Lentil and Brown Rice Bowl

A perfect little bowl of comfort for those winter weeks where getting out of bed is a feat. This is going to be my lunch for the week and it was perfect to relax to this weekend while Sex and the City was playing in the background. A little alone time can be really refreshing. This is one of those bowls that is easy to make a big batch of for lunches throughout the week and  is a perfect balance of carbs, protein, healthy fats (we are going to top with some avocado) and greens. This dish reminds me of a macrobiotic bowl and has many of the components of one.

Ingredients

1 cup cooked brown rice, cooked in broth if you want more flavor (I used veggie)

1/2 cup cooked red organic lentils, cooked in broth if you want more flavor

1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped

1/2 cup tofu, firm, chopped into cubes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 avocado, sliced

1/2 cup baby spinach leaves

Freshly cracked black pepper if desired and/or soy sauce, liquid aminos, or tamari

Directions

Saute your tofu cut into cubes and mushrooms in a pan on medium heat. Season with red pepper flakes if desired and garlic. Cook until garlic is transculent and mushrooms are browned, and tofu is crisped on sides. Mix mixture with brown rice and lentils. Top with freshly cracked black pepper, soy sauce and baby spinach leaves. Top with avocado for some great heart healthy fats!

 

xx

Reth

P.S. This lunch or dinner reheats excellently and has even more flavor the longer it sits in the fridge so I have been making a huge batch and then taking a cup or two cups to work each day and topping it with fresh greens and avocado.

 

Heart Healthy Foods

Quick Working Lunch

To save time on Mondays, I bring in lunches for the week after a bunch of cooking on Sundays. This week I made some shrimp fried rice, some beans with spices, and I brought in an avocado to cut up for lunch on top. Featured here: brown rice with shrimp, peas, broccoli and low sodium soy sauce, cauliflower, beans, mushrooms, and avocado!

Honey Balsamic Salmon with Brown Rice Black Quinoa Blend

I am obsessed with salmon. It is probably the reason I can never go completely vegetarian. I love the beautiful peachy color of the fish and I love what it does for my mood, my skin, my body, and my tastebuds. If you are not a huge salmon person (WHY?) , you can adapt this to a different fish like haddock, tilapia, or tuna, but this sweet and savory combination on salmon is my favorite weeknight dinner. And it is fast! I have these ingredients on hand all the time and since they make such a good pair, I use it on chicken and other proteins too! The brown rice black quinoa blend is the perfect side and with another side of steamed spinach or sautéed kale, you are set to go!

Honey Balsamic Glaze

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/8 teaspoon of black himalyan salt

Freshly cracked black pepper (to your liking)

1 steamed salmon filet

1/2 cup brown rice, cooked

1/4 cup black quinoa, cooked according to package directions

Directions

Mix honey, balsamic, salt and pepper will and brush on steamed salmon filet. Combine cooked rice and quinoa and assemble on top!

Told you it was simple.

xx

Reth

Sweet Honey Brown Rice with Strawberries

This is basically rice pudding for breakfast.

Ingredients

1/2 cup brown rice, cooked (Try the boil packs)

4 strawberries, sliced

1 cup vanilla soymilk, or unsweetened soy milk with a dash of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mint, for garnish, optional

Directions

Simmer brown rice for five minutes with honey, cinnamon, soymilk and top with strawberries. Add mint if desired.

Enjoy!

 

xx

R

Brown Shrimp Fried Rice

I have had this awesome dish for a couple nights in a row now. I am totally addicted and I have been on the search for a good fried rice for a while now. I am kind of lying when I say it is fried since there is minimal oil so it’s more like brown rice with salad shrimp, edamame, minimal salt, mushrooms, spinach and small florets of broccoli.

Ingredients

Serves 2

2 cups brown rice, cooked

1 cup edamame, steamed

1 cup sliced mushrooms

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 can canned shrimp

1/4 cup broccoli florets, chopped and steamed

1/4 cup spinach

3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon minced garlic in water, or fresh garlic

Pepper

Directions

In a shallow pan, heat oil on medium heat on the stove. Add mushrooms and garlic. Cook for three minutes and add contents of one can of shrimp. Add edamame and broccoli. Add spinach after the edamame, mushrooms, garlic, and broccoli have been heated through, about five minutes. Keep stirring. Add brown rice after the spinach leaves have wilted. Add soy sauce and pepper. Add two tabelspoons of water if you want to stretch out the soy sauce.

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Enjoy!

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Merry Christmas Eve!

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xx

Reth

Pumpkin Brown Rice Pudding

This is silky, creamy perfection. A perfect fall treat!

Ingredients

1/2 cup brown rice, cooked

1/4 cup pumpkin

1 /2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon stevia

1 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

A pinch of salt

1 cup vanilla soy milk or other nut milk

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

** to make it easier, feel free to substitute the spices for plain old pumpkin pie spice if you have it on hand

Directions

Heat soy milk in a saucepan. Stir in brown rice. Add pumpkin, pumpkin pie spices,honey and stevia. Add salt. Mix well. Simmer until the rice is soft and the flavors have all molded together, about twenty minutes or less. Serve.

Enjoy!

Cheers!

Brown Rice with Lemon Garlic Broccoli and Seared Tofu Triangles

This is a filling dinner or lunch! I love brown rice and this combination is just fabulous. Tell me if you think of anything new!

Ingredients

1/4 cup brown rice

1/2 cup frozen broccoli florets or fresh broccoli

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/8 block firm tofu, cut into triangles

1 teaspoon fresh minced garlic

Pepper

1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions

Boil the brown rice according to package directions. Add broccoli and lemon juice to water and let simmer. In a seperate pan, add garlic and olive oil. Heat and toss in the tofu triangles. Add pepper. Combine rice mixture and tofu mixture and heat through.

Cheers!