Island Girl Caviar

You may have heard of Cowboy Caviar but now it’s time to give it some Aloha. Healthy, clean, versatile and delicious, you will be using this recipe for dips, sides, and as a topping on your favorite protein. Let’s get chopping.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 2-3 Tbsp maple syrup

• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup cherry tomatoes diced or 6 Roma’s diced

• 1 (15 oz ) can black beans, rinsed and drained

• 1 ( 15 oz) can of cannellini beans

• 2 cups fresh pineapple diced ( may sub mango)

• 1 (11 oz) can sweet corn, drained

• 1 avocado diced

• 1 large cucumber, seeded and diced

• 1 medium red onion, diced

• 1 diced orange or yellow bell pepper

• 1 diced red bell pepper

• 1 cup chopped cilantro (1 lg bunch)

• 3-4 tbsp fresh lime juice

• salt to taste

• 1-2 jalapeno pepper, finely diced (optional/ you can de-seed these for less heat and good flavor)

Instructions:

In a lg mixing bowl whisk to combine olive oil, maple syrup, and salt ( if you have a favorite dressing you can sub that for these ingredients later after all the ingredients are combined )

Add in the remaining ingredients ( except lime and cilantro)

Toss until combined

Add lime and cilantro and mix gently again

Adjust to taste and chill.

Serve with tortilla chips, cucumber slices, lettuce wraps or add on any protein.

If you want to save some time you can use a dicing blade on your food processor for some of the ingredients. But I think chopping is half the fun!

Purple Sweet Potato Mash

The Okinawan Purple Sweet Potato is rich in anthocyanins ( which gives it the beautiful color) This type of antioxidant has properties that fight against cancer, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and is delicious. 

Ingredients

• 3-4 medium Purple Sweet potatoes

• 1/3 cup coconut milk, more as needed

• 2 cloves garlic minced, more to taste

• 1/3 teaspoon Hawaiian sea salt, more to taste

• Dash black pepper

• Chopped chives

Instructions:

Peel and quarter the potatoes.

In a medium saucepan, boil in water until tender, about 45 minutes. 

Okinawa sweet potatoes take longer than regular potatoes to cook, so make sure they are quite soft.

Drain the water and mash with coconut milk ( a potato masher works well) 

Add more coconut milk until the desired consistency is reached.

Add garlic, salt, and pepper to taste. 

Top with chopped chives

Crunchy Cold Slaw

What a nice way to add crunch to any salad , side entree or added in a wrap. Healthy, creamy and crunchy all in one bite!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup vegan or regular mayo ( may adjust to preference )

• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

• 1 tbsp maple syrup

• ¾ teaspoon celery seed

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 8 cups shredded cabbage( I like both red and green)

• 2 medium carrots, peeled into thin strips

• 3 scallions, chopped

• Freshly ground black pepper

• Sliced almonds (optional)

Instructions:

• Whisk up the dressing In a medium bowl .Mayo, apple cider vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, celery seed, salt, and a bit of pepper.

• In a large bowl, toss together the cabbage, carrots, and scallions. Pour the dressing over the top and toss to coat. Season to taste with more salt and pepper as desired and add almond slices.

• Store in the fridge in a sealed container.