Gorgeous Green & Navy Bean Salad

With all the commitments we all seem to make this time of year it is a wonder how we ever have any time to relax. Is it just me or do we always seem to overextend ourselves between work, school, kids, and various other commitments that inevitably seem to come out of nowhere? When it is possible to cut five minutes here or ten minutes there most of us would jump at the chance. Salads offer a quick and easy meal solution as there is little to no actual cooking time, and our recipe this week certainly will shave some kitchen time off of your schedule if you so choose.

Salads, regardless of style, are generally simple to put together and are quite convenient for people on the go. Washing, chopping, mixing is as much work that is required for some salads. When running between soccer practice, ballet and the school play a salad might just be in order to feed your family. While individual family members may have selective tastes, with the wide range of salad options there is guaranteed to be one salad everyone can agree on.

Salads generally use one of three main base ingredients: grains, beans or leafy greens. Each base ingredient defines the salad. The grain based salad using such ingredients as quinoa or barley are typically mixed with fruit and a sweeter vinegarette dressing whereas a bean salad leans more towards the savoury side. The leafy green salads of summer, be it kale, spinach or lettuce can go from sweet to savoury however it will regularly be a lighter salad on the whole, when compared to the other base ingredients. Often our eating habits, meaning to or not, will reflect the season we are in. This being a transition time from summer to fall, it only seems fitting to offer up a Navy and Green bean salad.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked navy beans

1 cup cooked and trimmed green beans (or canned)

¼ cup dried basil

½ cup olive oil

2 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar

1/8 tsp. sea salt

Directions:

1) Combine all ingredients, mix until uniform and serve.

Be it a filling lunch to be packed and taken in the morning, or a relatively light dinner idea this bean salad will definitely hit the mark. Salads can be quick, salads can be easy; they may even provide an impressive amount of nutrition so why not start working them into your plans. Meal preparation can be a pain however with this recipe in your repertoire even the light nights can be something to remember.