Easy Bean Salad

Bean salad
This is one of several recipes that was featured at Sharp's Food for Life Nutrition and Cooking Series.

The seven-class series was presented by The Cancer Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to nutrition education and research for cancer prevention and survival.

The simplicity of this colorful salad has made it a Food for Life class favorite. Plus, it has lots of fiber to help move carcinogens, excess cholesterol and hormones out of the body to improve overall health.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups cooked or canned kidney beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked or canned pinto beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked or canned black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked or canned lima beans, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked green soybeans (shelled edamame)
  • 1 cup frozen corn, thawed, or cooked fresh corn, chilled
  • 1 large red bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 medium red onion, diced, or 1 cup red cabbage, chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, diced (optional)
  • 1/2 to 1 cup fat-free Italian salad dressing, or make your own simple fat-free dressing: 1 to 2 lemons, juiced; 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup; 2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced; ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper (or to taste)

Directions
Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss gently. Serve cold or at room temperature over spinach or other greens. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator; leftovers will keep for three days.

Nutritional Information
Serving size: 1/10 of recipe. 183 calories, 3 grams fat, 0.5 grams saturated fat, 14.6% calories from fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 9.9 grams protein, 31 grams carbohydrate, 2.9 grams sugar, 8 grams fiber, 539 milligrams sodium, 43 milligrams calcium, 2.7 milligrams iron, 36.7 milligrams vitamin C, 311 micrograms beta-carotene, 0.8 milligrams vitamin E.

Find more healthy recipes.

For More Information
To learn more about Sharp’s nutrition services or to find a Sharp-affiliated physician, search for San Diego doctors or call 1-800-82-SHARP (1-800-827-4277). Monday through Friday, 8 am to 6 pm. To find general information about nutrition, read the Nutrition News archive.