1 Medium-sized Onion, chopped (Yellow is great; White for more spice)
• 4 Green Onions, chopped
• 1 Red Pepper, chopped (or your favorite color)
• 3 Tomatoes, chopped
• 1 Bunch Cilantro, chopped (Approx. 1 cup)
• 2 Limes, juiced (Approx 1/3 cup lime juice)
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• 3 Cloves Garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (optional)

Directions

1. Soak Black Beans overnight (12-24 hrs) in plenty of hot water with 2 teaspoons baking soda (Skip to step 3 if using canned).
2. Cook black beans on low until softened but not mushy (approx. 45 minutes). Let cool.
3. Chop all vegetables and add together in a large bowl with chopped cilantro, defrosted corn and cooled black beans.
4. Mix lime juice, olive oil, salt, cayenne pepper, and crushed garlic briskly in a small bowel, and drizzle over vegetables in bowl.
5. Mix, cool, and enjoy!

Make it a Main Course

If you’d like to make this a main course, you might want to add some protein. You could either toast some pine nuts and add them or grill some chicken, chop it, and mix it in. Both are great options with this salad. Got more? Please share in the comments below!

Why Soak Dry Beans?

Soaking beans has been a tradition through the centuries that makes them easier to digest and more nutrient rich. Only within the last century has industrialized society started to skip this step (to save time).

Like grains, legumes have a lot of phytic acid in them. This protects seeds until they are ready to sprout. But, we aren’t growing a plant, now are we? We want to eat them. Without “waking up” the seeds (by soaking, sprouting, or souring to reduce the phytic acid), the phytic acid can irritate our gut and reduce the body’s ability to absorb minerals and nutrients (especially iron, magnesium, zinc, calcium and phosphorus). Over time, if we are consuming all of our grains, nuts and legumes in their raw state without reducing phytic acid first, this can lead to thing like:

• Tooth decay
• Oseoperosis
• Anemia
• Poor bone health
• Slower metabolism
• Leaky gut

A good rule of thumb with beans is to soak them for 12-24 hours in hot (not boiling water with a little baking soda. It also helps to change the water at least once during the soak time.

Want More Like This?

This blog is designed to help you engage more in what matters most in your life. It is written to help free you up to delight in the little and big things of life. So go on, eat this salad slowly with people you love. Take time to look around the table with a smile and take mental pictures of the smiles of those you are with. An maybe check these out for more ideas:

• Best Shrimp Scampi Linguini
• Go-To Cherry Almond Granola
• Sprouted Wheat Pasta (Great for Philips Electric Pasta Makers and Others!)
• Homemade Alfredo Sauce
• The Secret To Easy-to-Peel, 10-minute, Hard-Boiled Eggs
• Energy Bites- My Favorite Healthy Cookie
• What’s All the Fuss About Chia Seeds?
• Quinoa- Another Super Grain
• Amaranth- Another Super Grain