Chef Johns Red Beans and Rice

Any time someone asks the question, ‘What exactly is soul food?’ the answer should always be ‘a comforting bowl of red beans and rice.’ Just sit them down, give them a spoon, and when they finish, ask them if they understand. They will.

Step: 1

Place beans in a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand 8 hours to overnight. Drain and rinse.

Step: 2

Heat vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook and stir sausage in hot oil until oils slightly release from sausage and edges brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir onion, celery, and poblano pepper into sausage; cook and stir until vegetables soften and start to turn translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir garlic into sausage mixture; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Step: 3

Stir red beans, chicken broth, ham hock, bay leaves, black pepper, thyme, cayenne pepper, and hot sauce into the sausage mixture; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 hours. Add salt and continue simmering until beans are soft, meat is tender, and desired consistency is reached, 1 1/2 to 2 hours more. Season with salt.

Step: 4

Spoon rice into bowls, ladle red beans mixture over rice, and top with green onion.

Per Serving: 542 calories; protein 25.9g; carbohydrates 62.9g; fat 20.5g; cholesterol 46.4mg; sodium 1384mg.

Depriving yourself can lead to overeating , late-night snacking, and mindless eating and it’s for this reason that Riner encourages people to indulge in “fun” foods every once in a while.

Avoidance on late-night snacking and cravings , it is much important to include some easy foods (or what one may perceive as off limits ). It means , if we always order the healthiest thing on the menu but come home and graze on chips, perhaps we really will the junk food and should have just pleased it in the first place."

Because it comes to dinner , much eat or eating too much of the wrong item of food can lead to bad habit on sleeping. On the flip side, a daylight food that is less than satiating not make leave you wanting more and resulting in reaching for an unhealthy late-night snack even closer to sleep .