keep your diet real

Black beans and rice is one of the first meals that I learned to make when I was in college. All culinary exploration in college began with the following prerequisites…

• Super easy
• Super cheap
• (if you’re a nutrition major) Super healthy

I started off my freshman year with a hot pot and an entire drawer full of ramen noodles so graduating to beans and rice was a pretty big day for me. After 13 years, beans and rice is still one of my faithful dinner staples.

Meal Planning Tip:

Make a list of 10 easy, cheap, and healthy meals that you can make in under 30 minutes. Stick the list on your fridge so that you’ll have some inspiration when mealtimes sneak up on you. It’s easier to make a healthy choice when you have some healthy options to choose from.

Recipe: Black Beans & Rice

Ingredients:

• 1/4 small white onion diced
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• 1/2 cup carrots diced
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 red pepper rinsed, seeded, and diced
• 1/2 green pepper rinsed, seeded and diced
• 1 can (15 oz) of organic black beans with liquid (alternatively you can rinse the beans to remove excess sodium and replace the liquid with 1/4 cup of water)
• Sea salt and black pepper (to taste)
• Spices: today I used curry powder, paprika, chili powder, and celery salt. I like to experiment with spices so what I use this time I might not use again. This happened to be a nice combination but I missed the cumin (I ran out).
• Garnishes: scallions, diced red onion, cilantro and some raw diced red and green peppers. You could also add diced avocado, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, diced tomatoes, etc.

Directions:

1. In a medium size sauce pan heat olive oil over medium/high heat until sizzling. Add onions and garlic and cook until translucent and fragrant.
2. Add carrots and saute with onions and garlic, stirring occasionally until texture of carrots softens slightly (about 2-3 minutes)
3. Add peppers and saute for 2-3 minutes.
4. Next, add can of black beans and stir.
5. Add spices and salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve with white rice, brown rice, or as a topping for nacho chips
7. Makes about 2 adult size portions.

I used white rice today. Brown rice is certainly healthier alternative to white rice.  It takes a little longer to cook and has a slightly different texture, but it has more fiber and has a lower glycemic index.

Personal Fact: Scallions and other members of the onion family are some of my very favorite vegetables. I have been known to fry up an entire onion and eat it with my breakfast. Look out.

Which recipes are on your top 10?