Veggies and Rice

I was looking around at my kitchen wondering what to make for dinner. Then I remembered that there are some vegetarians I know, and I've never actually tried to make a one-dish vegetarian meal. I love one-dish meals, so I sorted through the freezer, fridge, and cabinets, and came up with the following. Adjust spice amounts to your own liking:

1 package frozen vegetables of your choice (I used a blend of carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli)
1 can cut green beans, drained
1 jar mushrooms, drained
1 can tomatoes, NOT drained
About 1 tablespoon butter (if you want to make it vegan, use oil of your preference. It's only to keep the veg from burning)
About 2 tablespoons minced garlic
About 1 tablespoon parsley
About 1/2 teaspoon marjoram
About 1 teaspoon dill weed
Salt and ground fresh pepper
About 1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup vegetable broth
2 cups Minute Rice
Walnuts (optional)

In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter with a little of the garlic. Add the vegetables and heat thoroughly. Grind together parsley, marjoram, and dill, and add to pan along with the rest of the garlic. Add salt and pepper, a little more than you think it will take for the vegetables. Add the lemon juice and heat until the vegetables are fully heated and the liquid is at a rolling boil. Then pour in the broth and heat again. Add in the Minute Rice, turn the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, uncover, and let sit for a few minutes to let any extra liquid evaporate.

For an extra crunch (because I love the contrasting textures), add some walnuts to each serving.

Going Grain-Free

The other day, a friend asked if I had any suggestions for starting a grain-free diet. Actually, I do. Here are a few:

1.  Make sure that grain-free is the right diet for you.  It’s not for everyone. I am allergic to both wheat and corn, as it turns out, so I decided to try grain-free for 90 days to see how it works for me.  If you’re not allergic to any grains, then it might not make sense for you. I’ve started recommending that if you’re considering a change in diet, first go get tested for food allergies. To get the results you want, it may be as simple as cutting out foods to which you are allergic.

2.  Read labels.  If you choose to try grain-free, you’re going to have to find out which foods have hidden grains. You will be astonished at where corn can hide, in the forms of corn starch and corn syrup. Even Campbell’s soup has either wheat gluten or corn syrup in most varieties. 

3.  Go through your cabinets, freezer, and refrigerator.  Throw out everything that has any grain substance in it. I mean everything. Grain-free is hard, and you will have weak moments. If the food isn’t in the house, you won’t eat it.

4. Be creative about what you CAN eat.  Once you get rid of your grains, you might wonder what you can eat. The short answer is meat, vegetables, fruit, and dairy. (I am not talking about the Paleo diet – that requires you to give up dairy and processed sugar.)  Also peanut butter and soy.  Chocolate (if you’re careful about what type).  This is the time to mix things up. I like carrots and mustard, peanut butter and celery, that sort of thing.  Frozen fruit, canned fruit.  Focus on protein – it burns more slowly than carbohydrate, so it won’t give you the crash that follows a sugar rush. 

5.  Give yourself time to adjust.  Eliminating grains is not easy.  I do better cold turkey, but you might do better tapering off. Realize that you will have cravings, and make sure that you have suitable snack replacements on hand.  Don’t try to count calories or carbs or whatever you’ve been doing, either. Eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re no longer hungry.  And most importantly, if you fall off the wagon, forgive yourself and get back up.

If you have any questions about any of this, just ask. And if you decide to go grain-free, best wishes!!