Hoppin’ John Salad for Lunch

Hoppin’ John is a beans and rice dish from the south that is traditionally made on New Year’s Day for good luck.  I don’t know about you, but I need good luck all throughout the year, so I have no problem making this salad right smack in the middle of summer.  The best thing about it is that you can make it one day (or night) and have a healthy, convenient lunch ready for the next 3-4 days.  The original Hoppin’ John dish is made with bacon and who knows what else–I’m not from the south–but this salad version is much healthier.

I originally encountered this recipe when my mom was diagnosed with cancer in 2007 and I started my nutrition mission.  Cancerproject.org is home to a group that promotes a plant-based diet for cancer survival  and they have a free cook book that I downloaded, The Survivor’s Handbook:  Eating Right for Cancer Survival.  Even for someone without cancer, this is a great resource for transitioning to a plant-based diet and has a ton of great recipes!  They have a Hoppin’ John Salad recipe that was the inspiration for my salad.  I made a few changes to make it more colorful and crunchy, but you should check out the book because the original recipe is great, too.

Adapted from The Survivor’s Handbook:  Eating Right for Cancer Survival

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