Greetings friends! Today, I want to lay out a few rice and bean variations.
Rice and beans is a perfect base for a meal because it offers a high protein, high fiber, and high carb meal that is quick to put together and can be arranged with whatever is in your fridge.
Though living off of rice and beans alone may not be the best idea, mixing rice and beans into your regular meal plan for a week is.
The best part about rice and beans is that it can be a base for almost any meal. You can have a theme, or a goal, or some leftover roasted veggies you are unsure of what to do with.
I lied, there are too many best things about rice and beans and I will list off a handful of my favourite things about the staple.
It can be made ahead for meal prep for a busy or lazy week. Super healthy with fiber, protein, fats, carbs, and vitamins. Both ingredients are very affordable and widely accessible.
I always use brown rice or wild rice, I never use white. White rice has been processed and bleached which strips the grain of its nutrients. I also never ever use minute or instant rice, these are closer to plastic than to rice and will only gum up your system rather than massage and nurture it like rice should.
Another great thing about rice and beans is that it doesn't necessarily have to be rice. You can use any similar grains to reach the same goal, some grains actually offering different benefits.
Grains like quinoa and barley offer their own unique nutrient profiles. Quinoa of course is higher in protein, higher in fiber, and highest in iron. Barley offers a large helping of vitamins and minerals.
Whole grains are important for overall health because they feed your good gut bacteria, the insoluble fiber carries waste through your intestines making digestion smoother, and whole grains allow better absorption of other foods when eaten together.
Depending on the beans you choose, there will be different benefits. For example, kidney beans are the highest in protein of all the beans, but black beans are the highest in antioxidants.
Onto some variations of rice and beans…
My favourite go to rice and bean dinner has to be Spanish themed.
For a Spanish themed rice and bean dinner I make traditional Spanish rice, pinto beans, and I add fresh produce such as cilantro, avocado, tomatoes, spinach, red onions, and garlic.
Recipe for Spanish rice;
In a large pot, add a ½ cup of rice for every person, rice, like beans, triple in size when cooked. Add 6 cups of water for 1 cup of rice, add 8 cups of water for 2 cups rice, and so on…
Add 2 tbsp crushed tomatoes, 1 tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp cumin.
Bring the rice and water to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, drain the excess water and place the pot back on the warm burner for 2 minutes to evaporate any extra liquid on the rice, fluff with a fork and add salt and pepper to taste.
You can make double the rice and use the leftover rice within 4 days for another rice and bean meal.
With this rice I will add my cooked pinto beans in an equal portion to rice and top with chopped raw red onion, sautéed garlic and spinach, diced tomato, avocado, cilantro, and lime juice.
Another fun rice and bean variation is a Greek themed meal.
For a Greek themed meal with rice and beans I would use white beans of chickpeas, simple brown rice, Kalamata olives pitted, red onion, lemon juice, parsley, tomato, and cucumber with a drizzle of tahini.
The brown rice can be cooked the exact same as the Spanish rice, instead of adding crushed tomatoes, chili powder, and cumin, you would leave it plain.
Traditionally when I was vegetarian I would add feta cheese to this, if you have found vegan feta cheese that you make or buy that tastes salty and authentic, this would be a great way to use it!
A third rice and bean meal variation could be based on leftover grilled veggies.
With roasted vegetables such as zucchini, mushrooms, and bell peppers. You can use rice, quinoa, or barley for roasted vegetables depending on personal preference. The best beans to go with these roasted veggies would be kidney beans, white beans, or black beans.
To roast the veggies, it can be done on the BBQ or in the oven. If using a BBQ, roast the mushrooms and peppers whole, the zucchini sliced lengthwise in half, cooking the peppers first, when they are halfway done and looking charred on half the pepper add the zucchini and the mushrooms to the grill, also flipping halfway to desired texture or doneness.
When roasting these veggies in the oven, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Add quartered mushrooms, large diced zucchini, and large diced peppers to a 9x13” baking dish. Add oil of your choosing (avocado oil is best), salt, pepper, and maybe some rosemary, sage, or thyme. Bake for 15 minutes, mix the veggies up, bake for another 20-25 minutes until they are slightly burnt just on the edges.
Once the veggies are roasted and prepared, add them to your rice and beans of your choosing. Now to add a special flavour that brings this meal even farther could be a BBQ sauce drizzle, tahini or nut butter, sesame oil and soy sauce, fresh lemon juice, or a light vinaigrette dressing.
All 3 of these combinations are different enough to be considered totally different meals on their own, though they all have the rice and bean base.
There are nearly endless possibilities of what can be done with rice and beans, you could even add to your leftovers by making rice and beans alongside.
Rice and beans have been a staple in the human diet historically, and this contributes to why rice and beans are so easily digested. The body is adapted to extracting nutrients from these foods and can do so efficiently.
If you are ever unsure what to make for dinner and you have limited time or limited energy, rice and beans is a quick way to fill and satisfy your hunger with items already in your cupboard.
I hope you enjoy the combinations given, and will maybe reconsider rice and beans as a perfect go to meal for your busiest weeknight.
Thank you!