Brown Rice Pasta & Black Beans Salad

Know what you eat:

Just one cup of brown rice will provide you with 88.0% of the daily value for manganese. This trace mineral helps produce energy from protein and carbohydrates and is involved in the synthesis of fatty acids, which are important for a healthy nervous system.
Black beans are a very good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber, as are most other legumes. In addition to lowering cholesterol, black beans' high fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal, making these beans an especially good choice for individuals with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia. When combined with whole grains such as brown rice, black beans provide virtually fat-free high quality protein. You may already be familiar with beans' fiber and protein, but this is far from all black beans have to offer.

If you are looking for whole grain pasta, try out brown rice pasta. It tastes much better than whole wheat and the fiber content is much more than whole wheat.


Cooking Time - 25 mins
Preparation Time - 10 mins
Serves - 4
Ingredients

Cooked brown rice pasta - 3 cups
Cooked rinsed & drained black bean - 1 cup
Chopped vegetables - cherry tomatoes, scallion, celery, black olives
Salt to taste for pasta, bean

Dressing
Olive oil - 2 tbsp
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp or to taste
Onion powder - 1/2 tsp
Garlic powder(optional) - 1/4 tsp
Dried Oregano - 1/2 tsp
Dried parsley - 1 tsp
Mustard powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp or to taste.

Garnishing Chopped cilantro or parsley


Method
1) Cook pasta as per directions, rinse in cold water and drain completely.
2) Soak black bean overnight and add salt cook till soft. Remove, rinse and drain the water completely.
3) Whisk all the salad dressing ingredients.
4) Combine cooked pasta, black bean and the chopped vegetables.
5) Add the salad dressing and toss gently to combine.
6) Garnish and serve.

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