Nutty Green Rice
I’m always looking for ways to elevate the carb-rich dishes patients desire to a healthier status. This easy, tasty dish does just that. First you begin with a healthy version of rice, black rice is the best, but brown rice is next in line. Try to stay away from the white, highly refined rice. It’s important to place rice in a sieve and rinse it very well under cold water to remove the excess starch before cooking it.
Rice takes a while to cook, therefore it gives you time to see what’s lurking in the vegetable drawer. I’ve given some suggestions below under “Ingredients” but the idea is to add a nice variety of healthy veggies (raw, or lightly steamed/sauteed) to amp up the health value of this meal.
Originally this dish was designed as a room temperature recipe to be served with raw vegetables, more appropriate when the weather is warmer. However, I have also enjoyed it warm with lightly steamed or sauteed vegetables and either way is delicious.
What’s fun is to add what you have on hand, making the variety of this dish almost endless.
Beans are something that protect against disease, especially cancer, and extend life expectancy, so any excuse to add beans to a meal is a great idea. This particular dish is very well suited to an addition of healthy beans, either warm or cold.
Let me know what delicious combinations you come up with.
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 cup organic brown basmati or black rice, well rinsed.
2 cups water
¼ to ½ tsp. salt
½ cup organic almonds
1 bunch organic parsley
1 clove garlic
1½ Tbsp. lemon juice* (or substitute rice wine vinegar – 1 Tbsp.)
1½ Tbsp. organic olive oil
½ organic cucumber, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
[Optional: chopped olives, organic red or yellow pepper, chopped green onion and/or red cabbage can all be added to bring more nutrition into this dish, not to mention color! Another option is rinsed cooked beans such as black beans, garbanzo beans or cannellini.]
Omit citrus while on Elimination Diet
Directions:
Add water and rice into rice cooker. When cooked, add salt and serve warm or allow to cool.
While rice is cooking, blend almonds, parsley, garlic, and oil in a food processor. Stir in nut mixture and add salt and pepper to taste. Place cucumber, other cold or lightly cooked vegetables and beans over top of the rice and combine.
Buon Appetito!