I ate and spent too much over the holidays. My pants barely fit around the waist by the time New Year’s Eve came around. That’s okay; holidays are meant for relaxation and indulgence! Now; however, I am bringing in the New Year with beans and rice. I bought a twenty pound bulk bag of rice and several varieties of bulk beans. The Instant Pot has become my new best friend.
Other than bran cereal in almond milk with blueberries or sliced bananas in the morning, the staple of my diet for the month of January is beans and rice.
Reasons to Eat Beans and Rice
- Nutritious. People around the world for thousands of years have reaped the health benefits of combining beans and rice. Read this article to learn more: Beans and Grains: The Perfect Pairing, By Densie Webb, PhD, RD.
- Economical. Beans and rice are cheap. I bought a twenty pound bag of rice at Walmart for $9.82 and eight pound bags of beans for $5.64, each. By making beans and rice my daily staple, I am eating for pennies a day.
- Easy. Preparing and storing beans and rice is easy. For rice, I rinse it and drop it in the Instant Pot with an equal amount of water and a dash of salt. Within minutes I have steaming rice. For beans, I soak them for a few hours, rinse them, and then submerge them just below the waterline in the Instant Pot. Less than half an hour later I have perfect beans. I make enough to last a few days and store the cooked food in the refrigerator. I can reheat a rice and beans combination in the microwave in fifty-five seconds. Sometimes I’ll add avocado, lettuce, tomato, corn and/or salsa, but my default favorite is black beans and rice with a little soy sauce–very simple. Note: I eat white rice. While many publications promote brown rice over white rice, I have difficulty digesting brown rice. Furthermore, arsenic levels are lower in white rice.¹
- Setting the Tone. Making beans and rice the staple of my diet is an exercise in discipline that immediately is good for both my budget and my body. Moreover, such a diet creates a consciousness about respecting my body and my money that seeps into general decision-making. Finally, the beans and rice diet fosters a sense of gratitude when I deviate from my staple and enjoy other food with a fresh palate and renewed excitement.
So far, in less than a week, I have lost five pounds on my beans and rice diet (along with light exercise), and my pants are becoming more comfortable around the waist, again! We’ll see what I decide to do come February, but, for now, beans and rice is the perfect way to kick off 2020!
P. Gustav Mueller, author of The Present
Relevant Link:
¹ How Much Arsenic Is in Your Rice? by Consumer Reports, 11/18/2014