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Enjoy Kidney Bean & Corn Mediterranean Summer Salad (a cold summer salad) on a hot triple-digit day. Make the chilled vegetable salad on a hot summer day, and save yourself from heating up the kitchen. Furthermore, this veggie salad recipe makes a perfect meal in itself.

Keep the Recipe Simple

You can easily keep the recipe simple by opening cans of kidney beans and corn. Next, chop up fresh vegetables from your garden (or use store-bought organic veggies) to add to the beans and corn. Put a spoonful of the vegetable salad into a tortilla, roll it up, and top it with salsa.

Other Optional Salad Ingredients

Change up the recipe by adding these other optional ingredients either from your kitchen garden, local farmers market, or supermarket.

  • black beans
  • red onion
  • bell peppers
  • cherry tomatoes
  • cannellini beans
  • fresh herbs
  • green onions
  • green peppers
  • red peppers
  • garbanzo beans
  • red bell pepper
  • white beans
  • green olives
  • black olives
  • grape tomatoes
  • pinto beans
  • fresh cilantro
  • fresh parsley

You can use the different types of beans and vegetable options from the list above to create a great salad. In addition, serve the perfect salad as the main dish or a perfect summer side dish.

Salad Dressing Ideas

Now that you have great options for a cold summer salad, consider different salad dressing ideas. Make a simple and healthy salad dressing such as olive oil and red wine vinegar. Create a creamy avocado dressing by using lime juice or lemon juice, fresh avocado, black pepper, and a little salt.

Salad Toppings

What kind of salad toppings do you like? Perhaps you love to eat Mediterranean salad recipes like me, so you’ll enjoy pita chips and feta cheese as toppings. For a spicy taste, sprinkle a little chili powder and/or cayenne pepper as a last touch of seasoning.

​More Salad Ideas

Perhaps you’d like to change up flavors and serve a Mexican cold summer salad instead of the Mediterranean bean salad. You could make a black bean salad recipe or black bean corn salad served with tortilla chips and salsa. Incidentally, you can use fresh corn, uncooked, from the garden (shave the corn kernels and add to the salad).

Also, consider making an Italian-style easy bean salad recipe. This Kidney Bean & Corn Mediterranean recipe can be adapted to so many wonderful and easy salad meals. Create a great recipe just by changing up staple ingredients like different beans or a variety of fresh veggies.

Tips on How to Digest Beans

Drain the vegetables, and rinse the beans. The reason for rinsing them is that there could be something called “oligosaccharides” that may be in the liquid. This is a complex sugar, and it affects how a food is digested.

One of the best articles I’ve read with tips to digest beans is http://nourishingdays.com. Kidney beans that are not cooked are toxic, but the canned ones are precooked.

Kidney beans and corn contain good sources of fiber and protein. They make a great combination in a salad and are quite filling. Read more about the benefits of corn and kidney beans at The World’s Healthiest Foods.

Website Resources with Nutritional Information

Listed below are three websites that I’ve found helpful and gives nutritional information about kidney beans and corn. These resources offer additional information on digestion and the fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients needed daily.

Corn and Kidney Bean Recipes

Check out these three summer perfect recipes for corn or kidney beans:

  • Corn and Kidney Bean Salad at pattycakespantry.com – You’ll like this foodie blog with an extra tip for the salad – put them in jars!
  • Mexican Street Corn Salad at cookingclassy.com – I haven’t tried this yet, and it has to be cooked but looks appetizing and would be the perfect side dish for grilling out.
  • Mediterranean Kidney Bean Salad at ohmyveggies.com – Similar to my own made-up recipe (if you read my blog, you know how I love to create dishes from what’s on hand), this is a no-cook salad. Perfect for summer.

Side Dish or Snack Recipe

Enjoy this cold summer salad as a side dish or snack. Consider adding feta (I like the tomato basil) or cheddar cubes. I like using any of the options listed in the recipe, but it depends on what I have on hand.

As long as I have the basics, a can of kidney beans and a can of corn, this recipe is a favorite of mine. I like it spicy as well. However, I made it once with a tablespoon of Holmes Made Peach Habanero Fruit Spread mixed in and got it a little too spicy.

salsa and jam
Holmes Made Peach Fruit Spread & Salsa

The peach spread adds a kick to the salad, almost too much fire that can be overpowering in this Mediterranean dish. So I’ve toned it down a bit with only a teaspoon of the jam as an option.

Stock Up on Nutritious Vegetables for the Summer!

 

Blog Parties this week:

Full Plate Thursday

 

4 Comments

  1. We will just love your awesome summer salad and thanks so much for sharing it with us at Full Plate Thursday. Hope you have a fantastic day!
    Miz Helen

    1. Author

      Thank you, Miz Helen! I’m on the lookout for summer salads right now with so much triple-digit weather.

  2. I love this combination. I think my husband might like that holmes made jelly and salsa if it’s very hot. He complains that salsas that set my mouth on fire are only mild.

    1. Author

      The stuff tastes so good that when I ran out of the first jar, I started looking for the place we bought it at next time I went on a road trip with my hubby. Couldn’t find it. Then the last trip we just happened to stop at a plaza that has a cute little gift shop. I walked in the door, turned to the right, and ta-da! Now we know where the place is. However, they do have a Facebook page, and it can be ordered there I think.

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