DELICIOUS CUCUMBER SALAD

A refreshing,  light and easy to prepare vegetable salad, that goes well with Mechado, Adobo or any meat dish with sauce.   Cucumber is often regarded as a healthy food because it is low in calories and fat.

Ingredients:

2 pcs medium size Cucumber, peeled, cut diagonally (bite size pieces)

3-4 pcs  Tomatoes, seeded, sliced into bite size

1 pc medium White Onion, peeled, slices into strips

2-3 tbsps Mayonnaise (or Light Mayo)

1 tbsp Sweet Pickle Relish

Salt, pepper & sugar

Procedure :

Put all the three vegetables in a bowl, and in a separate smaller bowl mix the mayonnaise, pickles, salt,  pepper& a bit of sugar, season to taste and refrigerate them both, just before serving you can add the salad dressing into the cucumber mixture. 

Note :  Dressing is added just before serving the salad so that the cucumber will retain its crispiness.  

Health benefits of Cucumber (from Nutrition and You website)

This wonderful, low calorie vegetable indeed has more nutrients to offer than just water and electrolytes.

• It is one of the very low calories vegetable; provides just 15 calories per 100 g. It contains no saturated fats or cholesterol. Cucumber peel is a good source of dietary fiber that helps reduce constipation, and offers some protection against colon cancers by eliminating toxic compounds from the gut.
• It is a very good source of potassium, an important intracellular electrolyte. Potassium is a heart friendly electrolyte; helps reduce blood pressure and heart rates by countering effects of sodium.
• It contains unique anti-oxidants in good ratios such as ß-caroteneand α-carotene, vitamin-C, vitamin-A,zea-xanthinand lutein. These compounds help act as protective scavengers against oxygen-derived free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that play a role in aging and various disease processes.
• Cucumbers have mild diuretic property probably due to their high water and potassium content, which helps in checking weight gain and high blood pressure.
• They are surprisingly have high amount of vitamin K, provides about 17 µg of this vitamin per 100 g. Vitamin-K has been found to have potential role in bone strength by promoting osteotrophic (bone mass building) activity. It also has established role in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease patients by limiting neuronal damage in their brain

AMPALAYA SALAD (Bitter Gourd)

1 large Ampalaya

3-4 pcs Red Tomatoes, sliced diagonally

1 whole Onion,sliced diagonally

½ cup White Vinegar or any type of vinegar you prefer

2 tbsps Salt

Slice ampalaya in half lengthwise, with a teaspoon scrape-off all the white membrane in the middle.  Wash and pat dry the ampalaya, then cut in into thin slices.  Put the sliced Ampalaya in a bowl, sprinkle with about 2 tbsps salt, stir very well and set aside for awhile.  After 15 minutes wash the ampalaya with ¼ cup vinegar, stirring gently, then pour out the vinegar.  When drained,  add the tomatoes, onion and remaining ¼ cup vinegar (a little bit at a time), add salt if needed.  Refrigerate for a while and serve.

Delicious paired with fried chicken adobo!

Enjoy!