Zesty Mango Bean Summer Salad

I am a “Salad Junkie “… can live on salads if someone will make them  for me. Give me a filling, cool crunchy salad like the one I made for last night’s dinner and I am in ” Food Heaven”.  Rich in antioxidants and high in fiber, this salad is bursting with nutrients, flavor and just plain decadence. It is so “Healthy” I had to create a food label just to prove it. I used ripe mangoes – my absolute favorite fruit in the world, but you can also use papaya or pineapple. Each gives it a unique flavor. Use any combination of beans. Rinse canned beans in cold water a couple of times to wash out the fluid it is  preserved in. This will minimise to a large extent the heavy gassy feeling that beans sometimes leave in your stomach. Leave it in the fridge a couple of hours or overnight and it tastes even better …with all the flavors blending  in. My recipe card is for 10-12 servings, but you can halve the quantities if you want to make a smaller portion. I make large quantities because I rarely have leftovers. The addition of  the lemon juice and the salad dressing  makes it a good picnic or barbecue salad. Want to spice it up a little more … add some crushed chili flakes to it. If you want to make a meal out of it, add some couscous to it and dig in.