Spinach and Black Bean Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette

I found THIS salad and it got my creative juices flowing.  (No pun intended.)  I created the following salad based on what I had at home.  I'm a little hesitant to publish it on the blog because I feel like it's a salad "in progress" but I also really loved the flavor and I just want to fine-tune it.  


We just bought a juicer this week and have really LOVED using it.  Yesterday I bought strawberries and they were already going bad.  (A major pet peeve of mine.)  Anyway, instead of adding the strawberries directly to the salad I made a dressing out of them.  However, I think adding the strawberries to the salad and pouring fresh squeezed lemon juice over this dish would be AMAZING.  


Ingredients:
1 can of black beans - rinsed and drained 
1 can of whole kernel corn - rinsed and drained 
1 avocado - chopped 
1 mango - chopped 
1 bunch of cilantro - chopped
1 bunch of green onions - chopped 
1 cucumber - cut in pieces 
Fresh Spinach - to your liking 
*Chopped nuts would be yummy on this, but I didn't have any.




Dressing:
1 cup fresh strawberry juice
1 Tbs strawberry pulp
1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
* whisk together and/or shake before serving. 


Put all the ingredients (and any extra you can think of) into a large bowl.  Use your hands to mix.  I like to sort of "mush" the fixins'  together so the flavors of the mango and avocado get onto the spinach leaves.  I poured the dressing over each portion of salad so it didn't go to waste, but you could add it to the whole salad if you wanted to.  


Let me know if you have any other ideas of items to add to this salad.  It was really yummy, but I do feel like something is missing. (Although, I think that I should have added more dressing.)  Good luck and ENJOY!  

SPLIT PEA SOUP

My family LOVES this soup! I doubled it, and it was gone! Light, Healthy and guilt free!

1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced* (optional)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 cup split peas, rinsed and sorted
5 cups water
2 teaspoons good quality salt
1/2 teaspoon basil
1 bay leaf

Directions:
Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil. Add water and bring to a boil. Add split peas and
simmer until slit peas form a smooth soup. Add salt, bay leaf and basil. Simmer for 10
minutes. Remove bay leaf and serve.

Variations:
Add 1/2 to 1 cup evaporated milk to finished soup.
Add chopped carrots and celery to soup with the seasonings and simmer until vegetables
are lightly cooked, but still crisp.
Add 1/2 cup brown rice to the boiling water first, then after 1/2 hour add split peas and
cook until peas are tender or form a smooth soup. Add seasonings and simmer for 10
minutes. (Note: The brown rice completes the protein of the legumes.)

Notes:
*A head or bulb of garlic usually contains about 10 cloves. 1 clove = 1 teaspoon chopped
garlic = 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic = 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder = 1/2 teaspoon garlic
flakes = 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic = 1/2 teaspoon garlic juice