Did you know that I have a podcast that’s quickly approaching 400 episodes? It’s called Best to the Nest and it’s truly my passion project because former myTalk 107.1 radio personality Margery Punnett and I get to chat about whatever we want for as along as we want. The freedom is intoxicating. 😉 And this week’s episode was so inspiring, I had to share what I learned with the Minnesota Live audience as well.

Senia Mae is at Doctor of Chinese Medicine and a Functional Medicine Practitioner. I’ve been seeing her for almost a decade and she’s a wealth of knowledge. The focus of our conversation on the podcast was the biggest buzz term in wellness right now: Gut Health. You can listen to episode 383 of Best to the Nest to get the full experience – but one big takeaway for me was that while probiotics, fermented foods and unprocessed foods are super important to gut health – FIBER intake is key. Senia recommends getting 25 grams of fiber into your hot bod a day and she says including “Fiber Powerhouses” in your diet is key. Beans and avocado top her list – so this week on Minnesota Live I shared this Corn, Bean & Avocado salad that’s great as a side dish, a topping for grilled chicken or salmon or used as a salsa on tacos or nachos. It packs a fiber punch and best of all – it’s totally delicious.

Corn, Bean & Avocado Salad

Gather this:

• 1 10 oz bag frozen corn, thawed
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 avocado, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 small red onion, diced
• the juice of 1 lime
• 2 tbsp avocado or olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Do this:

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and mix together gently. Serve! Feel free to add other ingredients that you like – chopped bell or hot peppers, cotija cheese or queso fresco, diced basil or chives and/or pinto beans all sound like fun additions!