The crazy simple delicious 3 bean salad recipe.

We’ve been eating a lot of beans thanks to the slow carb diet. Basically, we can still eat carbs, mainly to keep us from getting hungry but those carbs must be of “slow carb” type, which really means it has low glycemic index (low GI).

Low GI foods release glucose into your bloodstream more slowly and steadily, preventing that dreaded sugar high —> sugar crash phenemenon that one experiences after eating refined junk food.

So ingredients like beans and mushrooms are generally low GI and are permitted in our diet.

This 3-bean salad is easy to whip up and so, so, so delicious. It changed my perception of beans entirely! Yes, I was beginning to get really sick of beans until I made this dish :)

# – Crazy simple 3 bean salad.

For the salad:

  • 3 cans of different beans (I used kidney beans, fava beans & chickpeas)
  • 1 green pepper/capsicum, seeded and chopped
  • 2 small red onion, sliced thinly
  • For the dressing:

  • 1/3 cup of red wine vinegar
  • 1/3 cup of granulated sugar (I used oligofructose, a natural sweetener for health reason)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • # – First, put all ingredients of the dressing in a bowl and whisk till completely combined. Allow it to stand.

    # – Now, throw in the chopped green pepper into a mixing bowl.

    # – Followed by the sliced red onions.

    # – Open the cans of beans and pour it into a strainer. Then rinse them through till the water runs clear.

    # – Pour the beans into the mixing bowl.

    # – Give the dressing a final whisk and pour it all over the salad.

    # – With a spatula, mix it up well making sure the beans are well coated with dressing.

    # – Chill the bean salad for at least an hour before eating.

    # – Serve as a side dish. DELICIOUS!

    # – The salad tasted even more amazing the day after. The beans were chilled through & completely soaked up the dressing.

    Quick with no cooking involved. Absolutely delicious and surprisingly healthy. I’ve made this 3 times so far using different beans.

    Try it out!

    Attempting to make my own Nando’s peri-peri chicken recipe.

    For years we were bitter that the nearest Nando’s wouldn’t deliver to our home which was only about 5kms away. But that didn’t stop us from eating at Nando’s.

    In fact, if we ever spotted a Nando’s anywhere, it would take precedent over other meal options. Like seriously, we would know where to eat in a heartbeat. Nando’s!

    Recently, we embarked on a slow-carb diet and boy were we happy when we realised that Nando’s has the best slow carb meals! Proteins, vegetables and beans…superb! However, Nando’s still does not deliver to my area :(

    # – Kimberly’s homemade peri-peri chicken!

    But it’s okay now because I can make my own peri-peri chicken at home!

    For the peri-peri sauce:

  • 3 bird’s eye chillies (if want spicier increase amount up to 8 for very hot), chopped
  • 3 ordinary red chillies, chopped
  • 1 red capsicum, seeded and chopped
  • 5 cloves of garlic, peeled
  • 2 tablespoonfuls of oregano
  • 1/2 a cup of olive oil
  • Juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • 70 ml of white vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons of salt
  • For the chicken:

  • 1 whole chicken, butterflied and cut into half
  • Some salt
  • By the way, the recipe for the peri-peri sauce yields about 300ml of sauce. Multiply it accordingly if you want to make more, it keeps for a month in the fridge!

    # – First, pour the olive oil into a saucepan over medium heat.

    # – Then add the white vinegar.

    # – When the oil & vinegar mixture starts simmering, throw in the chopped up red capsicums.

    # – As well as the garlic cloves.

    # – Followed by juice of half a lemon. Stir to mix.

    # – Allow the mixture to simmer for 15 minutes.’

    # – After 15 minutes, turn off the heat. Add the chopped red chillies with seeds and all.

    # – Not to forget the bird’s eyes chillies too, with seeds as well.

    # – Also the oregano.

    # – And lastly, salt. Allow the mixture to cool down slightly, about 10-15 minutes.

    # – After it has cooled down a bit, pour it into a blender.

    # – Blitz till it’s creamy and turn a bright orange. The peri-peri sauce is now done :D

    # – Now, pour about 150 ml of sauce all over the chicken (that’s been rubbed with some salt) and brush it all over. Keep the rest of the sauce.

    # – Stick the chicken in the fridge to marinade for a minimum of 3 hours or best, overnight.

    # – When ready to cook, bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees celcius for 30 minutes. Then turn the heat down to 180 degrees celcius and cook for a further 15-20 minutes.

    # – Peri-peri chicken, DONE!

    # – Serve with grilled vegetables and 3 bean salad (recipe to be posted soon). Pour the remaining peri-peri sauce over the chicken for extra oomph.

    # – And that’s how you make your own Nando’s peri-peri chicken at home.

    The chicken was succulent and full of flavours. The sauce was delicious!

    The BF said that it didn’t taste precisely like the sauce from Nando’s but it’s unmistakably a peri-peri sauce with its own special kick. Happy cooking!