Momma’s Black Bean Salsa
Lesson Number One….
Ever since I was little, I have always found a happy place in the kitchen. I loved to help my parents cook and bake whenever they would let me. I have always felt so relaxed in the kitchen and loved to experiment with new recipes.
I was also blessed to learn how to cook and eat healthy foods. We grew up eating most of our meals freshly cooked at home and full of fresh fruits and veggies and no matter what you at least had to have 3 bites.
Now, full honesty here, I did branch off from healthy eating when I went away for a boarding school style high school. I was finally on my own and had the freedom to eat whatever I wanted, and I cannot say that I made the best choices. My mindset was always that I was so active and would burn off anything that I ate. Little did I know how wrong that mentality was.
My freshman and sophomore years I ate whatever I wanted until it finally caught up with me junior year when I ended up very sick. So I did what any kid would do…I went crawling to my mom, apologizing for dissing her healthy food and disregarding her advice and begging her to teach me healthy, quick, and easy recipes I could make in a dorm.
I should also note that my mom is a nurse and has her master’s in nutrition and integrative health…so I probably should have listened to her the whole time…but you live and learn. Thankfully she didn’t hold it against me, and she taught me so many yummy recipes! Including the black bean salsa I am going to share with you today!
Lesson Number Two…
Now as much as I listened to my mom, I was also a teenager and still took what I wanted to hear and ignored the rest. I did start making some of the healthy recipes she shared and listened to her for a while.
She shared the quote from Ann Wigmore that says,
“The food you eat can either be the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.”
I believe in this quote with every fiber of my being, however, I did not learn the power of this until about three years ago when my health came crashing down. I had fallen back into eating whatever I wanted because I found myself working full time and using the excuse that I did not have enough time to meal prep or cook anything healthy.
I was also at a job that did not feed my soul, so I found myself binge eating a lot — constant candy, protein bars and shakes, chips, and of course those spicy margaritas. On top of that, I had stopped eating the plant powders I had grown up eating because I “couldn’t afford them.”
So this was another lesson I had to learn the hard way. That year alone, I had bronchitis 3 times, I was constantly sick and inflamed, I started having paralyzing anxiety, and my body did not look good or feel good. This is when I put my foot down and said something had to change. So I went back to my mom with my tail between my legs waiting to hear, “I told you so.”
I was finally ready to try her way and to claim my health back, and I did. I have been the healthiest I have ever been my whole life since that day, in the best shape, I have not gotten sick, and I have a new mentality around food and how I spend my money.
Lesson Learned…
Take it from someone who has had to learn the hard way not just once but twice about how sick the wrong food can make you! My goal with sharing my knowledge and recipes is that you can make a switch and learn from my mistakes!
We only get this one body to carry us through life. Just as you would fill your car with gas, get an oil change, and rotate your tires, we must take care of our bodies in the same way. When we look at healing our lives, we should always consider what we are using to fuel our bodies because this will play a major part in the healing!
Now let’s get to the good stuff…the RECIPE!!! Y’all it is SO easy, and full of good ingredients! You can make this for lunches to eat on its own, add it to salads, or bring it to a party as a healthy side. This is also a great dip with chips, our favorite healthier options are Forager and Siete.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1-2 Cans Black Beans,
- 1 mango (can substitute with tomato if you don’t like mango or cannot find an, or just leave both out completely)
- 2 red peppers
- 1-2 jalapeños
- 1/2 diced red onion (optional)
- 1-2 limes
- cayenne, cumin, salt, pepper
- 1-2 avocados
In a big bowl, dice the onions, peppers, jalapeños, and mango. Rinse and drain the black beans and add them to the bowl. Cube the avocado, add that, the juice of 1-2 limes, and the cumin, salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. Mix and enjoy! You can eat immediately or store this in the refrigerator to enjoy later
If you make this let me know how it turns out, send me pictures, and tag me on Instagram @healvictoriously!
Happy Cooking!
-Victoria
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