Mangoes for Dinner

My favorite part of cooking is coming up with awesome meals with whatever you've got. Yeah, I could probably plan out even better meals, but where's the fun in that? Last night I had two mangoes that were going to spoil if I didn't use them that second. Okay, Mangoes, you're coming with me.

It was a sweaty 90° lawn mowing day so limited cooking was key. I already had grilled chicken waiting in the fridge, so a cool crisp mango chicken salad would hit the spot. I made a vinaigrette from...

• 4 tablespoons of avocado oil
• 4 tablespoons of fresh orange ( about the juice of one orange)
• 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of honey

Here's a Tip! If you haven't done anything to clean your garbage disposal recently, cut up some leftover citrus rinds and toss them in with some coarse salt and ice cubes. Run hot water and let the ice and salt scour, and the citrusy rinds clean and freshen.

This avocado oil must be amazing in your hair, gotta try that sometime...

Assemble the salad: just picked lettuce from the garden, sliced chicken, diced mangoes, canned sweet corn, black beans, and crumbled queso fresco. The dressing is sweet and tangy. Usually I'm not a huge fan of fruit in salads, but this was a winner.

I also made coconut mango paletas (fancy mexican ice pops) right away so they could freeze in time for dessert. I highly recommend investing in a popsicle mold for healthy refreshing treats. I could easily eat a gallon of a salted caramel ice cream in one sitting, but when there's nothing but fruity popsicles in the fridge, it helps slake my indulgent ice cream tooth. These were made from...

• One and a half mangoes
• A 1/4 cup of coconut cream, not milk. You can buy in it in a teeny carton, or just scrape the creamy top off a can of coconut milk, then you're left with low fat coconut milk for later.
• About a tablespoon of agave for extra sweetness
• Juice from two limes

Blend away and pop them in the molds! (Best enjoyed with an accompanying margarita.)

Ooo look at that newly mowed lawn!