Spanish “Rice” Bowl

I suppose you could call this a burrito bowl. With some refried black beans, garlic flavored corn, avocado, and Spanish ‘rice’, the only thing this is missing is some lettuce. For this recipe, even though I made the refried beans and flavored the corn, the main focus is the Spanish Rice. I’ll be honest. I didn’t really know Spanish Rice existed until a few months ago when I went to Tahoe with friends. I enjoyed eating it so much that I decided to make some of my own! Instead of using rice, however, I used my favorite ‘rice replacer’: quinoa (kee-nuh-wah).

Quinoa is a much healthier alternative to rice because it contains fiber, is a complete protein (has all of the essential amino acids!), and even has minerals such as iron. White rice, on the other hand, is basically rice bleached of all nutrients and fiber. It is ‘no bueno’ for diabetics since it is considered a simple carbohydrate (sugar), and one bowl of white rice is basically a bowl of refined sugar (I may or may not be exaggerating).

So yeah, eat up on this nourishing burrito bowl with its Spanish ‘Rice’ that’s actually Spanish Quinoa. Confusing, I know. You can just use rice instead of quinoa…your choice. Quinoa is better for you!

Ingredients for the Spanish Rice/Quinoa:

• 1 onion (diced)
• 2 TBSP vegetable oil
• 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 Tbsp vegetable bouillon powder

Instructions:

1. In a medium pot heat the oil, sautee the diced onion until slightly tender. Add the uncooked quinoa and stir with the onion until it has been browned (about 5-8 minutes). Stir in the can of tomatoes, add the water, add the vegetable bouillon powder, and bring to a simmer. Let it simmer with the cover on until the quinoa is cooked/all of the liquid has been absorbed.

That’s pretty much it for the Spanish ‘Rice’. Then you add the corn and beans to the side–top with some avocado.

Note for the sides: For the corn I merely drained the liquid from the can, sauteed some minced garlic until it browned, heated the corn in the pot with the garlic, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. For the beans I used half of a diced onion and sauteed it until it was tender, added the can of black beans with the liquid, let the beans come to a simmer, stirred and smashed them over medium heat until they looked like thick puree. Then I added some garlic salt to season them.

This bowl is loaded with yummy nutrients. I bet a doctor would recommend this for dinner…maybe with a side of broccoli or kale to make up for the lack of green leafy veggies.

Related posts:

Healthy Veggie Tacos Vegan Minestrone Soup Yummy Spiced Red and Black Beans Boiled Egg with Tofu and Rice