Arroz con Frijoles Negros - Black Bean & Rice

World Cup fervor has me daydreaming about my favorite Latin dishes.  The best thing about Latin food is that it's been one-pot, working-woman, quick to prepare for generations. Long before Rachel Ray, women in Latin communities were making delicious, flavorful meals simply and efficiently. This recipe relies on their cooking ingenuity, but adds a whole-food flare. 

This meal is an athlete's dream. If you are as active as me, or you're working hard to strengthen a tired body, prepare this generous dish and serve up a healthy serving of protein, complex carbohydrates, and vegetables.

Ingredients:
2 cups sprouted Brown Rice or long grain White Rice
2 teaspoons of Saffron
1 teaspoon of Turmeric
3 cups of water 
1 can of diced Tomatoes, with green peppers and onions
2 cups of canned Organic Black Beans, drained and rinse
2 Roma Tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup of Fresh Cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon Oregano
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Directions:

Add the turmeric and saffron to the water and bring to a boil. Add the can of diced tomatoes and rice, turn down heat allow to simmer for 25 minutes. Keep the rice covered and allow it absorb the last of the water. 

While the rice simmers, rinse the black beans with hot water and drain them. Chop the cilantro and Roma tomatoes. Combine black beans, oregano, salt and pepper. Fold in the cilantro and chopped tomatoes. 

At this point, you're probably thinking: aren't I supposed to heat the beans? Nope. Black beans, once cooked, do not need a lot of heat to rewarm them. Too much heat makes them mushy. Canned beans are precooked, so once you fold them into the newly cooked rice, the heat and steam from the rice is sufficient to warm the black beans. 

Remove the rice from the stove and fold in the black bean mixture. Allow to sit for about 6-8 minutes and then serve. The rice will finish heating the remaining ingredients. 

Enjoy!

Makes 4 Servings. 

This recipe is:
- Gluten Free 
- Vegan
- Whole Food

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Pancakes (Vegan)

Wholesome!   Hearty!   Delicious!

Ingredients:

1 cup of Whole Wheat Flour

1 cup of Sugar in the Raw

1/2 ground Oats

2 teaspoons of Apple Pie Spice

1 teaspoon of Baking Powder

1 teaspoon of Kosher Salt

1 cup of Almond or Soy Milk

Directions:

In mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients and stir until the spice is well blended throughout. Add the milk and completely mix. Pour into a hot frying pan greased with a vegetable based oil and fry as you would regular pancakes. 

Serve with raw agave or natural maple syrup.

Recipe makes 8 three-inch pancakes.

This recipe is:

-Vegan

-Whole grain

Roasted Tomato Vermicelli

This dish answers the tough question:

What do I do?!

My doctor said I need to eat whole grain/plant-based diet.

But the foods I love aren't either! 

 

It's daunting when you first face such dramatic diet changes. I promise you the transition doesn't have to be as intimidating as it seems. Starting with small key changes you'll find yourself slowly getting a knack for this new cooking style. This simple, delicious recipe is a great example of how making these key substitutions just takes an extra step to turn old-favorites into new healthier versions. 

 

Most Americans love their spaghetti and pasta sauce. I certainly do! Frankly, there's little to be found nutritionally in a jar of canned/processed tomato sauce and boxed dried pasta. Read their labels. Can you pronounce or define all the ingredients? Honestly, without a chemistry degree, you probably can't. 

 

Substitute the processed semolina pasta for it's whole wheat partner, or better yet, go to a nearby Trattoria and ask the manager a pound of uncooked pasta. Pasta from scratch is a wonderful treat. Not everyone has this available to them, and it can be pricey. Whole wheat (make sure the box says 'whole wheat' not just 'wheat') pasta is a healthy substitute for regular white pasta and it only costs pennies more. Plus, your body will thank you for the extra fiber. 

 

If you have the patience, making pasta sauce at home isn't difficult to do from fresh scratch ingredients, and the end product is delicious! Plus, it can be canned or frozen to use again later.  However, it can be very  time consuming.

 

I'm a busy gal. I'm active and social. If you're anything like me, you probably don't have the time to spend two hours in the kitchen making homemade pasta sauce. This roasted tomato recipe takes 30 minutes and is bursting with fresh flavor!

 

 Enjoy!

 

Ingredients:

6 vine ripe Tomatoes (or 10-12 Compari Tomatoes), seeded and quartered

1 pound of Whole Wheat

1/2 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus more for the pot

2 tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar

1 tablespoon of dried Parsley

1 teaspoon of dried Basil

1 teaspoon of Sea Salt

1/2 teaspoon of ground Black Pepper

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400*F. 

Seed and quarter your tomatoes by cutting them in half first, and using the tines of a fork scoop out the seeds. Once seeded, cut them again into halves or thirds depending on the size of the tomatoes you've purchased. You want each tomato slice to be about 2 bites in size. 

(They will reduce in the oven to bite sized.)

In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, vinegar, and all the spices. Using a basting brush, brush the bottom of a baking pan with a thin layer of the balsamic oil. Lay all the tomatoes out flat, and baste them liberally with the balsamic herb oil. Place them in the oven and roast them for 30 minutes, turning once half way through and basting them again. 

Prepare your whole wheat pasta according to the directions, adding a large dash of olive into the pot at the start so the pasta won't stick together. 

Drain the cooked pasta and return it to the large pot it cooked in. Pour the roasted tomatoes over the pasta and fold it them in. For a stronger sauce flavor, you can pour the remaining balsamic herb oil in as well. 

Serve and enjoy!

Makes 4 servings.

This recipe is:
-Vegan/Vegetarian
-Whole Grain