Healthy Three Bean Salad

For the first time last night, I made a three bean salad. I was a little hesitant, because I don't *love* the taste of beans (especially red kidney beans), but I want to find ways to incorporate different forms of protein (and have a quick meal prepared in a minimal amount of time).

I was pleasantly surprised that I couldn't really taste the beans as much as the wonderful flavor from the onion, olive oil and garlic. Mmm! The crunch from the onions, celery and peppers really balanced out the soft-ish beans. The original recipe was taken from AnswerFitness Blog (his copy is posted below) and I adapted it slightly.

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This Three Bean Salad Recipe provides nearly 20 grams of fiber (over half of your daily recommended fiber intake), 15 grams of protein, only seven grams of fat, and over 700 grams of potassium.

In terms of vitamins and minerals, a single serving provides 30% of your daily recommended amount of vitamin B-6, and half of your daily required folate, vitamin C and manganese.

The addition of red bell pepper to this Three Bean Salad recipe also helps sweeten the dish slightly, making it unnecessary to add sugar to the vinaigrette.

This Three Bean Salad recipe can be prepared in less than 10 minutes if you use canned beans — longer if you choose to go the dried bean route (which requires you to cook the dried beans ahead of time).

If you want to lower the sodium content of the recipe, consider using low-sodium canned beans from someone like Eden Foods or use dried beans that you have rehydrated and cooked yourself.

Three Bean Salad Recipe

Recipe makes about eight one-cup servings of three bean salad.

Ingredients

1 15 oz can of dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
2 celery stalks, finely diced
1 clove of fresh garlic, minced
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced

Three Bean Salad Vinaigrette

4 tbs red or white wine vinegar (I used 3 tbs to cut the acidity seeing as how I lowered the EVOO)
3 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Walnut Oil (I used 2 tbs of EVOO to lower the calorie count)
1 tbs dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together the beans, celery, red pepper, and red onion
2. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, minced garlic and oregano. Add the vinaigrette to the bean mixture and adjust for salt and pepper.
3. If possible, chill for at least one hour to allow the flavors to mingle. (Chilling it overnight works best because it allows the flavor to really sink in to the beans - this makes it extra delicious!).
   

Three Bean Salad Recipe Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: About 1 cup of bean salad
Servings Per Recipe: About 8

Calories: 341.5
Total Fat: 7.0 g
Saturated Fat: 0.9 g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.3 g
Monounsaturated Fat: 4.1 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 611.1 mg
Potassium: 768.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 56.2 g
Dietary Fiber: 18.2 g
Sugars: 0.7 g
Protein: 15.5 g

Vitamin A 18.6 %
Vitamin B-6 30.6 %
Vitamin C 58.9 %
Vitamin E 4.3 %
Calcium 11.8 %
Copper 23.6 %
Folate 53.9 %
Iron 25.0 %
Magnesium 24.1 %
Manganese 61.5 %
Niacin 5.9 %
Pantothenic Acid 6.5 %
Phosphorus 28.1 %
Riboflavin 10.3 %
Selenium 8.5 %
Thiamin 20.8 %
Zinc 15.1 %