New tastes

As you most likely are aware, I like trying new foods and experimenting with my tastebuds...especially when there's a healthy alternative. A couple recent recipes I tried include a Waldorf Salad and brownies. The healthy spin on these is the fact the Waldorf Salad is made without the mayo and the brownies are made with black beans.

Waldorf Salad: I can't say this complete recipe came from my noggin but I did combine a few different recipes so I suppose I could say this my own version of this salad.

1 McIntosh apple; cored and cubed
1 Granny Smith apple; cored and cubed
1 celery rib, sliced thin
2/3 cup packed fresh mint leaves; washed, dried and chopped
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup cran-raisins
1/4 cup walnuts (or pecans)
2 scallions, chopped
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
Lettuce

1. Combine all ingredients into a large bowl and toss well. Serve over lettuce.

Verdict: Thumbs Up! I've made this twice already. It's such a colorful dish and has so much flavor!

Here's a photo of my little chef practicing her mixing skills while I was making the Waldorf Salad. What a cutie!!

Brownies: I over heard someone at work talking about black bean brownies so I did a little research and here's what I found:

1 can of black beans
1 box brownie mix

1. Drain and wash the black beans. Place the black beans back into the can and fill can with water.
2. Place water and beans into blender and blend until smooth.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together brownie mix and blended black beans. Pour into a greased pan and follow baking instructions on your brownie mix box.

Verdict: Thumbs down. Once I took a bite, the only thing I could taste was beans so I wasn't a big fan of this recipe. These are suppose to be healthy for you but since they don't satisfy my tastebuds, I don't think I'll be making these again unless I can find a recipe that doesn't make these taste like beans. Thoughts anyone?