Rice & Beans, Beans & Rice
It’s the beginning of a new year and I’ve been thinking a lot about resolutions. Over the last few years we have been trying to get our finances under control. In 2007, after my husband had been laid off three times in eight months (thanks to the lovely economy), we decided to make a career change. We sold our house, applied to graduate schools, and moved into a tiny apartment while expecting our 2nd baby. Jared went to school full-time while teaching college English on an instuctorship. We had some savings to get us through the first year of school debt-free. Then about six months after our baby number two was born I started babysitting from our home to bring in extra income and get us through the second year–debt-free. We worked hard and were exhausted, but graduation was sweet.
Jared received his Masters and was offered a job in rural Kentucky. It was his dream job, so we accepted, and moved 2000 miles from our families while expecting our third baby–anxious for the adventure. Getting through grad-school without loans, with two kids, was an amazing accomplishment for us. If only we would have been as smart when we were in under-grad instead of taking out way too many student loans.
One of the things that kept me motivated during the months of grad-school was listening online or on the radio to Dave Ramsey. It’s so inspiring to listen to his advice on getting out of debt, and to hear his listeners who have followed that advice call in and scream “We’re DEBT FREE!” Now that we are through school, I’m on fire to work on the existing debt we have. Dave always talks to people about cutting expenses, and he has this phrase he uses: ”Rice and Beans, Beans and Rice.” One of my main goals this new year is to cut our grocery budget (for our family of 5) to $200 a month. I’ve started clipping coupons, and plan our meals based on what’s on sale rather than what sounds good. What if I challenged myself to not only feed us on $200 a month, but to prepare “rice and beans, beans and rice” at least one meal every day for a year?
365 days of beans and rice. I mentioned the idea to my husband, Jared, and he thought I was crazy. For one, he’s type-one diabetic, so high-carb meals are not ideal for us. And two, EVERY DAY? But for some reason this rebellion kicks in when I’m faced with skepticism, and I get motivated to prove that I can do it. So here I am. Post number one. Committing myself to beans and rice every day for a year. And blogging my way through it. I need the accountability.
Now here are my rules.
- At least one meal a day needs to have some type of bean or rice in the dish
- I’ll post the recipe and a “review” of the meal every day.
- I’ll continue to shop sales and use coupons to buy the ingredients for my meals, and do it on $200 a month.
- I’ll keep Jared’s diabeties in mind.
Here we go!
I’m linking this to: Be Willing to Be Weird (lifeasmom.com)
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First of all, congrats on making it through grad school with no loans, that is no small thing at all!! Second, love the challenge of cutting my grocery bill, etc. am going to look at your recipes/reviews, I love rice and beans, but every day, wow!! good luck!
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I think it is awesome what all you have been able to accomplish with small children and doing it debt free. Congrats! I can’t wait to see what yummy ideas you come up with to meet your new goal!
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I just came across your blog and wanted to send you a quick word of encouragement! I’m a huge Dave Ramsey fan too…and love when he talks about “beans and rice”. Keep up the great work and continue to “live like noone else (eating beans and rice EVERYDAY!) so that you and your family can LIVE LIKE NOONE ELSE!” woohho….I’ll be listening for you to scream “we’re debt free…!!!” (I can’t wait to do it either!!!)
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pameladonnis Reply:
January 18th, 2010 at 11:31 am
I need all the encouragement I can get! Thanks so much. I can’t wait for the day to call Dave Ramsey!
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Hoped over from Money Saving Mom. Great job on the Rice and Beans. Loved it! I’ll be back.
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Great idea. I’ll be checking back to see how it works. I don’t think I could sell my hubby on it. He is BIG on meat at every meal, though I did get away with a bean soup the other day that only had half a pound of cubed ham in it.
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pameladonnis Reply:
January 22nd, 2010 at 3:06 pm
So far most of our meals and included meat, and my husband hasn’t noticed much difference. So I’d say it’s working so far!
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What a great idea! Do legumes count? (split peas or lentils) Those are cheap and would broaden your repertoire a bit. Here is a very unusual bean recipe- iced bean dessert called halo-halo (or mix-mix). i’m Filipino and this is like the best cold dessert back home. Here is the link:
http://pinoycook.net/halo-halo-2/
it’s cold beans (like red beans) with crushed ice and other sweet treats then milk poured over. Might want to consider this on day 200 when you’re already used to beans and nothing can phase hubs!
.-= Anna´s last blog ..Company Girl Coffee =-.
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pameladonnis Reply:
January 22nd, 2010 at 10:16 pm
I am planning to include legumes as well although I haven’t done anything with them yet.
My husband lived in the Philippines for two years and always wanted to try halo-halo but never got to. He is THRILLED that you sent the recipe! Thanks!!
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Interesting premise! Does it have to be rice, or can you substitute another whole grain like barley, wheatberries, etc.? They can be equally cheap out of bulk bins and give a little variety. And you’re using brown rice for the nutritional advantage, right?
I love rice and beans, and they are so versatile that I’m sure you can do quite a few fun meals with them. If you don’t already have one, you may want to invest in a pressure cooker. I am able to cook beans from dry in about an hour, no soaking required, with my pressure cooker. Love it! Lorna Sass makes great pressure cooker cookbooks with lots of rice and grain recipes, worth checking out.
I’ll be interested to see how your project works!
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pameladonnis Reply:
January 22nd, 2010 at 10:22 pm
Hmmm, I haven’t thought about including other grains besides rice. Something to think about….There are several varieties of rice though, which is nice. We usually eat brown rice, but I’m excited to try some other kinds. And thanks for the pressure cooker suggestion. I’ll have to look into that as well!
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Please come back! I need all the encouragement I can get
Pam
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Kathleen Reply:
April 24th, 2010 at 4:11 pm
I would like to strongly recommend using other whole grains besides rice in your recipes.
Rice, even brown rice, does not have as many nutrients as some of the other whole grains.
I like to use steel-cut oats instead of rice. They will boil over if you cook them in the microwave, so you need a very deep container, but they cook fine on the stove. And they have more nutrients (being oats) than rice.
Also, it’s good to diversify for nutrients anyway. Don’t stick with rice unless you have to. There are so many fun and interesting whole grains out there, that you could go well over a week without repeating yourself.
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Good luck! I’m sure that you can do it. I try to use beans a lot, but I usually use at least a little meat or broth with it for the flavor. There are so many recipes available online now and with different spices you can have a wide variety of tastes. I have just started using a pressure cooker for dried beans, and it works well for me.
.-= Anna´s last blog ..Company Girl Coffee and Guinea Pig Pictures =-.
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[...] you following our beans and rice for a year challenge? Go here to see what we’ll be eating this [...]
Good luck to you! What lofty goals I hope you achieve them~ I love a good challenge myself. We are in Tennessee btw just down the road from ya’ll~
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I think this is a great idea! As a Type 2 diabetic married to a Type 2 it won’t work for us (tried something very similar a couple years ago) but as a Dave Ramsey freak I love the concept and will follow along to see how y’all do! I wish you the best with this and if it doesn’t work out, remember there that lower carb foods bought for the right price can be *almost* as frugal as beans and rice. And it’s not so dull after months and months. lol Good luck to y’all!
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[...] our debt and live within our means. Because I enjoy a good challenge, my goal for 2010 has been to cook at least one meal with beans or rice every day this [...]
[...] My goal is to spend only $200 a month (this includes toiletries, but not diapers) and to make beans and rice every day this year. Sharing my weekly shopping trips and daily meal plans helps me stay accountable to my [...]
[...] If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Wondering what this beans and rice thing is all about? Go here to read my challenge. [...]
[...] If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Wondering what this beans and rice thing is all about? Go here to read my challenge. [...]
[...] If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Wondering what this beans and rice thing is all about? Go here to read my challenge. [...]
[...] If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Wondering what this beans and rice thing is all about? Go here to read my challenge. [...]
[...] the beans and rice challenge has been a bit more difficult than I expected. I was really excited and the beginning and didn’t [...]
Another reason to add beans to your diet.
Several months ago I started an expensive, soy-based diet in an effort to lose weight. Not only lost pounds, but beat a 40+ year, debilitating problem with irritable bowel syndrome. (If you have it, you know it so won’t explain.) Medication, diet, fiber failed to help me, but soy did the trick.
However, after three months of eating soy at every meal, I developed an allergy that had me covered with hives. I was more concerned with losing the benefits to my digestion than I was with losing the product as a diet aide.
After some time it struck me that soy was a bean, so started adding a variety of beans to my diet, eating about a half cup daily. Again my IBS vanished!
Beans, beans, the magical fruit! No kidding!
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One other thing–
I found my blood sugar to be much more stable while on a soy based/bean diet. Then again, I’ve eliminated most other carbohydrates. I’d be interested in how the diet impacts your husband’s diabetes.
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I just came across a delicious-sounding sandwich on another blog, and I thought it’s right up your alley with your challenge! It’s a chickpea sandwich spread called Chickpea of the Sea, LOL! It looks so tasty, and I’m going to try it this weekend for sure. I’ve got all the ingredients at home, well substituting the called-for vinegar for another vinegar, but…it’s got to be good regardless.
http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/vegetarian-lunch-chickpea-of-the-sea-114022
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pameladonnis Reply:
April 16th, 2010 at 9:27 pm
Oooh, thanks for sharing!!
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Kathleen Reply:
April 24th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
Hummus is a kind of chickpea spread. I like to use it in sandwiches instead of mayo, and it’s tart enough that I can do without mustard as well.
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Beth Gould Reply:
April 26th, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Yes I know this, but if you just loosly mash the chickpeas with a fork, it’s still lumpy and has more “presence” than a typical hummus. I liked that about the recipe.
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[...] If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!WHY am I putting lentils in my cake? Read about my beans and rice challenge here. [...]
[...] I reach for convenience foods and get tired rice and beans. And it hard to not want to throw this challenge out! Luckily I’ve stocked up on convenience canned beans and instant rice (as well as salsa, [...]
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[...] takes another big chunk out of our budget although since starting the beans and rice challenge we’ve cut down a bit. When I buy meat I shop the “loss leaders.” But I [...]
Since reading about this on here I’ve started doing it. So far so good! Thanks
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pameladonnis Reply:
May 20th, 2010 at 2:39 am
No way! Tell me more about it! What have you tried?
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