Healthy Fresh Mexican Salad

In honor of Cinco de Mayo I wanted to share one of my favorite Healthy Fresh Mexican Salads.

Most Mexican dishes are filled with beans, cheese, and corn.  All of which my stomach welcomes in as much as the priest invites a mariachi band to Sunday Mass.  They don’t quite work well together.  This healthy Mexican dish is great as a fresh side salad or as a snack.

Ingredients:

• jicama – good source of vitamin C & fiber
• cucumber – good source of potassium (an electrolyte)  & vitamin K (for your bones)
• avocado – healthy fat (need to absorb vitamin K), has lots of minerals
• olive oil – healthy fat, high in vitamin E (supports cell membrane health)
• freshly squeezed lime juice (to taste)
• fresh cilantro (to taste)
• cayenne pepper (to taste) – stimulates digestion
• paprika (to taste)
• salt (to taste)

Directions:

• disclaimer: I usually don’t measure things unless I’m baking because 1. its another dish/utensil I have to wash 2. it always depends on how much you want to make 3. you can customize it to your tastebuds/likes.  Plus  I always want a reason to taste test anyways.
• Fill your dish half with cut up jicama and half with cut up cucumber (each bite size pieces).  Be sure to peel the jicama and use organic cucumber if you plan to eat it with the skin.
• Add cilantro to desired taste
• You can cut up the avacado into bite size pieces and add with the cucumber and jicama or blend it with your olive oil dressing for more of a creamy texture.
• Dressing-  olive oil, lime juice, cayenne pepper, paprika, and salt.  Have enough olive oil to coat your salad.  Start with small amounts of the spices, you can always add more.  Whisk together then pour over salad.
• Give the salad a good toss and “Buen provecho!”