Healthy Refried Black Beans

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone! Despite all of the Mexican-themed dishes I have seen online and on TV lately, I kind of forgot about Cindo de Mayo when I was doing my meal planning for the week. I had already bought the ingredients to make my favorite meatloaf, so I decided to make a festive afternoon snack instead... healthy refried black beans- served as a dip with whole grain tortilla chips. Fun fact: black beans are packed with protein and fiber and have only 1 gram of fat per serving!

I prepped my crock pot and turned it to the low setting before going to work this morning. By the time I got home from my first official training run this afternoon, the house smelled amazing!

Ingredients:

1 onion, peeled and halved
3 cups dry black beans, rinsed
2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
8 cups water

Directions:

Place all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook on high for 6-8 hours and add more water as needed. (I cooked mine on low for 6 hours and had plenty of liquid.)

Once the beans have cooked, strain them and reserve the liquid.

 

Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding the reserved liquid as needed to attain desired consistency.

 

Did you celebrate Cinco de Mayo today? If so, how?

What is your favorite Mexican dish?