Hello everyone,

There is nothing like a healthy meal salad full of fresh vegetables to make you feel refreshed and good about yourself.

For me, a salad needs more then just vegetables to satisfy my appetite. It’s important to add something of more significant sustenance to bolster the meal. Usually, chicken is a viable option, but there are times when preparing chicken for your salad is a pain.

So this time I decided to go vegetarian. There are so many great ingredients in this Mexican salad that you don’t even need the chicken – avocado, black beans, grated cheese and tortilla chips do the trick.

John and I had done Mexican the night before I made this salad, and I used some leftover ingredients to create this beauty. (That’s a lie, I actually intricately planned the whole thing, but that is my subtle way of suggesting YOU try making this after a taco night or something!)

TIPS:

• If you don’t have all the ingredients, don’t sweat it. Be creative and add what you like!
• If you aren’t eating your salad immediately, toss your avocado pieces in lemon or lime juice to keep from browning.

So feel good about yourself! Go vegetarian and go Mexican all at once!

Bon appetit,

Julie

Click here to view printable Word version of recipe:
Mexican Vegetarian Tortilla Salad

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Mexican Vegetarian Tortilla Salad

Serves 2 – Makes a great lunch or dinner salad

INGREDIENTS:

Lettuce (leafy green, red leaf or romaine)
1 tomato, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1/3 of a cucumber, diced
1 avacado, diced salted
½ jalapeno, seeds removed and diced (Optional, if you want the extra heat)
2 Green onions, minced
½ of a 14 oz can black beans
2 dollops sour cream, one per bowl
Grated cheese – cheddar or Monteray Jack
Broken tortilla chips
Cilantro, minced
Dressing

Olive Oil
Salt
Ground Cumin
Chili Powder
Garlic Powder

Or

Taco/Fajita seasoning

Lime juice (alternatively, drizzle on top of salad.)
DIRECTIONS:

1. Make dressing.
2. Make salad in two separate bowls. Divide ingredients into bowls as you prepare, starting with the vegetables.
3. On top of vegetables, layer black beans, dollop of sour cream, grated cheese, broken tortilla chips.
4. Garnish with cilantro and drizzle with dressing.