Oh My Tex-Mex Magic
10
servings30
minutes20
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minutesIt’s Cinco de Mayo so you are in for some Mexican deliciousness! What do you think is the World’s #1 Longevity Food? The single most important dietary predictor of survival in older people of different ethnicities is… Beans. Have you ever heard of “blue zones”? These are the five places on earth with the longest living and healthiest populations. Centenarians in these longevity hotspots consistently eat one cup of beans every day.[i] A seven-year study followed five groups of people in Japan, Sweden, Greece and Australia and found that one and only one food group consistently predicted a survival advantage: legumes (beans, lentils, peas, chickpeas).[ii] For every 20g increase in daily legume intake, mortality went down by 7-8%. I’ve specifically designed this recipe to yield 60g of life-gaining bean power per serving.
The federal government doesn’t aim very high with its minimum recommended amount of both legumes and dark leafy greens, suggesting that adults strive to eat just 0.43 cups a day of each food group.[iii] And guess what? Exactly 96.1% of Americans do not meet the measly minimums for both dark leafy greens and legumes. That’s why just one serving of Oh My, Tex-Mex Magic recipe meets both recs for you.
Here’s a funny thing: whenever I make this delightful meal and I am about to transfer my cooked mixture to the casserole dish (which then goes in the oven), I of course taste test the goods… and every single time, I say to myself, “Why bake this? It’s already amazing and I’m starving!” So FYI, if the crowd is screaming for food RIGHT NOW, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that there is no love lost digging in straight from the pot.
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Ingredients
- Super Spice Blend
1 tbs chili powder
2 ts ground cumin
1 ts garlic powder
1 ts oregano
1 ts smoked or regular paprika
1 1/4 ts fine-grain sea salt
1/2 ts cayenne pepper (adjust to tatest) (optional for spice wimps like me)
1/4 ts ground coriander
- Tex-Mex Magic Dish
1/4 cup vegetable broth or stock
1 red onion, diced
3 bell peppers (any combo of orange, red or yellow), diced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded if desired, diced (optional for hot spice wimps like me). By the way, jalapeño seeds make your fingers – and anything you touch, like your eyes – sting badly. You might want to wear disposable gloves when seeding the pepper, or at least wash your hands well after handling.
2 tbs lime juice
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
2 14oz cans of diced tomatoes with the juice
8 cups packed fresh or frozen kale and spinach
2 15oz cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 16oz can refried beans (pinto or black)
4 cups cooked brown or wild rice (if using 2 10oz frozen packages, thaw on counter while you prepare the meal until it’s time to add it to the pot)
1/2 cups vegan shredded cheese (Mexican blend or cheddar)
1 handfuls crushed tortilla chips
- Optional Toppings to take this dish from Oh My to Ohhhh Myyyyy!)
1 avocado cubed or sliced
1 cup chopped green onions
simple vegan sour cream
crushed tortilla chips
Instructions
- Super Spice Blend
- Combine the ingredients above in a small bowl and set aside. You will soon add it to the magical pot.
- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- Tex-Mex Magic
- Use a 5-Qt or larger stockpot or a large wok. Heat the vegetable broth/stock over medium heat for 30 seconds. Add the garlic, onion, bell pepper, and jalapeño (if using) and sauté until soft (about 8 minutes).
- Stir in the lime juice, corn, diced tomatoes, kale, spinach, black beans, refried beans, rice, and 1/4cup of the vegan shredded cheese. Mix together for 2 minutes or so. Nothing bad will happen if you’re scrambling to get the added ingredients together and this step takes you 5-10 minutes as you add foods one-by-one.
- Here’s the moment of truth: taste it. It could be done, right? As I said above, if the peeps are hollerin’ for food, I’m not telling anyone that you served a half-baked meal (well, technically, not-baked).
- Pour the mixture into a 13 x 9-inch casserole dish and press it flat. Crush 2 handfuls of tortilla chips over the top, and then sprinkle the other 1/4 cup of shredded vegan cheese evenly across the top. Cover with aluminum foil.
- Bake for 15 minutes, remove the foil, bake for another 5 minutes, or until the edges appear golden brown and bubbly delicious.
- What are you waiting for? Add any desired toppings, and dig in!
Notes
- References
[1] https://www.bluezones.com/2016/06/10-things-about-beans/
[2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15228991
[3] https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/140/10/1832/4600316 - All recipes from the Cancer-Kicking! Kitchen are always 100% plant-based and delicious. Check our Ingredient Spotlight feature to learn what makes each ingredient special, and use our Purity Scale to see just how healthy and plant-pure your recipe is.
