family favorite food: black beans & rice

Black beans & rice is a quick, filling, inexpensive favorite around here!  I usually throw in some veggies {broccoli, corn, tomatoes, cooked diced carrots} to make it healthier.  Even Samuel devours it!  

Black Beans & Rice

• 2-3c uncooked brown or white rice {depends on what bean-to-rice ratio you prefer}

• 15.5oz can of black beans {or about 2c home cooked black beans}

• 3T ketchup

• 1/4c salsa

• 1T spicy brown mustard

• 1/2T hot sauce {more/less to taste}

• 2T ground cumin {more/less to taste}

• 1T butter or olive oil

• 1tsp salt

• 1/2tsp black pepper

• 1/2tsp nutmeg

• 2c cooked veggies {broc, tomato, carrot, corn are our usual}

Cook rice according to package instructions.  Drain & rinse beans {if canned}.  When rice is cooked, add beans and stir in the rest of the ingredients.  Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa, scallion, shredded lettuce/cabbage, tortilla chips.

first bites...

 The little mister is so close to six months old.  I can't believe it!  He's hitting so many milestones, learning and exploring every day.  Since he's been sitting up a bit {and begging for food like a cute little puppy}, we decided to go ahead with his first food.  It amazes me how things change from child to child...the newest craze is baby led feeding {called baby led weaning, although there is no actual weaning from the boob} in which baby receives no purees, only pieces of food so they learn to "chew" and swallow and only eat what they want with no pressure from mom and dad.  So of course, after much research, we decided to give it a go.  Yesterday, Samuel watched as I prepared and baked a few organic sweet potatoes in stick shapes.  After letting them cool for the afternoon and waiting for daddy to arrive home, we were ready.  Little mister looked around suspiciously when we sat him in his highchair with a bib and the tray.  He furrowed his brow at the four of us {plus Uncle Ben} watching, me with my camera at the ready.   I placed three squishy sticks of sweet potato on the tray...and he continued to look around wondering what was going on.  After a few minutes, he grabbed one of the sticks and tasted it, smushed it, tasted it again.  I'm not sure that he actually swallowed any but he sure had fun exploring this new food!  Mama is super proud, and I am totally biased but is he not the cutest little eater?!?

Love this expression!

 As for the baby led weaning/feeding, we don't fit under that label.  From what I read, we are more likely "supportive feeding" parents.  No forcing of foods, watching baby's cues, offering a variety, and finger foods as well as some mashed spooned foods which is almost exactly how we started our girls.  Today I mashed up the sweet potato with breastmilk and he ate a few bites from a spoon.  He also loved grabbing/picking up the spoon and putting it in his mouth. He still held, smushed, and tasted the sticks I put on his tray.  I wanted to make sure that he actually ingested some before declaring it a "safe" food and trying something else in a few days.