It’s another gorgeous day here, and I’m taking advantage of this summer weather before we are back to reality [fingers crossed there’s no more snow!]. I love using cous cous as a salad base, it’s more filling then lettuce and you can make it so many different ways!

Ingredients:

Cous cous [Prepared any way you like and chilled for at least 2 hours]

Can of Black beans [Black beans are one of the healthiest additions to salads—they are full of fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants that help your digestive, cardiovascular, and nervous system!]

Tomato

Red pepper

Onion

Optional: Parmesan!

1) I made the cous cous the night before, that way it has time to chill in the fridge before serving. So easy to make: For 1 cup of dry cous cous boil 1.5 cups of water [I like to add a little olive oil to the water], add the cous cous, take it off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes or until the water is absorbed. Then you can add your chosen spices: I added lemon juice, a bit of lemon rind, and cracked pepper. Another favorite spice to add is paprika—it turns your cous cous a gorgeous red color! 

2) Add 1/2 cup to a 1 cup of chilled cous cous to a mixing bowl. 

3) Open the can of black beans, drain & rinse until water runs clear [Using a colander works best for this]. Add 1 cup of black beans to the mixing bowl. 

4) Dice tomato, onion, and red pepper and add to bowl. I think cucumber would have been a great addition to this recipe—I’m definitely buying some on my next grocery run!

5) Mix all the ingredients and serve! In typical me fashion I added a bit of plain yogurt and sprinkled some parmesan on top!

Enjoy!