Ethnic Yankee Fixes Rice and Beans

"You eat so healthy!" is an exclamation that used to be said by nosy busy-bodies who would stare at my lunch plate in the break room. Sometimes the plate might have nothing more exciting on it than raw spinach and thinly sliced cucumbers and a side of heated Sauerkraut.
I pretty much follow one recipe for cooking beans. I soak them overnight in purified water and a cap-full of cider vinegar. Then I rinse them, put them into a large pot with more purified water and add 2 bay leaves, tarragon, summer savory, chervil, smoked paprika, thyme, 1/2 a diced onion, chives, and a hand-mixed herb from Penzeys called JUSTICE. It's made from shallots, garlic, onion, green peppercorns, chives, and green onion.
All of my spices are from Penzeys. And yes, the JUSTICE is a bit redundant, but it contains other ingredients so I don't mind doubling up on certain spices as long as something new is added.
Nothing goes to waste when I make this. The stock from the beans gets served up as soup or it is sometimes used as the agent for steaming other vegetables such as carrots or turnips or greens like rapini.
I usually use vegetable stock when I make the rice. Rice is cooked on the stove and I follow a strict measurement of rice to liquid and a timed cooking duration. It's 18 minutes covered on the lowest flame and after the 18 minutes are up, the flame is turned off and the covered rice sits for 5 minutes. After that, the rice is either plated immediately or moved to a storage container.
Rice and beans have been a morning staple for me for probably about two years. Once in a rare while I might cook up some oatmeal, but the Latin American carbohydrate combination is my answer to the first meal of the day.
For protein (besides the beans) I generally add egg. If it's soft cooked then the meal has no additional oil. But if I opt to scramble the eggs, then I use a good butter (Kerrygold) or some olive oil.
As time goes by, I give more and more consideration to the idea of becoming a vegetarian. Unfortunately, I do like my tuna and salmon as well as chicken. I could probably live the rest of my life without beef, lamb, or goat. Finding protein outside tofu or other bean products isn't always simple. And much as the vegan world touts seeds and nuts, I don't quite find them too terribly satisfying. Part of my change in eating regimen is to attempt a(n) healthier food lifestyle, but I never lose sight of the notion of wanting to knock off some weight.
The weight loss journey will probably be with me for the rest of my live-long days. I have a history of bad habits and poor judgement that doesn't seem to be self correcting or even repaired to a condition of sensibility. I weigh and measure what I eat. For some reason, this seems to annoy a lot of people. I'm not asking them to adopt my habit or to even validate it. But I never quite understand why people have such a violent repulsion to it. I'm not starving myself, I'm simply creating portions.
Oh well, my cup of dried beans and rice will last me through the week. I never have to worry bout sharing it with anyone. "You are what you eat."