What I'm Craving For Dinner: Mexican Jicama and Orange Salad

I'm so craving this salad and I wanted to share it with you. Chris-Anna and I developed this recipe together last summer for a HUGE picnic that we hosted in her backyard. This salad was such a wild success that it goes down, at least in my book, as one of the tastiest salads ever. 

Light and refreshing, with a hint of sweetness from the orange, and all of that crunch from the jicama and radish . . . watch out! It's gonna become on of your favorites too. I made it again for dinner last night, but subbed in baby spinach leaves for the romaine lettuce. It was also fantastic!

It goes without saying that there is no oil and nothing with a mother or a face! If you are watching your weight, just go easy on the avocado or eliminate it all together.

Orange, Jicama, Radish Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

serves 4 as a starter, 2 as a main dish

Printable Recipe

1 avocado, diced

1 medium jicama, julienned

4 radishes, finely julienned

1 large orange, or 2 small oranges, segments cut out and membrane reserved

2 hearts of romaine, torn to bite sized pieces (or one full head of romaine or 8 cups baby spinach leaves)

For dressing:

Squeeze the juice remaining around the cut orange segments (about 1 Tbsp.)
2 tsp frozen orange juice concentrate

3 Tbsp lemon juice (I used the juice from 2 small lemons)

2 tsp Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

Cut avocado in half, remove pit, cut into quarters, remove peel and dice.

Peel jicama, slice and then cut sliced into julienne pieces.

Cut top and bottom off radishes. Cut into very thin slices and cut thin slices into fine julienne pieces.

Cut top and bottom off of orange. Cut skin off, from top to bottom. Cut each segment out in between the segment skins. Cut each orange segment into three to four pieces.

In a large bowl, assemble greens, avocado, jicama, radishes and orange segments.

Whisk together ingredients for dressing in a small bowl and pour over salad just before serving. 

Tip- You can use a can of mandarin oranges and reserved liquid instead of orange, or baby spinach leaves instead of romaine lettuce.

OPR: White Bean and Mango Burritos

What is "OPR" you wonder? Well, it stands for "other people's recipes." I'm not much of a chef, if you haven't noticed, but what I am a master at is scouring the world for Plant Strong, Nutritarian recipes and then making and eating them. After I take some photographs that is!

Here's a new favorite that I discovered: White Bean and Mango Burritos from The Real Meal Today blog. They could not have been any easier or any more delicious! If you are craving Mexican food, give these a try. Go here to check out the original recipe, which would have been so spicy I'm not sure that I could have eaten them. I made a few modifications to the heat, to the proportions and also by adding lettuce. Spinach or any other green would work well too!

Here's my version:

White Bean and Mango Burritos

serves 4

2 15 ounce cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained 

1 large ripe mango, peeled and diced (about 1 1/2 cups of diced mango)
1cup chopped cilantro
1/4 tsp Cayenne powder (less or more to personal preference!)
1 1/2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
6 medium whole wheat tortillas( as healthy as you can get them)
2 cups chopped lettuce

Combine all ingredients except the tortillas in a large bowl, mix by hand until incorporated. Using a handheld immersion blender, puree about 1/4 of the mixture right in the bowl with all of the ingredients. Remix everything. This will give the mixture a more solid feel and pieces of beans will not be falling out when you bite or cut it.

Soften the tortillas by putting over an open flame on you're stove, over a grill or in the microwave for a few seconds. This will make them easier to roll and move without cracking. Place 1/2 cup chopped lettuce and 1/2 cup of the bean mixture at the bottom of the tortilla, roll over forward 1 turn, fold sides in and then continue to roll to the end.

Optional: place on sheet tray and bake for 10-15 min at 325 degrees.

How do you get your Mexican Food fix?