Beans and Rice, Rice and Beans!

I'm a big fan of Dave Ramsey, and he's always telling people they need to get on a diet of "Beans and Rice, Rice and Beans" to meet their financial goals.

These spotted little treasures are really beans, not peas, and are associated in many cultures with good luck, making them a traditional new-years food.

Halfway as a budgetary measure, and halfway because I'm on too many allergy meds to drive to the grocery store, my oldest daughter and I have been chowing down on beans this week. (She's home for spring break).

Destiny, age 10 lived until age 7 in Florida--then we adopted her and transplanted her to the Pacific Northwest. She's accustomed to a yummy diet of soul food, and blackeyed peas (especially with fried chicken) really take her back.

We've been making blackeyed peas by boiling 1 cup dried peas with about 4 cups of water.

They're done when they look a little creamy. If they're out of water and not looking creamy, just add more water and boil some more.

We flavor them with about 2 cloves of crushed garlic straight into the boiling water, and a dash of worstershire sauce and Tabasco! It's just that easy and super yummy. Despite my grocery trip yesterday, we both decided to make more peas today for lunch.

We've eaten these most days this week with a piece of fruit for our lunch, and low and behold--I've lost four pounds! It turns out these little buggers have 160 calories per cup, 5 grams of protien, 1 gram of fat and 34 grams of carbs! Yum-O!

IMAGE CREDIT: www.thenewhomemaker.com/blackeyedpeas (Hint: there's more black eyed peas recipes here).