Not a big fan of brown rice or quinoa because you think it is boring? Many clients feed me this excuse, but I have lots of simple and yummy recipes to jazz up brown rice and other healthy grains.
Don’t buy Rice-A-Roni or Uncle Ben’s:
Many people use quick and easy brands, like Rice-A-Roni and Uncle Ben’s. Unfortunately these products, especially the flavored rice pilafs, have been transformed into unhealthy processed carbohydrates. They contain:
- Processed White Rice: All their pilafs are made from white rice, which is already processed. On top of that, the “enriched parboiled white rice” has been further stripped of its essential nutrients.
- Lots of Preservatives and Additives: In most of their products, I found added MSG, sugar, corn syrup solids, and lots of hydrolyzed corn and soy ingredients. YUCK!
- Lots of Sodium: In 1 cup of cooked rice, there is approximately 1000 mg of Sodium!
I have an Easy and Healthy Solution:
Make a large batch of plain brown rice or quinoa (organic preferred). Make it in a rice cooker or in a pot – follow the directions on the bag. You can cook the rice with just water and add your own salt later or you can cook the rice with ½ water and ½ low sodium organic vegetable/chicken broth. Use what you need and store the rest in freezer zip lock bags. Rice defrosts easily for future rice dishes.
If you are not sure how to jazz up your plain grain, here are some simple and flavorful brown rice and quinoa recipes.
Brown Rice Dishes:
- Taco Rice
- Healthy Fried Rice with Vegetable (add egg and nuts for a complete meal)
- Sundried Tomato and Basil (I added broccoli spears and pecorino cheese) – testing recipe now
- Butternut Squash Brown Rice Risotto (I added asparagus and mushrooms) – testing recipe now
Quinoa Dishes
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