‘Summer in a bowl’ Jicama salad- wholefood, plant based.
There is something about summer. Fresh, light, crisp are three attributes I love in summer recipes. This lovely rainbow salad was born when jicama met the’ rest of the fridge’. Jicama is a Mexican root vegetable, that is crunchy and juicy, almost like a pear with less of sweetness. So it is a great addition to dishes where there is lot of color, texture, flavor. Jicama is my blank canvas in this recipe and all the summer produce simply bring out an art piece (if salad can be art).
Nutrition wise, one medium jicama has about 32 g fiber, abut 5 g protein, lots of potassium and Vitamin A, along with numerous other macro and micronutrients. With low calories, and high fiber along with many antioxidants, jicama is great for people with diabetes, heart disease, gut issues, people struggling with weight loss. If you have kidney issues, watch out for the potassium content.
Apart from that, a variety of summer produce from mango to cherries and berries go into this yummy bowl with almost no measurements. More ..the merrier. And let the natural flavors, textures shine, but going easy on dressing the salad. Simple lime juice with salt, pepper along with undertones of mint and cilantro make this salad shine. If you don’t like the idea of lettuce or you think greens make salad boring, then this recipe is perfect for you.
If you have not tried jicama yet, this is the place to start. Jicama is available in most grocery stores across the US and in Mexican food stores. This root vegetable is commonly just cut into circles on a popsicle stick that is then dunked in lime juice, sprinkled with chili powder and salt before being enjoyed in Mexico. Whichever recipe you chose to, do try jicama a very health promoting vegetable.
‘Summer in a bowl’ Jicama salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 jicama – chopped
- 1 mango – cubed
- 2 carrots – chopped into small pieces
- 1/2 cup red onion- finely chopped optional
- 1 jalapeno- finely chopped
- 1 cucumber – chopped into small pieces
- 4-6 sweet peppers or can use one bell pepper- chopped into pieces
- 10 cherries- sliced so that pits are removed
- 15 blue berries- cut into halves
- 10 grapes- sliced
- 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
- 10 mint leaves- finely chopped
- 2 limes- juice squeezed
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Literally, there is only one instruction for this recipe. Cut the produce as above and even add more varieties if you desire, such as strawberries, corn. Then add the seasonings. That's it.I cut them into bite size cubes to slices mostly. You can change the shape of veggies and fruits from cubes to matchsticks or small circles, per your preference. But the bottom line is, cut everything (all veggies, fruits), add to a big bowl. Now squeeze the lime juice, add salt, pepper and mix it all with salad tongs. Call it done and get relish the freshest salad with best of summer.
- Eat the salad on its own for a light meal. Or, pair it as a side with pasta/ soup/ any grilled skewers this summer.
