Avocado, Tomato, & Cucumber Salad

Avocado, Tomato, & Cucumber Salad

Summertime is a great time to enjoy a refreshing salad that takes only minutes to prepare and makes full use of the season’s superstar ingredients. Tomatoes, avocados, and cucumbers all begin to shine during the summer months, and this is the best time to enjoy them. Visit your local farmer’s market, and find ripe avocados, juicy tomatoes, and crisp, crunchy cucumbers for your healthy summer salad. Sometimes, when the sun and the humidity are high, a cooling salad like this one is a refreshing break from heavy meat dishes, cumbersome sandwiches, and baked meals that heat up the kitchen!

Simple peel and slice your avocados, slice your cucumbers, and toss them with your cherry tomatoes in a bath of balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. Add some red onions and arugula for savory appeal, and you’ve got yourself a salad that works well as a side, accompanying fish or chicken, or as a meal in itself, with some whole grain bread to sop up some of that extra balsamic!

And this salad is chock full of superfoods! Avocados are rich in fiber, potassium, folate, and vitamin K. They’re also loaded with heart-healthy monounsaturated fats in the form of oleic acid. Tomatoes are rich in lycopene and vitamin C, as well as other antioxidants. And cucumbers are fiber-rich, and full of B vitamins. This is a salad you can have double helpings of…it’s a bowl full of nutrition!

Yields: 6 servings | Serving Size: 1-1/2 cups | Calories: 285 | Previous Points: 7 | Points Plus: 8 | Total Fat: 22 g | Saturated Fat: 3 g | Trans Fat: 0 g | Cholesterol: 0 mg | Sodium: 141 mg | Carbohydrates: 22 g | Dietary Fiber: 6 g | Sugars: 11 g | Protein: 3 g |

Ingredients

•              1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

•              1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

•              1/4 teaspoon salt

•              1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

•              2 avocados, peeled and sliced

•              14 ounces cherry tomatoes halved

•              2 cucumbers, sliced

•              2 medium red onions, sliced

•              4 cups arugula

Directions

In a small bowl, mix the balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Adjust the taste if needed.

In the serving bowl, combine all the vegetables then dress with the balsamic dressing before eating.