Looking for an easy side dish or even a lighter fair evening salad – look no further.  This was a simple dish to put together with the only time put to cutting up the veggies. But it makes a big impact at meal time.

I love getting a new cookbook and seeing fun and inventive new combinations.  Along with the freshness of cucumbers and burst of lemon, this hits all the buttons for a balanced salad. We have made this a few times this year so far and for the shear simplicity, this will continue to be in the rotation moving forward.

It was also my first adventure with hearts of palm in my kitchen.  A wonderful first dip into a new vegetable – especially when you find out it is a heart healthy veggie that can boost brain functions – bring it on!

The first time I made this was a weeknight and we had it alongside white fish baked in parchment for dinner.  I was fortunate that there were leftovers, as those became the main part of my lunch the next day.  I topped a large bowl of mixed greens to make it more of a salad. It was fresh, bright, and filling.  Because of the avocado, this salad will not last more than one day before it starts turning brown, but I can attest that it is not hard finishing it off in two days.

The second time, making this was for entertaining friends.  It was part of a larger choose your own adventure of 4 salads dinner as one of the vegetarian options with chickpea salad, chicken salad, and ham and pickle salad.  Served with a variety of veggies, buns, or greens to give all the options for a fun salad of salads dinner. Smiles all around and requests for recipes of the evening, let me know the food was a hit! I am grateful for another successful meal! 

Heart of Palm, Avocado & Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 14 oz can Heart of Palm
• 2 Avocados, diced
• 1 English cucumber (remove seeds if lots), diced approximately same size as avocado
• Fresh lemon juice, approximately 1 medium lemon
• Sea salt

Preparation:

Drain the hearts of palm and place in a large bowl with the diced avocado and cucumber.  Stir together.  Dress with fresh lemon juice and sprinkle sea salt to taste.

Serve and enjoy!

Happy Dicing!!!

*Recipe from Nourish by Giselle Bundchen.