Poor man's fancy bean dish - curried black beans over arugula

Poor man's fancy black bean dish - curried black beans over arugula

Short on money and/or time? Try this poor man's fancy black bean dish. It's my go-to meal these days: Curried black beans over arugula. It's as easy as one, two three! And it's healthy as all get out!

1. Prime pan with a little oil or cooking spray, throw in 1/2 large yellow onion chopped to sizzle, add 2 tbsp curry powder, 2 tbsp cumin, 1 tsp chili powder of your choice (I like sweet paprika), then swoosh that around for a few minutes until the spices are a bit toasted.

2. Add 1 can no-salt-added chopped tomatoes (or two chopped fresh roma tomatoes, juice, seeds and all), and let bubble for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Then, throw in the black beans and a smidge of honey to cut the acidity and cook on low heat for another five minutes or so.

3. Finally, serve over a bed of arugula, spinach or spring mix for a yummy, cheap and quick taste adventure!

BONUS: Sprinkle on a couple of tablespoons of cooked quinoa for an added protein boost.

Try it and let me know how it works out for you. I love this dish and it really does fuel my fit life journey! And thanks to the Ashraf family for introducing me to this easy cooking style!

Oh, and I should mention that the leftovers are great cold the next day. Pack them up just like the picture in a 4 cup to-go container and throw it in your backpack for a weekend hike...and check out my blog HikeyHikey! for great places to go (now serving New England, New Mexico and Southern California).