With food allergies, there's often this strange worry when you travel of- When the heck will my next meal be! Anyone in my family will tell you that I get the hangries (hungry & therefore angry) if I don't eat on a regular basis. When we travel, I especially try to mitigate this by always having snacks packed into my bag: fruit and muesli bars, nuts or nut spreads, those baby squeezie bags with fruit and veg, fresh fruit like apples that travel well, etc. The other thing we do is to always rent accommodation with a kitchen.
Renting accommodation with a kitchen is hugely important for my health while traveling because it enables me to adventure into wild countries without knowing the language or being able to eat the food. What we usually do when we arrive is find the nearest supermarket and get enough food for three days. This means as soon as we check-in I can eat something and then we can head straight back out and husband-man can eat all the local wild food.
And while yes, it's disappointing not be able to eat the local cuisine, especially for a foodie, it's better than eating something I don't trust, or worst, getting anaphylaxis in a country where I don't speak the language.
Recently on a holiday with my parents, we finished our day of adventuring and decided we needed all the vegetables. My Mama and I got to cooking, and inspired by Mama Eats Plants, we made Mexican Veggie Bowls!
Mexican Veggie Bowls with Lime Crema
Serves four
Ingredients
- 1 cup white rice
- 1 can organic black beans
- 1 can of corn kernels
- 2 cups of chopped pumpkin
- 1 tbsp cold pressed sunflower or safflower oil
- 1 cup of green beans, top, tailed and cut in half
- 1 lime
- 1 cup of sour cream
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 avocado
- 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
- Lemon wedges to serve
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180' C or 375' F.
- Empty the tin of beans straight into a small saucepan with any spices you like (or are able to eat). Cook for a minimum of 30mins, or until soft.
- Start your rice. Pour the rice into a small saucepan. Rinse until the water runs clear from the rice. Add 1 1/2 cups of water, place lid on and bring to the boil. Once it starts boiling, turn it down to low and let it cook until all the water evaporates - once you see all the water gone, the little bubbles through the rice will disappear, turn it off and let it rest. Important - do not lift the lid until you're ready to serve. As my husband would say, "You'll ruin it!".
- Toss the pumpkin in the oil and place on a tray in the oven for 25-35 minutes, or until they're soft enough for you to put a fork through them.
- Place the beans in a steamer and set aside. 10mins before you're going to plate up, turn the steamer on and cook for 6-10mins. This is a really great guide for steaming times.
- Meanwhile! To make the crema, which when I'm home I usually make the vegan version. Place the sour cream in a bowl, with the juice and zest of the lime, finely minced the garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Mix it all together and set aside.
- Dice up your avocado and sprinkle with a little lemon so it doesn't go brown.
- Once all your ingredients are ready, plate up and top the bowls with fresh parsley (or cilantro), crema and any hot sauces you love! Enjoy!
With love,
Adrianna
