Asian Salad with Spicy Mango Dressing

     Let's be real y'all, it doesn't take a genius to make a good salad. Pick a vague theme, chop some stuff, put it in a bowl. Ta-da. It does however take a little finesse to make the right salad dressing. So whenever I find a new salad recipe I don't hesitate to change out ingredients willy-nilly. For example this recipe called for cabbage. I don't like raw cabbage. Have you ever eaten plain raw cabbage? No bueno. And you know, I didn't have pink salt, or black sesame seeds so I sub'd in the type I did have. And I traded in peanuts instead of almonds because slivered almonds are rich people food. But the point is that ultimately it doesn't really matter because the true hero of this recipe is in the dressing.

       Not going to lie to you, I had to google how to buy a mango (similar rule of thumb to an avocado). And yes maybe I also had to google how to peel it (NOT like an avocado). Lil sloppy. But amateur hour aside the end result of this recipe was a tasty dish. The mango dressing had the perfect kick, it brightens up the whole dish and is 100% guilt free. So slather it on my people (not going to lie, I'm usually one of those 2 to 1 dressing to lettuce ratio gals).

       Okay down to the brass tacks. Would I make this recipe again? Absolutely. It was cheap, filling, and super quick. Rubs me nice in all the right places. And with the addition of the peanuts it was quite filling as well. And that dressing, ooo baby.

----- Credit for original recipe goes to the Simple Veganista, find the original here -----

Lazy Factor:  
Cost:                
Deliciousness:
                                                                      
(Avocado meter is out of five; the more avocados per lazy factor = the more time consuming or difficult the recipe )

Ingredients
    Salad:                                                                           Dressing: 
        1 head romaine, torn to bite sized pieces      1 ripe mango, peeled and seed removed
        1 red bell pepper, sliced                                      4 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
        1 yellow bell pepper, sliced                                 1 1/2 tablespoons water
        2 scallions, sliced                                                  1 clove garlic
        1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped                  1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
        1 avocado, sliced, to serve                                  pinch of salt
        sesame seeds (garnish)
        peanuts, chopped (garnish)
     
Servings: 4
Time: A half hour. The dressing didn't even take that long.

Directions
     Puree the dressing in your food processor (or magic bullet for me) adding extra water a few tbsp at a time to get your desired consistency. assemble romaine, peppers, scallions and cilantro in a large separate bowl, toss to combine. Portion out your serving, sprinkle some sesame seeds and peanuts, slice some avocado and pour desired amount of dressing.

Notes:
     This one isn't that complicated. The only thing I really learned is that mangoes are sloppy, and try not to forget the avocado the first go around like I did.