black bean brown rice bowl

A couple of years ago I was looking to move away from my default easy (but less nutritious) lunch of peanut butter and honey on whole wheat bread. It was amazingly difficult to think outside of that well-ingrained box. I grew up on sandwiches for lunch, fed them to my kids, and handed them in a brown bag to my husband when I kissed him goodbye in the mornings. Didn't sandwich = lunch? But I wanted to eat less wheat and needed to step it up nutrition-wise, so I was motivated to find some options. Those options needed to be quick and if they weren't also really yummy, I knew the changes wouldn't last and I would just have a cookie or two instead. One day I had a bunch of random stuff in the fridge, was hungry, picked what I thought would work, and found my new pb&j. I love it! This bowl is easy enough that it takes honestly about 5 minutes or less to throw together. It packs well and since it is meant to be eaten 'cold', is easy to take along. I usually have everything on hand so we eat it fairly regularly - except for when I am on a hummus binge.


I usually make individual bowls that are semi-custom (according to the preferences of whoever is eating it) but  it  would also work  to  make  a  large batch for several lunches. Really quick and easy then.

black bean brown rice bowl

(for 1 serving)

2/3 cup cooked brown rice

1/4-1/3 cup salsa (fresh is better than a jar but either is good)

1/4 cup drained and rinsed canned black beans

1/3 cup corn kernels

2 Tbsp grated cheese ( cheddar or  crumbled feta)

3 cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 avocado, sliced

a healthy amount of chopped cilantro

salt and pepper

Mix it up and there you go! Super simple.