Alright I haven’t done a food blog so I thought I would write one!  I was trying to think of something easy since I was hungry and had no idea what to make, so of course I turned to Pinterest.  After some browsing, I found a Southwestern Black Bean Couscous Salad that looked delicious and had to try it!

I have never cooked with Israeli couscous but I am now obsessed! It is SO EASY! Boil water, add couscous, and POOF!  It’s ready after about 10 minutes. So easy. What I learned about Israeli couscous is it is pretty versatile too since it doesn’t have too much flavor.

The cool thing about this recipe is that you can complete it in 20 minutes or less and healthy! You have your grain (couscous), your pulse/protein (black beans), and tons of veggies! I learned a fun fact about pulses- did you know they serve as a protein and a vegetable! So I count that as a win!

As for the dressing, it is super simple as well! Its an olive oil base, lime juice, cilantro, cumin, and sea salt.  All you have to do is put all those items in a food processor and blend together on high for a minute. Now the recipe did call for jalepeno but if you know me, you know I can’t handle spicy food so I left that out.

Ingredients:

For the Salad:

1.25 cups of Israeli couscous

1.5 cups of water

1 15oz can of black beans, rinsed

1 cup of sweet corn

1 cup cherry tomatoes, fourthed

1/2 red onion, finely diced

For the Dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Juice from 1-2 limes ( I used two)

1 teaspoon of cumin

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions:

1. Bring 1.5 cups of water to a boil.  Add couscous and turn to low.  Cover and let simmer until all water is absorbed.
2. Once the couscous has chilled, mix together.  Couscous, black beans, sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, and red onion in a large bowl.  Set aside.

1. Prep dressing by placing all ingredients into a high-speed food processor and mix on high for about a minute, or until smooth.

1. Pour dressing over couscous mixture and mix

Now I thought it was delicious but one thing I would add next time is avocado for some healthy fats. What are your favorite easy but healthy meals?

xoxo,

T