How to Parboil Brown Rice

This recipe on how to parboil brown rice is very useful for when you want to substitute brown rice for white rice in a one pot meal. Parboiled brown rice cooks in the same amount of time as regular long grain white rice.

Parboil Brown Rice Cooking Instructions

  1. Combine in a 2 quart saucepan – 1 cup brown rice and 2 cups water
  2. Stir lightly, bring to a rolling boil and reduce heat to simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat and drain.  If using within 2 hours you can leave it on the counter, otherwise refrigerate or freeze for later use.

Use in place of “long grain white rice” in any one-pot recipe.

Quick Sautéed Kale and Carrots

This is the easiest way (IMO) to sauté kale so it’s not completely boring. Since kale can be somewhat bitter we add sweet veggies like carrots and onions to balance the flavors. Feel free to swap the carrots with parsnips, yellow or red bell peppers, or even red cabbage if you like.

Serves: 2 people with a bit left over
Hand on time: 10 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 tsp olive or coconut oil
  • 1 bunch kale
  • 1 medium to large carrot
  • 1/4 C chopped onion (optional)
  • salt and pepper

Continue reading “Quick Sautéed Kale and Carrots”

Weeknight Chicken + Avocado Lettuce Wraps

Serves: 2-4 people
Hands-on time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min

I grabbed this recipe out of one of those BH&G special issues that you find at the supermarket checkout stand.  It’s pretty true to the original but we are using leftover chicken instead of making it from scratch.  Since the chicken is a leftover from the fridge it helps to take it out and leave it on the counter for about an hour before serving so it isn’t so cold.  Sometimes I’ll even zap it in the microwave for 30 seconds before putting it on the salad. Continue reading “Weeknight Chicken + Avocado Lettuce Wraps”

Fresh Pears With Cinnamon

Dessert! Who doesn’t crave something sweet after a meal? If you said “me” you’re lying (or deluded). Even if you truly don’t crave sweets, you’re missing out on one of the best things life has to offer.

The best, healthiest dessert is a simple pile of whole fruit, whatever’s in season.  In the middle of the winter, pears are perfect because they are still widely available and didn’t have to fly from Peru to North America (very bad for the environment).

  1. Cut a ripe pear into eight wedges
  2. Cut out the seeds and stem.
  3. Sprinkle with cinnamon, then sprinkle with some more cinnamon.
  4. Eat.

The. Best. Ever.

Photo of pear with cinnamon

How to Automate Breakfast and Lunch

Years ago I read Dr. Oz’s book “You: On a Diet.” It’s a great book, check it out on Amazon here.  One of the things I remember from that book was to automate at least one meal per day.  My husband has automated his breakfast by making oatmeal with almond butter and maple syrup.  I generally have a bowl of cereal (Heritage Flakes are my favorite) with 30-calorie almond milk and a half a banana, followed by a hard boiled egg.  By automating this one meal, we don’t even have to think about it. Continue reading “How to Automate Breakfast and Lunch”