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Healthy Mexican Cauliflower Rice and Beans

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Healthy Mexican Cauliflower Rice and Beans
Here’s a classic Mexican rice dish made very healthy. I’m using fantastic cauliflower rice. Have you tried this type of raw cauliflower yet? Once cooked, the look and texture are similar to cooked rice. This dish is super easy to make and very versatile. Use it as a side dish for any Mexican meal. You can easily turn it into a main course by adding chicken, beef, or light cheese. Each serving only has 132 calories and 3 grams of fat.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 7
Calories 132kcal
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Ingredients

  • 1 (16 oz) package cauliflower rice or 1 medium head cauliflower,   see shopping tips below
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup onions, diced
  • ½ cup red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 tablespoon garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 (14.5 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
  • ½ cup corn, fresh or frozen and thawed
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder
  • Black pepper, to taste
  • ½-⅔  cup water or vegetable broth
  • 1 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, chopped, if desired

Instructions

  • If you are using a bag of already prepared riced cauliflower, skip this first step.  Otherwise, wash and dry the cauliflower. Remove core and coarsely chop into florets. Blot with paper towels to completely dry. Place half of the cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until the cauliflower is small and has the texture of rice or couscous. Be sure to not over process or it will get mushy. Add to a large bowl. Repeat processing with remaining cauliflower. Or, using the largest holes on a box cheese grater, grate each cauliflower floret into small pieces, similar to the size of a grain of rice. Set aside.
  • Coat a large, nonstick pan with cooking spray. Add olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Stir in cauliflower rice, onions, red bell pepper, and garlic. Stir-fry for 3 minutes. Stir most of the time. Mix in black beans, tomatoes, corn, cumin, chili powder, a little black pepper, and ½ cup water or vegetable broth. Mix together until well blended. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for several more minutes. If too dry add a few more tablespoons of water. Add cilantro and mix well.
  • See serving tips below. This rice freezes great!

Notes

Makes 7 cups total. Each serving, 1 cup.

Food Facts
Cauliflower rice is amazing! It’s light and fluffy. It takes five minutes to make. It can replace couscous or rice in any dish, hot or cold.
One head of cauliflower, shredded into very small pieces makes about 4-5 cups of cauliflower rice.

Shopping Tips
If you have a Trader Joe’s in your town, they sell a 16-ounce bag of riced cauliflower. You will love it. It saves you a lot of time, not having to prep the cauliflower.
In addition, many supermarkets, Target and Walmart carry Green Giant’s cauliflower rice in the produce section. And there are other brands available. 

Prep Tips
If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a box cheese grater or basic small cheese grater to create small “grains” of cauliflower rice for the recipe.

Serving Tips
Makes a wonderful side dish to many Mexican dishes. Turn into the main course dish by adding some cooked, chopped chicken and top with light cheese, if desired. Or, add some of this dish to a pan and scramble in some eggs. Top with light cheese, if desired.

WW Freestyle SmartPoints 1-Blue
WW SmartPoints 2-Green
WW Points Plus 3
 
SKINNY FACTS: for 1 cup serving
132 calories, 3g fat, 0g sat. fat, 0mg chol, 23g carbs, 6g prot, 5g fiber, 546mg sod, 6g sugar
FACTS: for SmartPoints
17 calories 0g sat. fat, 0g protein, 0g sugar

Skinny Facts

Serving: 1cupCalories: 132kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 6gFat: 3gSodium: 546mgFiber: 5gSugar: 6gBlue Smart Points: 1Green Smart Points: 2Plus Points: 3

Comments

If you make this recipe, let me know how you liked it. Leave me a comment below or give it a rating. Thanks so much. Happy Skinny Cooking!

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