Nigerian Rice and Beans

The Rice and Beans combo seems to be a Nigerian classic. Ever wondered why we ate this combination in school and still do actually as adults?

• Is it the taste?
• The nice mouth feel?
• Beans in the equation means the meal will fill us faster?

Hmmmm, guess you are right. But I just thought that our teachers and parents knew one or two things about nutrition which they didn’t tell us. It was good for us anyway, particularly the beans. Hope that  some of you managed to grow tall eating the beans. Thanks to platform shoes some of us ladies who remained at average heights have been able to catch up. For the men well what can I say .. platform shoes is not in vogue for you guys at the moment.
But really there is some science to the Rice and Beans combo. Cereals, generally even when they are whole grains( not polished like rice) lack a type of protein (lysine) which is why we say that cereals are incomplete protein. When eaten with legumes like beans which have lysine, then the protein available to the body is now complete.

So  my inspiration for Rice and Beans with Stew is from my primary school days. Food vendors arrived the school with their coolers of rice and beans and we all lined up to buy . You will also find this nutritious combo with many “mamaput” in neighborhoods.
I have included in the meal  simple Mackerel fish  which is high in omega-3 ( good for the heart) and some vegetables. This is an example of a meal that will not put a hole in your wallet. You may wish to combine beans with brown rice as I have done here. I prefer to eat brown rice. This is unpolished so a lot of the nutrients in the rice are still retained. Of course if you cannot find this the regular rice will  do.

Tips:

• Portion control is key in controlling your food consumption.
• Your quantity of rice on the plate should be about half of the beans.
• Fill up with lots of vegetable.

Recipe for Rice and Beans

Ingredients

1 cup Rice

1/4 cup brown beans

Salt to taste

 

Method

Wash and boil each staple seperately till soft.

Serve with stew and some vegetables.