Black Bean and Tomatillo Forager Bowl Daily Harvest

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This is probably my favorite item on the menu from Daily Harvest. But it's $5.79 per serving, and you need 2 of them for a meal. I weigh 103 pounds, and I'm 5'2".

I love daily harvest, and it has been really fun trying new meals on demand, and learning that it's possible to eat ho-hum food for the sake of being healthy, and not having to cook. 

But now that I know I can just store a few lazy ingredients in a freezer bag in the freezer, maybe I can do this myself? So this is the first recipe I'm going to attempt to replace.

Serves 17, based on the package of steel cut oats, which is their largest ingredient, and buying everything else to match 17 servings. 

I could have made this cheaper by chopping my own onions, or boiling my own beans, but I wanted to make it as easy as possible.

*asterisk 🟰 food processor or blender needed. AKA sucky step*

Ingredients and initial thoughts:

  • Organic steel cut oats
  • Black beans
  • Organic diced tomatoes (canned obviously, hence "calcium chloride")
  • Organic spinach
  • Organic sweet potato rice (me thinks shredded in a food processor) or, just use grated carrots, if you don't wanna mess. 
  • Organic purple corn (I'll see what i can find. Might just do yellow)
  • Tomatillos (fresh, I presume. I might purée them)
  • Organic avocado purée (avocado, lime juice)
  • Lime juice (in case I didn't see it above)
  • Water (interesting)
  • Organic pickled peppers (peppers, apple cider vinegar, water, maple syrup, sea salt - okay this is getting complicated)
  • Cilantro 
  • Jalapeño (I'm gonna say relish, and I'm gonna stop saying organic)
  • EVOO gonna save this for cooking fat, so not storing it in the freezer bag, and not including it in shopping list. 
  • More lime juice (okay, definitely not gonna forget)
  • Yellow onion purée (just buy frozen diced onions, and don't bother with puréeing them)
  • Salt (pink himalayan yada yada)
  • Garlic powder 
  • White pepper (definitely didn't taste it, bcuz I don't like it. Why is it funky? Switching for black)
  • Cayenne (didn't taste that either)
Walmart shopping list:
  1. Great value organic quick cook steel cut oats, 24 ounces, serves 17 (1/4 cup dry?), $3.72
  2. 3 cans Goya black beans, 15.5 ounces, serves 3.5 per can (1/2 cups), $1.26 x 3 = $3.72 (I'm gonna do 1/3 cups servings to match the oats, so 18 servings)
  3. 2 cans Great Value Organic (why not?) diced tomatoes, 28 ounces, serves 6 per can (1/2 cups), $2.12 x 2 = $4.24 (I'm gonna do 1/3 cups servings, so 18 servings)
  4. 3 bags Great Value Organic frozen chopped spinach, 10 ounce bags, 3.5 servings (1/2 cups), $1.97 x 3 = $5.91 (I'm gonna do 1/4 cup servings, so 21 servings)
  5. 3 sweet potatoes, about 1 pound each, I'm guessing 6 servings per potato (1/3 cups grated). 18 servings. $1.51 x 3 = $4.53
  6. 5 cans (15.5 ounces) Libby's whole kernel sweet corn. $0.98 x 5 = $4.90. (3.5 1/2 cup servings per can), 17.5 servings.
  7. I'm just gonna do 5 pounds of fresh tomatillos, even though that might be an overshoot, because it's what makes this dish good, and it's in the name. $1.85 times 5 = $9.25. 1/2 cup servings. More than 17.
  8. 3 boxes Wholly Guacamole classic mini's, $5.43 x 3 = $16.29, 6 mini containers per box, 2 oz each. 3 boxes is 18 servings. Freeze, and then thaw each mini upon use. (Double this if you're using each bag as 2 servings instead of 1)
  9. 1 bottle (16 fl oz) Nellie and Joe's Key West Lime Juice $2.84, 16 servings (1 ounce each). 
  10. 1 jar (12 fl oz) Mezzetta Bell Pepper Zesty Relish, $2.47, 24 servings (1 tbsp each)
  11. 6 bunches fresh cilantro, $0.68 x 6 = $4.08, 3 servings per bunch, so 18 servings. 
  12. 1 jar (12 oz) Mt Olive Pickle Company diced jalapeños. 24 (1 tbsp) servings, $1.97.
  13. 3 bags (10 ounces) Great Value chopped onions. $1.46 x 3 = $4.38. Purée this in food processor, and then use 1-2 tbsp per bag. I'm guessing 17 servings minimum. 
  14. Salt to taste, or 1/4 - 1/2 tsp per serving 
  15. 1/4 tsp black pepper per serving 
  16. 1 dash cayenne per bag, optional 
  17. 1 box Hefty Freezer Bags, 1/2 gallon, 40 count, $5.48.
  18. Hopefully you already have a sharpie.
Directions:
  1. Get out 17 freezer bags and write "Black Bean and Tomatillo Forager Bowl" on each one. 
  2. Scoop 1/4 cup dry steel cut oats into each bag.
  3. Top that with 1/3 cup drained and rinsed black beans per bag.
  4. Top that with 1/3 cup petite diced tomatoes per bag.
  5. Top that with 1/4 cup chopped frozen spinach per bag. 
  6. Peel and grate the *sweet potatoes* (sigh), using the food processor. Top each bag with 1/3 cup grated sweet potato. 
  7. Top that with 1/2 cup drained whole kernel corn per bag. 
  8. Trim and rinse the *tomatillo's* and purée them all in a food processor or blender. Top each bag with 1/2 cup purée. 
  9. Transfer all the mini guacs to as many freezer bags as necessary to hold them, and store them in the freezer. 
  10. Add 1/2 tbsp lime juice per bag. 
  11. Add 1 tbsp zesty relish per bag. 
  12. Rinse and trim the *cilantro*, add purée it in the food processor. Top each bag with 1-2 heaping tbsp of cilantro, or until used up. 
  13. Top that with 1 tbsp diced jalapeños per bag. 
  14. Purée the frozen onions in the food processor. Top each bag with 1-2 tablespoons. 
  15. Add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper per bag. 
  16. Add 1/4 tsp cayenne per bag. 
  17. Close thoroughly, and transfer to freezer. 
Serving Instructions:
  1. Fish out a mini guac container and soak it in water to thaw while you cook your bag.
  2. Loosen contents of freezer bag with your hands while running it under the tap.
  3. Heat 1 tbsp butter in a skillet over medium-high (6) heat, and 1/2 cup water. 
  4. Pour contents of bag into skillet (oat-side-down). Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
  5. Remove lid and stir regularly for 6 minutes. 
  6. Deglaze the pan with 2 tbsp water if it starts to stick. 
  7. Reduce heat to medium-low (3), and cook for 4 more minutes, stirring regularly.
  8. Serve with guac, and maybe shredded cheese and sour cream if desired. 
In Summary:

So this costs $68.30 total (not including cooking fats, or spices, because I already have them), plus $5.48 for freezer bags. But it makes (17) 3 cups servings. Daily Harvest would charge $5.79 for each 3 tablespoons serving, or $98.43 plus $10 shipping. 

Worth it for variety, and convenience. But this should be fun. 

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