She meal preps weekly for her lunch and dinners, but rotates a bit to help with boredom. On the day I snooped, I found makings for burrito bowls inlcuding both refriend and black beans, rice, and roasted vegetables.There was also a few ready portions of curry and rice. The singleton ingredients can be used to mix in with pasta as well. This week is a basic one, her refried beans. which she uses as a base for a Burrito Bowl, with seasoned brown rice, greens, avocado, and fresh salsa.
- Soak pinto bean overnight-I think she does about a pound at a time
- She cooks them about an hour the next day until soft
- Using grape seed oil, which has a higher burn temperature, she fries the beans, mashing them as they cook
- She seasons with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, onion and garlic powder, and black pepper. She also mixed in fresh salsa into this batch but said easily could have fresh onions, tomato's, and cilantro if you like. She'll then store in portions in her freezer or use over a day or two in meals.
Here's two views of her "bowl" though this happened to be served on a plate. These were pictures she took from her phone and texted me and I probably posted quite grainy, so think about the flavors and not photo quality!
To go with this, she'll cut a few corn tortillas, sprinkle with a little water and salt, and make her own tortilla chips. It's really inexpensive, healthy, and versatile. She could easily layer it all and have a taco dip for a party, or add into wraps for a more portable version. If you all like this kind of post, I'll keep going and make Wednesdays My Daughter's Vegan Pantry day.
After I read what was in refried beans, I made them myself, using only olive oil and garlic. I used these every day on round flat bread to make a nutritious sandwich for a guy starting back to school in 50s. He wanted to go all day on a campus without eating. I put scraps, literally, to the sandwich. The beans were the glue to hold on bits of meat, halved grape tomatoes, etc. I deliberately saved all the little bits in bowls from the day before. He had a different sandwich according to what I had. After his first day ever on a university, he appreciated a portable meal on his trek across campus.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice that any flavors a person likes can be used.
DeleteI make a nice black bean salsa but quite like refried beans too, although I'd never made them until about a month ago. I made so many that I ended up making soup too. It was lovely though. So yep, it would be great if we could have a "Vegan Wednesday" post (and thank your daughter too)!
ReplyDeleteI haven't been able to find dried black beans, but I too have a salsa recipe I love with tomatoes, corn, and black beans-almost a salad. I'll keep prodding her to help me out!
DeleteBurrito Bowls can be so versatile as you can add anything you like. It is definitely a healthier option than eating meat. Wednesday Vegan Pantry day sounds great.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback I'll try to keep the posts going, and may borrow form other sources periodically.
DeleteI admire thems who do the vegetarian/vegan route. I've been veggie a few times in my life but did not stay with it.
ReplyDeleteBegan would be difficult, but if I wanted I think I could do vegetarian, but I love my dairy products, honey and other non-meat but definitely animal products.
DeleteI love a good pantry tour, thank you! I have never made my own refried beans--why not? Funny, but, while I can use tomato sauce in anything deemed TexMex, I cannot stand fresh tomatoes in it.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'd rather have fresh tomato's than canned, but use canned most often for practical purposes.
DeleteGreat idea. My daughter is quasi-vegetarian. She eats some chicken and fish. I have always told her being a vegetarian is alright as long as she watches what she eats. Too many of her friends eat a lot of fatty no meat meals, basically fries and ketchup and pasta with Alfredo sauce are not a healthy dishes. I would like to see her develop additional cooking skills to increase her diet. Right now she is doing a lot of stir fry. Curry would be welcome.
ReplyDeleteI was very frim when my daughter was young that she needed to eat balanced and help me help her eat with wise choices. It's no different than eating meat meals-the balance still needs to be there. Cooking food and enjoying spice to add more flavor really helped my daughter diversify from French fries and fake chicken patties. Stir fries and currys are smart additions.
DeleteI've never made refried beans but they seem quite simple so I'll give them a try, thanks.
ReplyDeleteI have not either, but I have eaten hers and they are good!
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