I LOVE tomatoes. So it’s no surprise, then, that the first time I had an incredibly flavourful plate of Mexican rice and beans, flavoured with tomatoes and spices, I was in love.
I’m not crazy about the taste and starchiness of rice, so this recipe is much more a Mexican Beans recipe with a bit of rice, rather than a perfect balance of the two. This is a complete protein stand-alone, or a great nacho spread (hello, layered dips!), burrito filling or chip dip.
I hope you love it! As always, the nutritional fun facts are below the recipe.
Happy eating!
Nathalie
Holistic Nutritionist
Mexican Rice and Beans Recipe:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup short-grain or medium-grain brown rice
1 cup water
1 small onion
1/2 hot pepper (or more, as to your tastes – I used 1/2 cayenne pepper with seeds)
4 large cloves of garlic
1-2 tbsp. olive oil
1 large can (28 fl. oz) black beans (I used Eden Organic BPA-Free)
OR
2 cups soaked & cooked black beans
1 tomato – blended into pulpy, seedy juice
1 tbsp.+ mild-medium chili powder (I used 1 heaping tablespoon)
1/2 tsp. cumin powder
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. oregano flakes
Method:
Add 1/2 cup rice to a saucepan. Cook as indicated on the package.
While that’s cooking, add garlic, onions, and hot pepper to a food processor (or chop by hand) until minced. Add to a pan, and saute with oil for about 2 minutes (until the hot pepper smells so spicy that you get a bit choked up!). Add beans, chili, cumin, tomato juice, 1/4 cup water and let reduce (cooking on medium) for 7-10 minutes (you’ll smell it getting spicier!) uncovered. Once reduced and smelling DELICIOUS, take off heat and add 1 tsp. oregano flakes.
Once the timer goes off indicating that the rice is finished, take it off heat and keep covered another 5-10 minutes (until you’re finished reducing your bean-tomato mixture). Then, add rice to the bean-tomato pan, stir and enjoy!
Nutrition Fun:
-HOLY SMOKES! Black beans were found to have 10 times the amount of antioxidants of oranges!
-In animal studies, a diet that included black beans found a reduced number of pre-cancerous cells, even when the animals were fed cancer-causing chemicals.
-Black beans are a complete protein already. But by adding rice and beans, we increase the amount of protein we can take in from them.
-Cayenne Pepper & Chili Pepper has been shown to reduce cholesterol and speed up your ability to burn fat!
Sources:
The World’s Healthiest Foods (book) by: George Mateljan
