I've recently been on a chips and salsa kick. It seems so healthy, right? Salsa, especially pico de gallo, is so fresh and most of them are fat free, but when you add on a side of chips, they can take you on a trip to naughty town. When I lived in Cabo San Lucas for a summer, I would order chips and salsa while sunbathing at the beach. Let's just put it this way, my body wasn't the only thing glistening from oil under that latitude 22 sun. The tortilla chips in the basket left greasy streaks on my fingers. I actually had to call the combo quits for a while so I wouldn't start packing on the pounds.
Fast forward to now, summer of 2014. It's hot outside, and once again I'm craving my chips and salsa combo, so I came up with a creative compromise: Salsa Salad (chips optional)! I get all the flavors of my salsa and it's so healthy. I used grape tomatoes because they are firm and won't get mushy or release too much tomato juice. The avocado will add some potassium and healthy fats and the rest of the ingredients are fat free.
This simple Salsa Salad dish is fresh, festive and fantastic. Oh, and it's vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free, to boot. Serve it in a medium size bowl or place them in mini ramekins for a great pass-around appetizer (I found this colorful bowl on sale at Anthropologie the day I was inspired to create this dish). Give my new slim-down summer recipe a try - and you may even skip those tortillas chips!
Combine all ingredients (add avocado last). Stir gently until well mixed. Serve and enjoy!
