Avocado Mango Magic

Todays recipe comes from http://www.floridacoastalcooking.com/2011/04/avocado-mango-and-caribbean-black-bean.html. All pictures have been taken from there.

Do you ever have those days where you're just not feeling up to cooking. Those days are more common for me than I'd like to admit, but being mostly vegan the options are typically to cook or spend way too much eating out. Not to mention you can't control what restaurants put in your food, even at the best ones.

This recipe is one of my personal solutions to that problem. It's quick, very simple to make, but packs a lot of flavor. It also has beautiful coloring. The upside to this dish is that if you're trying to avoid breads you can leave out the pita, and eat it over a bed of mixed greens. One thing that any traditional vegan might find troubling is my use of honey in this recipe, but that can easily be substituted for agave nectar.

Shopping List by Department:


Produce

• 1 avocado
• 1 large mango or 2 champagne mangoes
• 1 sweet onion
• 1 jalapeno
• 1 lime
• bunch of cilantro
• fresh mint (I used spearmint)
• spring mix lettuce (I used an herb mix variety)

Dry/Packaged

• 15 oz. can of Eden Organic Caribbean Black Beans or 15 oz. can of black beans with added spices*
• extra virgin olive oil
• honey or agave
• whole wheat pita bread

*Spices (Use in place of the Caribbean black beans)

• onion powder
• garlic powder
• smoked paprika
• cumin
• cayenne
• cinnamon

Recipe

• 1 ripe but firm avocados, halved, peeled and cubed 
• 2 ripe champagne mangoes, peeled and cubed 
• 1/2 cup sweet onion, chopped
• 1 15oz can Eden Organic Caribbean Black Beans, or regular black beans*
• 1 small jalapeño, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped (leave off if you prefer less spice)
• 1 lime zested and juiced
• 3 Tbsp cilantro, chopped 
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (add more to taste)
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp agave or honey
• 3 cups spring mix lettuce, chopped or torn
• 3 small whole wheat pitas, split open, sprayed with olive oil and seasoned with salt (opt. leave pita in its original form and fold ingredients inside.)
• *Spices for can of regular black beans (adjust to your preferred taste)
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

(*optional 1). If using regular black beans, place your rinsed and drained beans in a medium bowl, and add your spices.
1. Add mango, avocado,onion, jalapeno, cilantro, and mint to the bowl.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together honey, olive oil, lime juice, lime zest. Add to mixture.
3. Salt to taste.

4. Toast whole wheat pitas until just browned and crisp.
5. Top each half with 1/4 cup chopped lettuce and 1/4 cup mango mixture.