Mango & Black Bean Quinoa Salad

If you have been trying to eat more whole grains and & would like to include them into your diet with a tasty recipe here you go!!!. One of my favorite ways to enjoy quinoa is as the base for a salad. With summer just around the corner the markets have been full of fresh fruits and vegetables. Recently I have been experimenting with using fruits in my salads and my current favorite, the mango, had to make an appearance in a quinoa salad. I have also been adding beans to my salads lately and I though that if I went with black beans I could start a texmex theme for the salad and continue it by adding some peppers, cumin, lime and cilantro. Quinoa can be cooked in a rice cooker and that makes a quinoa salad as easy as throwing everything together. The mango and black bean quinoa salad worked out well. The sweet and cool mango tempered the heat of the jalapeños and the beans rounded the salad out with a nice creaminess. The quinoa salad was good when it was still warm from cooking the quinoa and the leftovers were good straight out of the fridge.

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
1 large mango (stoned, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces)
1 red bell pepper (cut into bit sized pieces)
1 cup black beans (rinsed)
1 jalapeño pepper (chopped)
1 green onion (sliced)
1 handful cilantro (chopped)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lime (juice and zest)
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Cook the quinoa as directed on the package.
2. Mix the quinoa, mango, red bell pepper, black beans, jalapeño, green onion, and cilantro in a bowl.
3. Mix the olive oil, lime juice and zest, cumin, salt and pepper in another bowl.
4. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat.