Black Bean Burrito Bowl

I love a good burrito from places like Chipotle and Qudoba. The tortilla is soft and the black beans, rice, vegetables, and salsa all come together for a punch of southwest flavor. Yum! However, the average burrito from Qudoba has 118g of carbohydrate and from Chipotle it has 90g of carbohydrate. Because I work with people who have diabetes all day long, I am pretty tuned in to the carb content of foods. The average woman needs about 45-60g of carbohydrate per meal and the average male 60-75g. So, even though Chipotle burritos are considered a pretty healthy food, carbohydrate wise they are over what the average person needs. Continuous over consumption of carbohydrates leads to increased insulin needs and if you aren't active, overweight and have a family history of diabetes, you could eventually also have diabetes. So, even though I love a good burrito, I go for the burrito bowls or tacos simply because of the lower carbohydrate content. By not having the burrito shell, you save about 45g of carbohydrate. I made some homemade burrito bowls tonight with sauteed veggies. You could add chicken or beef if you want and anything else that sounds delicious. Enjoy!

Step 1: Rice. I made a mixture of red and brown rice.

Step 2. Add beans. You could use canned or dry. I made mine this way

Step 3. Sauteed or grilled vegetables (chicken, beef or pork work here too). I cooked some zucchini, asparagus, bell pepper and onion in some grapeseed oil with mustard seeds, coriander seeds, salt and pepper

Step 4. Add your favorite salsa

Step 5. Add guacamole, slices of avocado and tomato or make a chunky avocado-tomato salsa- dice avocado and tomato along with a handful of cilantro. Combine in a bowl and squeeze juice of 1/2 a lime over the mixture.

Step 6 Top with a dollop of sour cream and eat!