Day 3 of Eating In Week: Morning Rice Cornucopia and other concoctions

Well, it's Day 3 of Eating In Week and today is going to be a little more challenging because I am at working for 12 hours today!  That means I had to plan for 2 meals and some snacks.  It's tempting to eat at work because the cafeteria there feeds me for free!  But since it's Eating In Week and they use all disposable serving utensils and plates, I'm packing up my bags of food.  I started the day with a nice medley of leftover rice, pecans, cranberries, pears, flax seed and vanilla soymilk.  Delicious!

 For lunch, I'm having:

• Pure Pleasure Pumpkin Soup
• Best Bean Salad
• Brussel Sprouts
• Cornbread

Snacks include almonds, chocolate chips, cranberries, baby carrots and apple.

For dinner, I'm having:

• Swell Sweet Potato Thai Stew over rice
• Steamed kale with Dijon Barley Malt Dipping Sauce 

To keep myself on track, I am bringing my own tea with me:  Twig, Irish Breakfast, Green with Mint and Vanilla Blend White.

Kind Rice and Beans

I improvised this dish from a recipe on The Kind Life website.  Of course, we had a few different ingredients, but the end product was nice.

Cook 1 cup red or wild rice.

Combine in a large saucepan:

1 tablespoon olive oil
cooked rice
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup toasted almonds*
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon basil
1 can (or cup) of beans (soy here)

*Toast 1/2 cup raw almonds by either broiling them in oven (5 minutes) or toasting in the toaster oven (8 to 10 minutes).

Lovely Lentil Rice Soup

According to my friend, Janette, lentils are the new super food.  I always knew they were tasty, full of protein and fiber, but she read about their anti-cancer properties.  So, there is one more great reason to eat lentils.  And did you know that there are dozens of different types of lentils?  This is my staple lentil soup recipe and I like it because it can easily be embellished or is comforting on its own.  So, curl up with a nice hot cup of lentil soup.

Saute in a large soup pot:

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 carrots
2 leeks
1 onion
2 garlic cloves

Add:

1 cup cooked lentils
1/2 cup cooked rice
2 teaspoons dill
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
4 cups of water

Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve it up!

Have You Met Mochi?

I have an incurable sweet tooth and I realize I can't live on cake, cookies, candy bars and junk food most of the time.  A couple of years ago, I discovered sweet, satisfying mochi.  You might know mochi from the delicious mochi ice cream served at japanese restaurants.  Mochi is brown rice pounded into a rice cake.  You can buy it pre-made in sheets or you can be really adventurous and make your own.

What do you do with Mochi?  Here's a few suggestions:

• Bake small cubes of it and serve with butter or honey almost like petit fours.
• Stir fry cubes of it with apples, raisins, nuts and eat like a pudding.
• Cut into strips, arrange in the waffle iron and cook until puffed up.  Serve the waffle with fruit, nuts and syrup.
• Bake cubes in the oven at 450F for 8 to 10 minutes until puffed up.  Garnish as you like.

Mochi is delicious because it is sweet in a mellow way, crispy on the outside and warm and gooey inside.  It comes in original flavor or delicious flavors like cinnamon raisin.

If you are extra adventurous, you can make your own mochi.

Cook:

2 cups sweet brown rice
2 1/8 cups water

Once rice has cooked and is soft, turn into a large bowl.  Pound the rice until it gets soft, like taffy.  You can press on a cookie sheet into sheets, let them harden and then store in the refrigerator as sheets or you can cook right away like cookies.

So, branch out and meet your new friend Mochi.

Fall in Love with This Pudding

Here's a fall version of Righteous Rice Pudding.  You can use your favorite fall squash or root in this pudding such sweet potatoes, butternut squash, acorn squash or pumpkin.  Dress it up with ice cream, custard, vanilla yogurt or cream.

Cook:

1 cup brown rice (I like short grain)
1 1/2 cups water

Combine in saucepan:

cooked rice
2 cups milk
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 pecans
1 cup chopped winter squash
4 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Bring to a boil, then turn to low.  Simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened.  Savor and enjoy.

Wicked Good Wild Rice Stuffing

I made the stuffing last night and it was out of this world delicious!

Combine:

1/2 cup uncooked short grain wild rice
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice

Cook rice according to package.  Yes, you can mix the two rice grains and cook together.

Tip:  If you get the rice started first, you will have plenty of time to prep and cook the following mixture.

Saute in a large pan:

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 lb crimini mushrooms diced
1/2 onion diced
1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
1/4 tablespoon celery salt
1/4 tablespoon black pepper
2 cloves of garlic crushed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 large pear chopped
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Mix ingredients in pan, saute over Med heat for 7-8 mins, or until onions are soft.  Remove from heat.  Combine cooked rice to mixture in large pan and heat for 5 mins on Med-Hi heat.

Serve as a main or side dish.

Check It Out Chewy Rice Cookies

Well, I like cookies way too much, so I try to make up some healthy sweet concoctions.  Also, there always seems to be leftover brown rice in the fridge, so brown rice cookies resulted.

Combine:

2 cups short grain brown rice (1 dry cup plus 1 1/2 cups water to cook)
1/4 cup soy milk
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 egg whites
1 cup pecans
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 tablespoons oat bran

Bake at 350F for 15 to 25 minutes, until golden brown.  Serve with fresh fruit and enjoy.

Indian Spiced Rice

This quick recipe is a creative solution for leftover rice.  It makes a great meal or side dish.

Sautee on high heat in large pan:

olive oil
1/2 large onion
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspooon tumeric
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Add:

1/2 pound of  cubed tempeh (soybean cake)
1/2 cup red lentils
1 cup eggplant
1 cup yellow squash
water to cover dish.

Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add 1 to 2 cups of cooked rice.  Cover and simmer 10 minutes.  Stir in green peas.  Serve when peas are warm.  Top with fresh cilantro.

Righteous Rice Pudding

Now that fall is approaching, it's time for some comfort food.  One of my favorite and almost guilt-free comfort desserts is rice pudding.  In the summer, I serve it cold with tropical fruit and during the cool months, I like it warm with apples, pears or raisins.  Here's the simple recipe adapted from Eat More Weigh Less.  Enjoy!

Cook:

1 cup brown rice (I like short grain)
1 1/2 cups water

Combine in saucepan:

cooked rice
2 cups milk
4 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla

Bring to a boil, then turn to low.  Simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened.

Serve with fruit.

Do Some Good and Grow Your Brain

Have you ever played the rice game? It's a great way to spend a little extra time. For every answer you get right, 10 grains of rice are donated to the UN food program. There is a subject for everyone: Art, Chemistry, Language, Math, English and Geography. I have to warn you- It's addictive!!!

Tangy Rice and Aparagus Salad

This dish is great for leftover rice and to have in the fridge for a quick bite to eat. Adapted from The Savory Way.

Cook:

one cup of rice (I made this with short grain brown rice), quinoa or couscous.

Combine with:

2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1 pound chopped steamed asparagus

Dress to taste with Tangy Dressing:

1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons walnut oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon powder ginger
2 minced garlic gloves
handful chopped cilantro