Rice!

I have recently been on a serious rice kick. We have a 9 year old that loves all things carbs. Getting her to eat food other than carbs and sugar (granted some of those sugars are from fruits) is a challenge. We found ourselves eating a lot of pasta, which constantly made me feel guilty about her nutrition.

Now, rice is not healthier than pasta. Most of my research has said that they are the same nutritionally. (Side note: I can’t eat brown rice.) However, I have found that I can find a lot of creative ways to incorporate protein and vegetables into the rice dishes, and she still eats every bite. So I’m sneaking in some nutrition!

Stir-fried rice is one of my favorites. I can add eggs and basically any vegetable, and she’ll eat it! I’ve also come up with several versions of rice pilaf which include things like peas, carrots, mushrooms, etc.

Rice has also allowed me to expand her spice tolerance. Now, this is not really about nutrition, but I’m desperate to have more flavor in our foods. If I put it in rice, she’ll try it. We’ve been able to add things like turmeric, garlic, and even a little red pepper flakes, and she still eats it up!

As a side note, it has also made life very easy as all of my creations have been done using my instant pot! I put things together, set it, wait 20 minutes and we have dinner!

My next goal is to finally tackle a vegetarian paella! I’ve seen some recipes online, but none that just screamed flavor. I am going to experiment with some of the new meat substitutes to try to really mimic that wonderful flavor profile without using meats!