The Nutrition Professor's cowboy salad with calypso beans

Ingredients

1 avocado, diced
1 to 2 cups of your favorite salsa (see tip)
1 cup corn kernels (fresh from 2 ears or frozen)
3 cups cooked calypso beans (see tip)
Zest and juice of 1 lime (see tip)

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, making sure to zest the lime before squeezing it for juice. Salad can be covered and refrigerated for several days.

Nutrition information: (per 3/4 cup): 144 calories, 3 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 24 g carbohydrate, 7 g fiber, 8 g protein, 196 mg sodium (depending on salsa used), 526 mg potassium, 51 mg calcium, 2 mg iron

Shop Smart, Prep Smart, Cook Smart Tips: 

• You can use cannellini beans or black beans instead of calypso. Keep in mind that cannellini beans take longer to cook than calypso beans, and black beans have a stronger flavor.
• Taste the salad after adding 1 cup of salsa and then add more to taste, up to 2 cups.
• Always zest your citrus whole with a microplane before cutting into quarters to juice.
• Make jicama "chips" by peeling and slicing jicama into 1/4-inch-thick planks/chips, then marinating in copious amounts of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Keep in the refrigerator and enjoy their crunchy texture and refreshing flavor all week long.

Makes 8 servings (about 3/4 cup each)

Timaree Hagenburger says, "I have served it with my jicama chips, whole grain chips, in a whole grain tortilla or steamed collard leaf as a wrap, on salad greens and more!"