Mango, Avocado and Forbidden Rice Salad {Meatless Monday}

Remember how I’m on a mission to add more colorful salads to my winter dinners?  Again, it’s not that I don’t like them, but for some reason, in the winter time, I just don’t make many salads.  Whenever I do, I rejoice in how colorful and fresh and delicious they are – kind of like a burst of spring or summer in the middle of an all too dreary time of the year.

So the other day I was scouting the aisles at Sprouts (do you have them by you?) and I spied Forbidden Rice.  Sounds ominous, I know, but I’ve read about it, and was curious.  It’s almost black looking uncooked, but while it’s cooking, the water turns brilliant purple!  So purple, I totally expected to smell grape or blueberry or something crazy like that when I lifted the lid.

Of course, I know – and so should you – that anything with deep, bright colors is full of antioxidants that protect the body from damaging free radicals.  Let me clarify that – anything with bright colors that actually comes from the ground.  Skittles and Lucky Charms do not count!  So hello antioxidants!  I’m thinking the antioxidants in that pot of forbidden rice I cooked up should turn back the clock at least 20 years for me 🙂

I used the rice as the base for this colorful salad which has luscious avocado and fresh mango (another Sprouts find – love them!).  The recipe and dressing is adapted from a cookbook called A Change of Appetite by Diana Henry.  The curry paste in the dressing adds a lovely spicy thai kick to the salad.

I almost feel like spring is right around the corner with this beautiful salad.  I subbed light coconut milk for the cream in the original dressing recipe, so it’s light, completely vegan, and clean eating at its best.

Mango, Avocado and Forbidden Rice Salad

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Prep Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 4 side servings or 2 large dinner servings

Author: Craving Something Healthy

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Forbidden Rice - rinsed and cooked according to package directions
• 3 cups mixed baby greens
• 1 cup mixed tender herbs watercress, cilantro, flat leaf parsley, mint
• 2 scallions sliced thin, green parts only
• 1 large ripe mango peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 avocado pitted and cubed
• juice of 1/2 lime

Dressing

• Juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 teaspoon agave syrup or to taste
• 1 teaspoon hot curry paste
• 1/4 cup peanut oil
• 1/4 cup light coconut milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Cook rice according to package directions, adding 1 teaspoon salt if desired. Let cool to room temperature.
• Remove any stems from the herbs and toss with the baby greens in a large bowl.
• Add scallions.
• Slice or cube mango and avocado. Add both to the greens.
• Squeeze lime juice over the avocado to prevent browning.
• Add cooled rice to the bowl of salad and toss gently.
• For the dressing, add all ingredients to the bowl of a small food processor, or blend ingredients with an immersion blender.
• Pour dressing over salad and toss gently to combine.

Notes

Recipe adapted from A Change of Appetite by Diana Henry

Did you make this recipe?Tell me @CravingSomethingHealthy!

Have you eaten any summer food lately?  What do you crave in January?

Eat well!