Spicy beef, black beans, cilantro lime rice + bonuses!

I wanted to share a few recipes with some staple food items that you’ll hopefully have around your house! If you’ve followed me for long, you know I hardly ever follow recipes by the letter. I will list the basic ingredients below, but just know that even these can be substituted or adapted! Use what you have, and get creative! I happened to find plantains at Whole Foods, but the meal is still delicious without!

Basic ingredients: ground beef

can of tomatoes- fire roasted is even better

rice

black beans

onion

garlic- if fresh is sold out (a real tragedy) use garlic salt

red onion

lime

avocado

cilantro

If you don’t like to wing recipes as much as I do, don’t hesitate to reach out and ask about substitutions or changes! Happy to help.

For recipes, tips, and holistic nutrition information, follow along on Instagram @Mirabella Holistic Health!

Spicy Ground Beef and Black Beans

1 Tbsp Avocado oil

1 lb ground beef

¼ onion diced

4 garlic cloves, crushed (I’ve heard fresh garlic is sold out a lot of places, so substitute ~1 tsp of garlic powder if you don’t have fresh)

1 15oz can of diced or crushed tomatoes (I love fire roasted for a little bit more punch)

1 tsp cumin*

½ tsp cayenne

¼ tsp salt

*If you don’t use fire roasted tomatoes, you may have to increase/adjust the spices just a bit!

Instructions:

-Heat up saute pan to medium high heat and add oil

-Add ground beef and brown for ~10 minutes

-Add onions and garlic, and cook for ~2 mins

-Add can of tomatoes and seasonings and let cook for ~10 minutes you- want most of the liquid to cook down

-Once the tomatoes have cooked down a little bit, take off heat and serve!

Black Beans

2 15 oz cans of black beans*

¼ onion diced

4 garlic cloves (I’ve heard fresh garlic is sold out at a lot of places, so substitute ~1 tsp of garlic powder if you don’t have fresh)

2 tsp hot sauce (I used cholula)

1 bay leaf

½ tsp cumin

¾ tsp salt

Pepper to taste

Instructions

-Heat small pot to medium heat

-Add beans in liquid to pot

-Add rest of ingredients except salt, and turn to medium high

-Cover and let simmer for at least 30 minutes

-As the beans release more liquid, take lid off and let simmer uncovered for ~30 minutes, continuously stirring

-Add salt and pepper

-When the liquid has cooked down a bit, take off heat and serve!

*If you have dried black beans, you can still make this recipe, just follow instructions for properly soaking them first, and then continue with these seasonings.

Cilantro lime rice

1 cup rice (I used white rice)

1 ½ cups of broth or water

1 tbsp butter

Juice of 1 lime

Dash of salt

Cilantro, chopped

Instructions

Add rice, broth, butter, and salt to a small pot (heat pot ~ med high)

Bring to a boil and let cook for ~2 mins

Decrease heat to low and let simmer for ~20 mins

Juice lime into rice and continue simmering for ~10 mins

When liquid is reduced, remove from heat and add chopped cilantro

Bonuses

These are all completely optional! If you have the ingredients, great! If not, you’re completely fine to skip.

Sweet Plantains

2 Plantains (sliced in ~ 1 in rounds)

2 Tbsp butter

Instructions

-Heat saute pan to medium and add butter

-Add plantains to pan and cook ~5 mins on one side until they have a nice golden brown color

-Flip plantains and cook on the other side

-If the slices are thick, use your fork to add pressure and flatten them a little so the centers cook

-Cook for ~3-4 more minutes until plantains are soft and cooked through. Enjoy!

Pickled Red Onions

1 large red onion, sliced thin

3 limes, juiced

~1 cup of white vinegar

1 Tbsp salt

Instructions

-Add sliced onions large mason jar (I use a 24 oz jar)

-Add lime juice and salt to the jar and shake up the jar a bit

-Add ~ 1 cup of vinegar (enough to cover the top of the onions)

-Shake up jar and refrigerate for ~ 4 hours before serving