Making Mama’s meals couldn’t be any easier - How the founder of A Dozen Cousins brings flavorful meals to life

Rice, beans and sauces - these foods have the hearts of the Creole, Caribbean and Latin American people everywhere. They serve as the staple of our cultures.

For those who identify as Latinx, we often resented our parents growing up when they told us “Hay frijoles en la casa” instead of letting us eat from a popular chain restaurant. Now that we are surrounded by those chain restaurants and eating out often, all we could think about is mom’s frijoles de la olla.

The struggle for many college students who identify with one or more of the cultures mentioned is making simple foods such as rice and beans bursting with flavor in their dorm rooms. Now that we are away from home, we look forward to home-cooked meals and the warm atmosphere associated with them. When the dining hall food remakes – or at least attempts to make – the foods we grew up eating, they lack two crucial ingredients: spices and love.

Now, would you believe me if I were to tell you that there is a cheap and efficient solution to recreate some of the foods we love back at home? Sounds nearly impossible right? Founder and CEO of A Dozen Cousins Ibraheem Basir would tell you that it is indeed possible.

A Dozen Cousins is a company founded by Basir that sells beans, rice and sauces that are easy to make at home with authentic flavors. The journey to create this line of products was not easy. “If I think about some of the biggest challenges we faced in the early days, it was just getting the product right, and getting it the way that I wanted it, you know, when you’re cooking something in your house” said Basir.

A Dozen Cousins recently collaborated with Alter Eco, the world’s cleanest and greenest chocolate company, to develop a limited-edition line of hot cocoa bombs that were inspired by some of its favorite drinks from Latin America. “Alter Eco has expertise in making really great, really decadent chocolate products. And we understand cultural recipes, pulling out the history in a dish. And so we came together, it’s been really fun to work with them,” said Basir.

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Both brands are dedicated to using natural ingredients instead of GMOs and artificial flavors. Alter Eco uses cacao from regenerative farms in Latin America where a diversified mix of trees is planted around the cacao crop to mimic an abundant forest ecosystem.

You can find A Dozen Cousins products in select Target locations, Whole Foods, and you can also order through their website. They come in two different flavors: Mexican Hot Cocoa and White Chocolate Coquito.

Make sure to make your orders because the offer will end October 15!

Editor’s Note: This story was updated to notify consumers that the Limited Edition Hot Cocoa Bombs recently sold out.