| Growit Buildit

My mom’s stuffed peppers were always a favorite of mine growing up. They were a mixture of ground beef and instant rice cooked in tomato sauce. But, as I have been trying to increase our plant diversity and whole grain intake, I wanted to come up with a meatless, but flavorful variation that is packed full of healthy goodness. It is a great addition to your crock pot favorites. Enjoy!

Why meatless?

Well, it’s pretty well accepted that lowering our meat intake is beneficial to our overall health. A couple years ago I stumbled upon a fantastic gastroenterologist on Instagram. He shares research based information on gut health, focusing mainly on what we eat. He goes by theguthealthmd on Instagram.

I highly recommend following him and listening to some of the podcast episodes he has done. And, be sure to pick up his book that came out in the Spring of 2020. You will learn how plant diversity is the key to a healthy diet. In addition, his book, FIBER FUELED, covers a 4 week eating plan full of recipes to help you transition to a plant fueled diet.

My family is not vegan, we do eat meat. But, I do strive to continue to increase our plant diversity through the meals I prepare. And, I do make meals during the week that are meatless. I hope this recipe adds one more meatless meal to your meal rotation for your family.

You can see that my peppers are a little past their peak, but that just makes them all the more perfect for a stuffed pepper recipe!

Ingredients

6 bell peppers, any colors
1 cup uncooked brown rice
1/3 cup dry lentils
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
2 cans enchilada sauce
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, cut into medium sized chunks
3/4 -1 cup coarsely chopped fresh mushrooms
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Optional: 1 cup frozen corn, thawed or 1 can of corn, drained

I love the addition of the sauteed mushrooms and onions in this recipe. It adds another layer of flavor and texture, but that is not all. It adds more nutritional value, too, as we add in more plant diversity to our meal!

Let’s get cooking….

Cook brown rice according to the package.
While the rice is cooking, add oil to another pan on stove on medium high heat. Saute the onions and mushrooms for 3 or 4 minutes until tender.
When rice is done, add onion/mushroom mixture into the pan with the rice.
Add the black beans, diced tomatoes, lentils, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, & black pepper and corn if you added that.
Rinse the peppers, cut the tops off, and remove the seeds and flesh from the inside of the peppers.
Using a spoon, scoop the rice/bean/vegetable mixture into each pepper until they are full. Arrange them in the crockpot.
Top with 2 cans of enchilada sauce.
Cover and cook on low for about 5 hours.
Top with shredded cheese and plain yogurt.