Healthier Eating: Mixed Fruit Coleslaw with Kraft® Mango Chipotle Salad Dressing

With the realization that we are not getting younger and that we want to be around to see our great-great-grandchildren, my husband and I are trying to make healthier choices, not only ourselves but for our children as well.

Before we decided to get healthy, our diets consisted of foods that were high in fat, sodium and sugar. As African-American, so much of our health depend on the food we eat. Obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and colon cancer are problems that are running rampant in the black community. These health problems are preventable just by adopting a healthier lifestyle.

In my home, we cut down on soda and other high in sugar beverages. Opting to drink more water and teas. We limit our consumption of fried foods to about once a week. Watching our sodium intake is probably the hardest change I had to implement. It’s easier to put into practice when I’m preparing the meal from scratch and since I do most of the cooking, I’m learning to cook using herbs and spice to build flavor profiles so I don’t have to rely so heavily on salt and seasoned salts. I can be a little heavy handed when seasoning my food, so I’m careful and watchful of the amount of salt I use.

But, I’m finding it’s harder to watch our sodium consumption if we eat processed foods. Some processed foods have a week’s worth of sodium in one serving! I’m exaggerating, but not really. As I started to take notice of the nutritional labels on my food and focus on the daily value (DV) of sodium in processed, packaged, and prepared foods, I was surprised the fact that in a large portion of the foods I was choosing to give my family had sodium amount two to three times, sometimes more, than the daily recommended amount.

My children are finding it difficult adjusting to eating larger portions of vegetables but,  I want each meal to have vegetables, even breakfast, and with dinner I want vegetables as the main side dish and the rice, potato, or pasta,  a.k.a the starch, to be the supporting side dish. Instead of the other way around, where I put a heap of the starchy food, loaded with carbs on the plate along with just a few tablespoons of vegetables.

It isn’t too hard to find vegetable recipes that my oldest and youngest will eat. They can tolerate vegetables. If the vegetables are seasoned right, at the right tenderness, they’ll eat they right up. It’s my middle child that will not have too much to do with vegetables. He does better with raw vegetables than he does with cooked ones. What I usually do when I’m cooking vegetables is to leave some of them raw for him that way he’ll still have vegetables on his plate when we sit down to eat.

Me on the other hand, I love vegetables. I can’t get enough of them, especially as I’m getting older. I’ll take eating plate vegetables over eating meat and starch. I’m really considering becoming a semi-vegetarian. Is that a thing? I’d still eat meat, just not on the regular. Maybe twice or three times a month. I’d eat fish, eggs, and low-fat dairy. Many of my meals, especially dinner would be vegetarian. My husband would get down with this with me, I think. He like vegetables, but he’s also a meat-loving man. He’ll take his vegetarian dish with a piece of chicken on the side, lol.

But anyway, this post is about a coleslaw I made. I was craving something crunchy and sweet. I had some coleslaw mix in the frig, left over from a creamy sweet dill coleslaw I made and a bottle of Kraft® Mango and Chipotle dressing. If you have never tried this dressing, when you finish reading this, go to the store and pick some up. it is so good you’ll want to slap your mama and run.) 

The crunchiness from the coleslaw, the sweetness from the fruit, and the heavenly goodness from the dressing. came together to make an awesomely refreshing salad.

Here is the recipe so you can try it yourself.

Mixed Fruit Coleslaw with Kraft® Mango Chipotle Salad Dressing

What you’ll need:

Serving: 2

2 cups coleslaw mix

1 ¼ cups mixed fruit (no sugar added, in natural juice) drained, reserve juice

¼ cup of Kraft® Mango Chipotle Salad Dressing

¼ cup of reserved juice from fruit

¼ to ½ teaspoon of white or apple cider vinegar

fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:

In mixing bowl, combine coleslaw mix and mixed fruit, set aside. To make dressing, combine Kraft® Mango Chipotle Salad Dressing and half of the fruit juice. Whisk together. Taste. Add more fruit juice to suit your taste. Whisk in vinegar adding a little bit at a time to suit your taste or omit it altogether if dressing is tangy enough for you. Toss half the dressing with the salad, reserve half to add more at the table if you like. Chill for at least 20 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle with fresh crack black pepper. Enjoy!!

This salad was crunchy and sweet, but not too sweet. It really tamed my craving for something sweet, yet healthy. I was giving the dish the side eye when I first threw it together. I wasn’t too sure if the flavor of the coleslaw went with the flavor of the fruit. Both flavors complimented each other very well. The dressing really makes the dish. You’ll only need a dash of vinegar. The dressing is already slightly tangy, I added just a little, because I like my dressing with extra bite. Try adding thinly sliced red onions and some mandarin orange, both of which I think will elevate the flavors.

I am very proud of myself for making a healthy food choice. I was craving crunchy and sweet and I didn’t even think about something unhealthy. I went right for the better option. Yay, me!!! I think this healthier lifestyle might be taking hold.

Sorry for the fuzzing photos, a sister need a new camera.

May God be with you until we meet again.