I wanted to create a colorful rice salad to go along with some black bean tacos I was making. This salad is flavorful and beautiful! It packs in the antioxidants too! Red peppers, mangoes, carrots, and green scallions provide the rainbow of color. Lately-I guess I’ve been seeing rainbows, like my Rainbow Kale Salad! Wow-these would actually be awesome together, now that I think of it!

The carrot ginger dressing that I made for this is super easy to whip up and, unlike most dressings, you can actually have it as a smoothie it’s so good for you! For a sweeter dressing, omit the onion, and you’ve got a smoothie or a sweeter dressing!

Wild rice is actually not a true rice. It is a grass seed that is native to my part of the country, and was a staple of Native people around the Great Lakes. There are health benefits to eating whole grain rice, and skipping the polished white stuff! Dr. Gregor, of www.nutritionfats.org has a great video on the health benefits of red, black, and purple rice. Wild rice contains almost twice the protein and fiber as brown rice, and is also high in B vitamins, manganese, zinc, potassium, phosphorous and magnesium, while being relatively low in calories. Ingredients:

1 cup wild rice or black rice

1 cup diced mango (1 full mango)

1/4 cup minced scallions

1 cup diced red pepper

1/2 cup shredded or julienne carrots

1/2 cup celery

1 tbsp lime juice

1/2 tbsp maple syrup

3-4 tbsp minced cilantro or parsley (I LOVE cilantro, but there’s a lot of haters out there)

salt/pepper to taste

1/2 cup Carrot Ginger Dressing (or more based on texture desire)

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (or more-to texture desire)

1/4-1/2 tsp salt and fresh black pepper to taste Instructions: Make Carrot Ginger Chia Dressing For rice salad base: cook rice with 2 cups of water, preferably in a pressure cooker. If rice cooker or pressure cooker, bring to pressure, reduce heat to low and and cook 12 minutes, turn heat off and allow heat to drop. Alternatively: bring water and rice to boil, reduce to low and cook until water is absorbed and rice is chewy, not mushy, about 45 minutes. This can be done ahead of time, 1-2 days. Cut all ingredients while rice is cooking. When cutting mango-squeeze lime juice on top to prevent browning. Once rice has cooled, add all ingredients together, adding in dressing, as desired. Season with salt and pepper, and additional lime juice to taste Serve with Black Bean Tacos or a big kale salad and this root veggie soup! Nutritional Benefits: Wild rice is low glycemic and full of fiber

Veggies and mango in this salad and dressing are packed full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory, 72% Vitamin C (boosts immune function), 64% Vitamin A (lowers blood pressure, boosts skin, nail, bone/teeth, eye, and hair health)

Gluten free and plant-based

No added oils-heart healthy and diabetic friendly

Pumpkin seeds-a great source of zinc, plant-based protein, and magnesium