RL's Gluten Free Birthday Salad

First things first, we thought we did this post many moons ago when RL first made the Birthday Salad, but apparently we didn't.  I mentioned this salad a few days ago when I spoke about a gluten free potluck we had.

I wish I had a better photo, but its the salad you can't
see in the orange bowl :-)

So why is this called a Birthday Salad?  Well, this was pre Amanda Celiac diagnosis, but her friend RL, has  been gluten free, dairy free, soy free for a long time.  RL also doesn't really like making a big thing about her birthday.  So Amanda decided to get her a thoughtful gift.  She somehow found a birthday card with a recipe on it.  Kind of weird, but a very interesting idea.  RL at that point was not very adventurous when it came to cooking.  In fact, this salad may have been her starting point to start experimenting and trying to cook new things.  Anyways, to ensure that RL made the salad, Amanda went out, bought all the ingredients for this salad, including all the beans, fresh herbs, and vegetables and put it all in a gift basket.  RL was actually really excited to try the salad and loved it.  It wasn't long before RL made the salad for us to try out.

So here is what we really named the Birthday Salad.  But really is a bean salad.

Ingredients:

• 1 can (540ml) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (398ml) whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 large mango, peeled and diced
• 1 cup quartered grape tomatoes
• 1 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions (I omitted this)
• 2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro (also omitted)
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp each salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/8 tsp each ground cumin and chili powder
• 1 cup diced avocado

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.  Serve immediately. As with most dishes containing avocado, this salad tastes best when eaten the day it's made.
2. Tip: for added "kick", try a chipotle powder.  SInce avocado turns brown very quickly, peel, slice and add it tot he salad just before serving.
3. makes 4 meal sized servings
4. per serving: 236 cal.  10 grams total fat (1.4 g saturated fat), 7g protein, 37g crabs, 10.4g fiber, 0mg cholesterol, 385mg sodium.

Gluten Free Edmonton - A Celiac guide and resource for gluten free information in Edmonton, Alberta