The Magical Fruit

Last week I got my hair colored and cut, effectively wiping away any trace of the fact that older age is marching its way across my head. Ahhh. I love my hairstylist. Really! I believe I have mentioned her before. She and I have been asked if we are sisters, which we both find amusing and fun. If we WERE sisters, she'd be the hot and sexy one and I'd be the pretty but average one. She has a perfect figure - or at least my version of perfect. Hourglass. She works at it - working out regularly, staying away from fried foods most of the time, focusing on healthy eating habits.

Last week while I was getting my hair done, she shared that she has been eating this bean salad stuff, and had some and gave me a taste. Mmm, tasty. So I got the recipe and made it, and I really like it. Here's the basics:

2 cans each of garbanzo beans, black beans, red beans or kidney beans. Broccoli slaw (shredded broccoli, or you could use finely chopped along with julienne carrots and some raddichio) - and you just add as much or little of that as you'd like. Pine nuts or whatever kind of nut you might enjoy. Chopped green onion. You mix all this together and then mix together some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, packet of stevia (sweetener - good stuff), dried mustard, sesame, garlic powder, or you can chop up a garlic clove and throw that in instead, tarragon. Then you pour the dressing over the whole mix and toss that around to coat. Stick it in the fridge and voila! Bean Salad.

Great! But it makes a popcorn bowl full of this stuff, so I have a ton. I eat it with a fork. I eat it on crackers. I eat it rolled up in a tortilla with some shredded chesse. I eat it as a side dish at dinner. I could eat it at breakfast. And there is still some left. Oof. But it is very healthy - lots of protein and fiber and veggies and stuff. Again, Great!

Um, but what's that old rhyme about Beans?.... (see title) Yeah. I guess this is why man made products like Bean-o.