Black Bean and Mango Salsa

As I mentioned last Monday when I talked about school lunches, when it comes to making lunch for my Little Lady, I stick to a couple of rules:

• Wrap it up pretty — I use a fun lunchbox and put all of the lunch components in colorful little containers.  She LOVES it because everything is a fun surprise . . and, come on . . who doesn’t like unwrapping presents?

• It’s only healthy if she’ll put it in her mouth — I choose the healthiest possible foods that this kid will willingly eat.  It doesn’t make sense to pack something “good for her” if all she’ll do is turn her nose up at it.

• Mix it up — I avoid serving her the same boring old sandwich day in and day out; if her meal is fresh and new, she’ll gobble it all down.  That’s not the case if she’s bored of her lunch options.

Since the Little Lady loves to “dip” food, I try to make sure there is always at least one such healthy, dip-able combo. A few weeks ago, I tried something new and put baked whole-wheat tortillas and black bean & mango salsa in her lunchbox. It was a HIT!  The black beans gave her healthy protein, fiber and the mango, tomatoes, and bell pepper provided (among other things) antioxidants and vitamins A & C.

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Black Bean and Mango Salsa

 Ingredients

1. 1 C canned (preferably low-sodium) Black Beans, drained & rinsed
2. 1 C diced Mango
3. 1/2 C chopped, seeded Tomato (I used a Roma tomato since it’s a bit firmer)
4. 1/2 C chopped Yellow Bell Pepper
5. 1/4 C chopped Red Onion
6. 1 T chopped Cilantro (this amount is optional — you could add more or less; I’m not a huge fan of cilantro so I kept it light)
7. 1-2 T Olive Oil
8. 2 tsp fresh Lime Juice
9. A dash of Salt (optional)

 Directions

Combine the Veggies, fruits and cilantro; toss with the olive oil and lime juice. (I prefer to chill this overnight for the flavors/juices to really come out – YUMMY)

For this chips, I cut whole-wheat tortillas into eighths, sprinkled lightly with sea salt, and baked at 350 degrees. I can’t remember the exact amount of time the chips baked (I know, I know — horrible for recipe sharing) . . . I think it was 5-7 minutes. I do know it didn’t take long!

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*Disclosure: this post was originally published as part of a Back To School Meal program by HEB and ConAgra; I was compensated for my recipe creations and posts.