#BaptistHealthy Easy Eats: Cuban-Style Bowl

Warm bowls are trending and make for a delicious meal. But if you’re not being mindful of what foods are included in the bowl, you can easily have too many carbohydrates for one meal. Check out this balanced Cuban-style bowl, made with a couple of our favorite #BaptistHealthy Easy Eats recipes.

Traditional Cuban meals can include four sources of carbohydrates – rice, beans, yucca and plantains. This Cuban-inspired bowl includes an adequate serving of rice and beans. Depending on your nutrition needs, you can also add 2 plantains or 1/3 cup of cooked yucca or swap out the rice and beans.

Tips:  

• When building a bowl, start by filling half the base with leafy greens.
• Use measuring cups for carbohydrate foods when building your bowl.
• Consider adding the sauces on the side so you can control what goes on top.

Cuban-Style Bowl  

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup #BaptistHealthy Simple Black beans
• 1/3 cup brown rice
• 1 cup leafy greens
• ½ cup or about 4 oz of #BaptistHealthy Chicken Vaca Friita
• ¼ cup fresh chopped tomatoes
• 1 tablespoons chopped onion or: pico de gallo, or low sodium salsa
• 1/4 avocado, sliced
• Lime, for taste

Preparation:

• Start with the base: fill half the bowl with leafy greens, then choose your carbohydrates for the other half.
•  About ½ – 1 cup of a cooked carbohydrate is sufficient for most people per meal.
• Add protein: in this case, the beans provide protein. Optional: add chicken vaca fita
• Add more veggies – tomatoes and onion (or pico de gallo or salsa), avocado
• Top off with fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime

Nutritional information: Calories 460, Protein 35g; Fat 13g, Carbohydrate 41g, Fiber 11g, Sodium 176.

About Lucette Talamas
Lucette Talamas is a registered dietitian with community health at Baptist Health South Florida. She holds a bachelor’s degree in food science and human nutrition from University of Florida and a master of science in nutrition and wellness from Benedictine University. With additional experience as a clinical dietitian, Ms. Talamas enjoys providing practical nutrition information to promote healthy lifestyles that can help prevent and manage chronic diseases. Her expert tips and advice have been featured in print and broadcast media, including Miami Herald, South Florida PBS, CBS Miami, Telemundo and Univision. Active in professional nutrition organizations, Ms. Talamas was recently honored with the 2018 Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year Award from the Florida Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.