Vegan Black Bean Quinoa Mango Salad w/ Wilted Kale

My dad is in Scotland now on a serious golf trip. And of course my mom and I miss him, but it's nice to have a little more room for experimentation in cooking. Not that he's not adventurous, he is totally. But he doesn't always feed into the organic, natural, sometimes no meat is ok mindset. He'll try it, but at the end of the day he does enjoy the more traditional fare. So, on Sunday, I decided to try a little something to test on the guy when he gets home...and I think we have a winner...

Yum. Seriously. Yum. We had company for dinner last Wednesday and my mom made an amazing mango chutney by combining a pre-made chutney with some other ingredients - it was fabuliscious. We had a mango that needed to be used ASAP so I thought, why not combine the two? Done.

Then it was simply a matter of pairing. Black beans and mango? Yes please. Quinoa is an awesome substitute for rice because it is PACKED with protein and great for digestion. So there, main dish done. Now how about them greens?

We also had some kale that needed to be used and my mom suggested throwing in the red onion too (because no one likes rotten red onions..)

So here it is, a deliciously light summer meal that I'm pretty sure will be dad approved (might take some convincing for Marco though...)

Black Bean Quinoa Mango Salad
serves 2-4 

• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 can whole organic black beans (rinsed)
• 1/2 cup homemade mango chutney with add-ins (this is the recipe my mom used: Mar-a-Lago Pear Chutney, plus peach jelly) 
• 1 whole mango, chopped
• 1 whole avocado chopped

Cook quinoa according to package directions (usually 1 cup water to 1/2 cup quinoa). Set aside to cool when done cooking. While it is cooling do this...

Wilted Kale

serves 2

• 2 cups baby kale, rinsed
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup virgin organic coconut oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed

Heat oil over medium-low heat in large saucepan. Add in chopped garlic and sauté until lightly browned. Throw in onions and kale. Stir gently until everything is coated with oil. Lower heat to low and cover pan. Let simmer on low for about 5-10 minutes until kale is wilted, but not soggy. Remove from heat and set aside.

Before serving, mix black beans, mango, avocado, and chutney into the the quinoa. 

Serve like this..or not. But it's really pretty if you do it like this so you should...