Not only does this salad look beautiful and taste great, but umeboshi plum vinegar has digestive enzymes and avocado provides good fat which helps dissolve bad fat. This is an easy salad to make, and even easier when you use organic produce because you don t have to peel cucumbers, for instance.

1 can organic black beans

or 2 cups cooked beans

2 tbs umeboshi plum vinegar
2 ripe Hass avocados, peeled and diced ¼ cup olive oil
2½ cups cucumber, minced 1 tsp sea salt
½ cup red onion, minced 1 tsp garlic, minced
2 cups red pepper, minced ¾ tsp basil
2 tb lemon juice ¾ tsp oregano
1 tsp black pepper

Place ingredients in a large bowl and toss well. If your cucumber (or any vegetable) yields a little more than the recipe calls for, feel free to use it up in the salad. That’s why we taste and adjust seasoning at the end. Serve right away or chill an hour. If you want to prepare this the night before, add avocado before serving instead of when making salad. At times I add feta, chopped hard-boiled eggs or tofu to make it a whole meal. It all works!