{Foodie Friday} Confetti Rice

Yay! It’s Foodie Friday!  And, let me just tell ya!  I may have to add recipes more often.  I have many ready to go to share! Today I’m sharing a dish that I like to call confetti rice.  I’m sure you’ve seen this dish before, or even made it yourself.  The one thing I love about my job is I get to help others re-connect with their kitchen.  It’s too easy to have outside sources prepare our foods for us, so I’m hoping to show others how easy it is to make delicious, homemade, wholesome meals that your entire family will love!  (This is a great dish for the kiddos!  Just cut the vegetables tiny (depending on their age) for the little mouths in the house).

And, don’t forget to scroll all the way down so you can print the recipe, if you’re interested in making it!

OK!  First, you’ll need 1 cup of brown rice. I also used 1 cup of white rice because my husband doesn’t like brown rice at all. I actually love the nutty flavor it.  He’s like a little kid when it comes to brown rice.  Pushes his nose up and says, ewwwww!  I always say to him, didn’t you read Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss, when he acts like that. He really doesn’t understand all the goodies he’s missing out on, like iron, vitamin E, amino acids, linoleic acid, and, not to mention, the highest amount of B vitamins he can get in a grain!  But, we don’t eat rice that much, so white rice once in awhile won’t kill him! And, yes, I’ll eat white rice from time to time, too, but I prefer the taste of brown.

Next, you’ll want to soak your brown rice.   I like to do this as soon as I wake up, if I’m going to make the dish that night. But, sometimes I can forget, so even just and hour is good, OR, even just rinsing it off before you cook can help.  Why do you need to soak? Because brown rice has phytic acid in it. Phytic acid is a naturally occurring organic acid in the outer layer or bran.  All grains contain phytic acid to some degree, but brown rice contains a relatively high level.  If the rice isn’t soaked, the phytic acid enters the intestines and mixes with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc, which means, a chemical reaction takes place which prohibits those awesome minerals from being absorbed and utilized by the body. So make sure you soak!

Here’s a tip!  See how the water isn’t too clear? You will need to put the rice in a strainer and rinse, and then add new water. I usually do this at the very beginning.  Then let soak for 1 to 6 hours, or longer.

Once the rise has soaked, then rinse again in strainer.  It’s now ready to cook!

OK!  Here’s another awesome tip. Sea vegetables!

I know they’re not the best looking food, but they’re SO nutritious for you!  I learned this tip from my mentor, Andrea Beaman, who went to my nutrition school (she’s actually how I found the school), who was on the first season of Top Chef, AND I was able to catch a few of her cooking classes at her apartment when I was in NYC for class.

OK, so here’s the tip! Add a piece of Kombu to the pot that you’re going to cook your rice in. I do this with everything that needs boiling.  From rice to pasta to soups.  It’s filled with iodine (which many of us are missing!), magnesium, calcium and zinc. Leave it in while the rice cooks and your grains will soak up all the goodies kombu provides.  You can eat it if you’d like. You can cut it up small and add in, or you can just throw away after your rice is done. It’s great because your little one’s don’t even have to know you put it in there (or your spouse who gets freaked out by it) and they get all the benefits!

Yes, I tried to capture it’s beauty.  You may not see it, but it’s there!

I just throw it in with the water while it boils and leave it in when I add the rice.

And, here’s how it looks once done.  It’s easy to just pull out when you’re ready to eat your rice.

I even put it in Damian’s white rice! Gotta give some nutrients to the rice that’s been stripped of all it’s goodies!

While your rice is cooking, start dicing your vegetables.  This recipe may look like a lot of work, but the best thing you can do is take a day and chop everything up.  And  you can make a double batch so you’ll have many leftovers for the week!

I dice up the carrots small. So I start by cutting them into strips.

Then I dice them up.  Bite-size for Camille!

I then wash up my peppers.  You can use any kind of pepper you wish.

Would you like to see more recipes on the blog?  If so, let me know!  Also, is there anything you’d like to see here?  Anything on your mind or curious about?  I’d be happy to hear and add to the blog!

{Happy Friday}

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