Recipes | Black Beans and Rice

I found this budget friendly and great lunch idea from a health magazine a few years back. At first I was a little hesitant about trying it because I'm not big on black beans, but at the time I was willing to try anything that would save me money. After adding a few spices and extra veggies it became one of my favorite meal for lunch that gets me full without feeling bloated in the end.

What You'll Need:

• Brown Rice
• Can of Black Beans
• Choice of Spices (I used chopped dry onion and garlic powder)
• Can of diced tomato* or Salsa

This makes a lot so it's perfect to refrigerate and heat up for lunch during the week.

1. Start by cooking about one cup of rice (usually yields 3-4 servings after cooked) according to instructions.
2. Strain any extra water out and put back in the sauce pan, set burner on low and return it to the stove top. 
3. Strain the black beans and mix into the rice.
4. Add in your spices; I usually guess the amount, but I'd say I use about two teaspoons of dry onion and teaspoon of garlic powder.
5. If you want to keep it simple strain the chopped tomatoes in with everything or to spice it up mix in about 1/4cup salsa. 
6. Mix well and let sit for a minute or so until everything is warmed up.
7. Finish with a little bit of sour cream.
8. Enjoy!

*if you don't like pieces of tomato in your rice feel free to use tomato paste instead