Rice and Beans for Breakfast

     A couple of days ago, we made a big pot of dirty rice for dinner.  The potted leftovers went into the refrigerator and the next night, the grandson picked tacos for dinner.  There was another side dish of refried beans made.  We make more of a burrito and call it taco.  Today, we were looking in the fridge thinking about dinner tonight and I was asked, what happened to the beans and rice? Nothing happened to it.  I had it for breakfast and a lunch.  I got such a look from the grandson! 

     Americans are lucky to have had the Heart of America reaping cereals and farm animals to feed us for so long that he didn't realize the largest portion of the world eats two main staples everyday.  In spite of commercials teaching our generation, what we needed to break the fast of the night's rest was a big ol' bowl of sugar, breakfast is not a snack and breakfast food should not be snack food.  


    
     My grandchildren have never been in such financial need that they ate last night's dinner for the morning meal.  Most Americans have forgotten, even in these financial crunch times that big boxes of cereal are not the only food for morning.  

     Cereal is not a balanced meal by itself and the still photos I have seen of a balanced breakfast featuring cereal don't work for me.  I never acquired a taste or desire for coffee (is that balanced?  what does coffee bring to the glucose table?).  I can not stomach orange juice and milk in the same sitting (tastes like toothpaste to me!).  I eat leftovers!       

Rice and Beans: A Belizean Food Blog: Belizean Breakfastriceandbeansindc.blogspot.com

      Man cannot live on beans and rice alone, but many do.  For a breakfast, it is not a bad start to a day.  If you need more protein, scramble an egg or maybe you have a boiled egg in the fridge next to the left overs. 

    For a lunch on the run yesterday, I grabbed one of the flour tortillas from the night before, spread a knife full of refried beans across the middle and a heap of the rice and beans on top.  The bean spread made the rice stick.  A minute in the microwave and I was ready to go!  Leftover lunch.  If I had five minutes to spare, I could have done it on the stove.  
For large family dinners and celebrations, I make a platter of California rolls.  We call it sushi, but every portion is cooked.  I make some with a bean paste that provide protein without meat for the vegan.  After the dinner, the leftovers are divided between me and my nieces.  We eat them for breakfast, lunch or just to celebrate passing the fridge knowing the rolls are in there!

     Eating leftovers and not getting stuck in the rut of a commercialized life has been a real boost in energy levels for me.  If you can shove a square egg into an english muffin and call it "Mcbreakfast", you can eat rice and beans for breakfast.  Many people skip the meal because they just don't have time to make the perfect picture 'Leave It to Beaver" meal.  Don't skip it.  Eat!  

     I have a client so worried about his children's health, he spent $400 on a blender to make juice goo for them.  I warned him not to tell them what was in it but, this is the guy who doesn't listen until it is too late!  They will not try anything he makes now, for fear it has a beet or spinach in it!  Meanwhile, his father-in-law, who keeps kosher, has a bowl of hot beans and rice soup with a whole wheat roll for breakfast.  His kids eat PB&J and maybe a banana, if he begs them.  I dust the blender twice a week as it sits on the counter unused.
     There are starving children in the world who would love to eat what we throw away.  Learn to eat what you have and like it.  Prepping for hard times is more about preparing YOU for the future than shoving food into plastic buckets.  Get over the commercials we watched waiting for the cartoons to come back.  Put the food you store into your diet.