Mixed Bean Salad with Dried Cranberries

Yum, beans, a vegetarian's best friend.  Also, a Mexican's best friend. Oh wait, I've got it, a vegetarian Mexican's best friend.

Beans, my best friend, until I eat them at least twice a day for a week straight, and then I don't seem to have any friends.

I bought the ingredients to make my favorite bean salad. I made it on Tuesday.
I made a lot of it - I always do.

My husband, he is a super crazy hard worker. The past few weeks, I've hardly seen him.  Maybe it's because of the beans, I don't know.

Tomorrow, we (husband + me) are leaving for 3 weeks.

In an attempt to empty out the fridge, I've been trying to devour everything in sight. This was a big task. I think it might have been too big a task.

This task was too big, because on Sunday, I went grocery shopping. I was hungry. I bought a lot.

This week, I thought he (husband) would be around to help devour this house. Nope, just me.

The good thing is that I think I've averaged around 35 - 40 g of fiber per day. Awesome right?

Fact: women between the ages of 19 - 50 should be getting 25 g fiber per day.

Did you know that I love fiber? I used to be a GI (Gastrointestinal) Dietitian, and I would talk about fiber all day long. Also poop - but you probably didn't want to hear that.

Mixed Bean Salad with Dried Cranberries Recipe


Ingredients

4 cups beans (mixed)
1 head of celery, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 cup cran raisins
4 cloves garlic, pealed
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp pepper

1. In a large salad bowl, combine the beans, chopped celery, chopped red pepper, and cran raisins.

2. In a food processor, blend the garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, salt, and pepper. Mix the dressing into the salad and let sit overnight in the fridge. This allows the dressing to soak into the beans.