Just Sweet & Sour Fiesta Salad

"Why not? Life is short. Life is dull. Life is full of pain. And this is a chance for something special." Juan Antonio, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

I believe that eating and food should be a special experience. It's important to eat foods that we love and that love us back in terms of the nutrition they provide. I totally  heart this salad that I came up with over the summer. I just put it together one day just using miscellaneous items I had in my fridge. Honestly sometimes experiments results in the best meals! It's also another reason I like prepping food over the weekends because you can just grab different items and put them together. Even if you are cooking just for yourself it should be a ritual that you savor and enjoy. Hence, don't eat a bowl of cereal and a cookie standing at your kitchen counter because you can't be bothered. Whenever I have been lazy and done this I just end up eating odd snacks throughout the night, and I'm never really satisfied.

I came home from yoga class the other night and this was exactly what I wanted.
I was impressed I even made it to class since we were experiencing horrible rain storms and it's always a production for me to venture out in the rain. Aren't some nights just tougher than others?

Sweet and Sour Fiesta Salad

Salad
3 cups of greens (I prefer arugula but you could used mixed greens, spinach or kale)
1/2 cup cooked sweet potato (I toss the skin)
2 tablespoons chopped red onion (I always prefer the taste of red onion since I think it's sweeter and I also learned recently that white onions are surprisingly high in sugar...who knew?)
3 tablespoons corn (I defrosted some frozen corn I had on hand in the microwave)
1/4 of an avocado chopped
3 tablespoons black beans
3 tablespoons diced red pepper
3 ounces grilled chicken or protein of your choice (you could also use a white fish like cod or tilapia and tofu is great as a vegetarian option)

Dressing
2 tablespoons nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon chipotle or flavored mayonnaise
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Extra lime and salt/pepper to taste

It's so tasty and very filling! This serving is for one person so you could just double up on ingredients to make it for more people.

If you are feeling festive you could add a Skinny Girl Margarita to round out the meal. Who doesn't love Bethenny Frankel and her cocktails?