Diet Variety: Plantains

Have you ever heard the horror stories of people who buy what they think is a banana and it turns out to be a plantain... which they only discover after biting into it raw? Apparently this is a real issue for people, especially when traveling to other countries where plantains are very common. At our grocery store there is no way this could happen as there are like two plantains for every 200 bananas.

I guess plantains aren't so good raw. I've mostly had them fried at restaurants, which is delicious but rare to find on a menu.

So what made me think we should have plantains at home? Apparently they are highly nutritious, but honestly I just randomly came across a recipe using black beans and rice (of which we already had both). The only thing we really needed to buy was a plantain so it seemed perfect and cheap.

I honestly wasn't a huge fan of the plantain, but loved the spices on the beans and rice. I would consider making this again and leaving the plantain off or using a potato or other vegetable in its place.

Black Beans, Plantains, and Rice

Aaron made this dish from start to finish so I took his picture eating it.