Rice Without a Rice Cooker!

As someone who grew up for a period in Asia, rice has always remained a staple in my diet. Regardless of if I'm cutting or bulking, a nice helping of white rice always soothes my soul. However, I was so unaware of the masses who didn't know how to make rice on a stovetop. I've attached the procedures below.

First, measure out your ingredients. You should always have one part of rice and two parts of water. For seasonings, I like my rice with just butter and salt. Like all of my recipes, this rice is easily adaptable to any meal plan.

First, let's discuss the choice of rice. While there are many different types of rice that we could discuss, I use the enriched long grain rice. It's cheap, available in bulk, and takes on almost any flavor. While I'm aware this is not the most nutritious rice, it gets the job done. I should also denote here that when adapting this method of traditional Asian dishes or fried rice, omit the butter. For Indian turmeric rice, season with turmeric, cinnamon, green cardamom, garlic cumin, and chili flakes. For sweet rice, sprinkle over some sugar. Lastly, for buttery southern rice, add some diced sweet onions. (This is my personal favorite). Lastly, when choosing cooking liquid, swapping water for broths and/or flavorful liquid dilutions such as including wines and ciders adds depth of flavor.

To prepare, start with a pan over medium/high heat. Add your butter and oil to lubricate the pan. While the butter/oil is melting and incorporating, add the dry white rice. Next, "cook" the rice, without any liquid for about 10/15 minutes or until the rice looks "dry." If adding spices or onions, add them at about the 5-minute mark. Allow them to cook until fragrant but not burnt. Once the rice appears "dry," add liquid of your choice and salt. When the pan is at a rapid boil, which should be almost immediate, cover and allow to cook on medium to low heat for 15 minutes, or until the rice is tender. Stir intermittently to ensure that the rice doesn't stick or burn.

That's it. It's simple, easy, and so delicious. Again, to amend to your desired tastes, add more seasonings or even allow the rice to create a slight brown crust at the bottom once finished cooking. No matter how you like it, this rice is always delicious for eating.

Something Out of Nothing French Toast

Today I have another delicious and nutritious, but not so healthy, recipe to share. Here’s the something out of nothing French toast recipe.

As usual, this recipe is easily adaptable. You can make it vegan by using vegan coffee creamers and flaxseed gel or an egg replacement to replace the egg. For keto and/or low carb, opt for a low carb bread option. This recipe is already nut-free. Lastly, to make it gluten-free, use a gluten-free bread substitute and gluten-free oatmeal. You can skip the oatmeal altogether, as it’s difficult to find gluten-free oatmeal, just add cinnamon to the wet mix.

Also, to serve, you can add with any form of egg or egg replacement scramble, meat/meat replacement of choice, and/or some fresh greens. This recipe would pair well with a seasonal garden salad topped with lemon juice and a little olive oil. To make up this easy dish, start with a whole wheat baguette cut into inch thick slices. In a mixing bowl, add your egg and coffee creamer. You can substitute the creamer for any sweet dairy substitute, this ensures that you don’t have to add any sweetener. Then, in a separate shallow dish, add one pack of your oats. Then dip your baguette rounds into the wet mix followed by patting on the dry mix. Don’t allow too much of the egg wash to soak into the bread, this eliminates longer cooking times and burning the oats. Also, ensure to pat until the surface is coated with oats.

Then in a medium-hot pan, add a tablespoon of butter. I didn’t have access to more than this, and the dish came out well. However, a little more butter would have given a beautiful golden crust to the French toast. Add your French toast. Once golden brown to your desired preference, serve with additional butter, syrup, and your plating options of choice.

It’s just that simple. Get into this quick, delicious, and easy meal to keep you full longer and satisfy your breakfast sweet tooth.

Something Out of Nothing Stir Fry Recipe

Today, I’m back with another recipe. This time, I have my Americanized stir fry recipe. This is what I use to eat up fresh produce that I have in the fridge before it goes bad. It is filled with many nutrients and flavors, but as always, the meal is dependent upon what you have in the fridge. Also, it is adaptable, meaning, you can change small aspects of the meal to fit any dietary restriction.

If you haven’t seen our blog post about how to build a healthy, delicious, meal, I tend to buy fresh and/or frozen vegetables and seasonable vegetables to build my meals. Dependent upon your access will determine what ends up in your stir fry. Again, the purpose is to get rid of what you can. 

If starting with frozen vegetables, start with thawed vegetables. This ensures your stir fry doesn’t end up mushy. Also, this recipe uses many summer vegetables, but almost any vegetables will do. You can add cauliflower, mushrooms, corn, asparagus, brussels sprouts (the flavor in these is strong, so you might want to roast them prior and add them at the end), peppers or lentils (cooked and added for protein). It depends on what you like to eat and what you have on hand. 

To make this recipe vegan, you only have to adapt to the fat/protein source. I did not add the protein to the overall calorie count, this leaves room for personalization. Instead of using rendered bacon fat, use a light tasting oil like avocado or vegetable oil. For those interested in an oil-free option, you can sauté in water. If starting with thawed frozen vegetables, no water is needed. Delicious suggestions for vegan protein sources include, but are not limited to, tofu, tempeh, seitan, and/or toasted nuts.

To make this recipe gluten-free, replace the penne pasta with gluten-free noodle options or omit the noodles. Add a side of rice for the carbohydrates or with a baked sweet potato. (The baked sweet potato with the vegetables and cabbage is BOMB! Thank me later.)

To make this recipe keto/whole30 friendly, replace the penne pasta with zucchini noodles. If using zucchini noodles, though, don’t use zucchini pieces and add the hot stir fry to your raw noodles. This will help the noodles keep their shape and not get soggy. Similarly, if the squash is too high in carbs to be a replacement for you, omit the squash and add bell peppers, snap peas, and/or green beans for a fuller plate.

Lastly, when serving this meal, you may serve as a main course or a side dish. If serving as a main course, add a protein source of your choice. Some nice parings include honey barbecue chicken, homemade bacon, and/or pan-seared garlic, sriracha, and soy sauce tofu. Also, I serve this dish with steamed cabbage. This adds some greens to the dish. Any steamed/sautéed cabbage would pair nicely with this dish. You can add spinach, kale, or even collard greens to the dish, but these have stronger flavor profiles than cabbage.

Making the meal. To prepare the dish, start by chopping all of your fresh/frozen vegetables. Ensure they are all similar in size. Heat a large saucepan or wok to medium-high heat. Once slightly smokey, add your oil choice, onion, celery, and garlic. Ensure that you are stirring consistently to prevent burning. Once these vegetables are aromatic, add your carrots and broccoli. Allow these vegetables to sweat out some, or until the broccoli is brightly colored, but still firm. Then add the yellow squash and zucchini. Cook until the squash renders water. Then season generously (or to taste). Once vegetables are cooked to the desired texture (I prefer mine cooked, but with a crush still), add pasta and serve over a bed of steamed cabbage.

How to Build a Healthy, Delicious, and Nutritious Meal

Making a healthy, delicious, and nutritious meal is difficult when socially meals are defined as a burger and fries, a slice of pizza, and/or spaghetti and meatballs. Not saying that these foods are bad, but they are not complete in nutrient content. Whether starting a fitness journey or trying to care for your body in the best way possible, eating balanced meals gives you your nutrients to live a long life.

From trial and error, I’ve learned that nutrient-rich eating requires you to know your body, shop strategically, prepare your food properly, and portion control for your dietary needs. 

1. Know your body. Your body is a temple that warns you when a food agrees or disagrees with it. Just look for basic indicators of change. Soft tissue and skin are changed mostly by foods consumed, whereas, muscles/fat are changed mostly by exercise. Key indicators of food sensitivities and/or responses include changes in acne, bowel movements (consistency and frequency), increased/decreased heart rate, and boating. To test for food influences, you can get a blood test done with your doctor or those fancy allergy testing companies. You can also do a cleanse/fast and then reintroduced foods while keeping a critical eye on my body response. Knowing your body and how these different sensitivities influence you, you can eventually get to a point where you can tell when you need more protein, carbs, veggies, or less food. 

2. Be strategic with your grocery purchases. To make a meal you need groceries. And what you buy will ultimately end up on your plate. I’ll do a separate post about grocery shopping and shopping cost-effectively for quality products, but for now, I’ll discuss the tools I use in the store to ensure a balanced plate. 

   1. In the grocery store, do not go without a list that corresponds with the meals you plan to make. 

   2. Second, try to shop the outside isles of the store and the freezer section. These sections are produce, meat, dairy, and frozen goods. Stay away from the processed isles as much as possible. If I do need to go into the isles, be strategic, and purchase nonperishables like rice, oatmeal, and seasonings. 

   3. When buying any food, try to buy whole foods. The least processed the better, so instead of buying chicken nuggets and broccoli and cheese pasta, buy chicken breast, broccoli, cheese, and the pasta.  

   4. When buying fresh produce, ensure that you are buying as local and seasonal as possible, this ensures the maximum nutrients when you eat the food. The food also lasts longer in the fridge. 

   5. If something is not in season, buy it frozen or wait. 

   6. I detail in the attached videos which foods I find to be the best for my digestion and lifestyle, see below.  

3. Prepare your meals. When preparing food, DO NOT skimp with the seasonings. Even if just eating a piece of lettuce and two carrots, but seasoning/appropriately dressing them gives the mainly water-based vegetables a full mouth feel when eating. ALSO, SALT AND PEPPER ARE NOT SEASONINGS, so learn about broader flavor profiles. Between seasonings, sauces, and dressings, you don’t have to sacrifice nutrition for taste. I disclose in the video attached which seasonings I find to be most basic to build a ton of flavor. 

4. Assemble your plate. Depending on your responses to the previous three points, how you build your plate will change. Also, your goals will change how you build your plate. However, from a general perspective, according to Harvard University, almost half of your plate should be vegetables. Most vegetables will work, but understand that foods such as corn, potatoes, and plantains are considered high carb starches, not vegetables. Also, the inclusion of whole grains is important, but these are carbs as well, so you can replace whole grains with those starchy vegetables described before. Lastly, the fruit is an important part of the diet. You can save some for dessert or add a natural fruit juice as well. Understand that fruit too is a complex carb. When measuring your carb count, keep that in mind. 

5. Lastly, portion control your foods. To ensure that you’re getting all of your nutrients, start by weighing out and tracking your macronutrients (carbs, protein, and fats). I have discussed before, but I use the MyFitnessPal app. After taking a short quiz that identifies your age, activity level, and goals, you are given a basic profile with macro-nutrient and caloric recommendations. So far it has worked quite well for me. I have also used IIFYM, which gives even more detailed specifications for macro-nutrients and caloric recommendations. I’ve tried these as well, and have also found them helpful. This process is a necessity when first starting to determine what your body needs and how your body reacts to different amounts of food.

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/

That's it. It’s that simple! Building a healthy meal and turning over a new lifestyle with your food starts with just 5 easy steps. In the following videos, I give detailed information concerning which foods I like to buy most often and which seasonings and sauce/dressing combinations I build my meals from. The fact is that to build healthy, delicious, and nutritious meals it takes trial and error. The tools I give are a base, but to advance and diversify your flavor profiles, play with the basics and you’ll find what you like and don’t like concerning what’s good for your body. 

Something out of Nothing Ramen Recipe

Hello Y’all!

I’m coming back with another quick and easy nutritious meal. Today I am giving my spin on Ramen. So as a child who grew up in Japan, I love a good bowl of Ramen. However, I could do without the high caloric intake and the spike in carbs to enjoy it. I make a quick and dirty version that is, easily adaptable for all nutrient diets and tastes WAY better than the packaged stuff you buy for 10¢ at the grocery store.

I used what I had handy for this recipe. To increase the nutritious value, I’d recommend packing on the vegetables. I’d replace the kale with bok choy or spinach, they’re softer and easier to chew with the noodles. Also, peppers, other types of mushrooms, fresh onion (scallion), and garlic are also good additives for better depth of flavor. If including these, I would stir fry the vegetables together, adding the longer cooking vegetables first and the others last, or adding the easier cooking vegetables in raw to the ramen broth.

For other options for toppings, I recommend a soft boiled egg and other protein sources (see below). The protein will really make or break the ramen, so choose wisely and season heavy. Remember that the protein is going into a broth. While the broth is seasoned, your noodles are not. Keep that in mind. I chose to use chicken thighs that were already marinated and cooked. They were marinated in a Mexican style seasoning with lime, chilis, and cilantro. This was a great hint of interest to the dish. You can marinate your protein choice in any spices you desire. I prefer honey sriracha glaze and/or smokey soy seasoning pallets for the best fit, but you can experiment with what works best for you. There are many protein choices you can use for the dish: shrimp, chicken, pork, beef, tempeh, tofu, etc. Regardless of which you choose, ensure that it has a firmer texture to offer some contrast to the noodles. For my chicken thighs, I cooked them a little harder than usual (partially because it was rewarmed) so it would hold up in the broth.

For a vegan option, I’d recommend marinating, pan frying, and/or deep frying the tofu to give it a meatier texture. I’d also like to note that the noodles from the recipe are certified vegan ramen.  Also, the noodles are a bit lower in caloric intake than Top Ramen or Maruchan, so take that into consideration as well. While this company makes some vegan options for ramen broth, all of the ones I’ve seen are either a bit watery or they have ingredients I can’t consume. This is why I chose to make my own. For a keto or low carb, you can use konjac noodles and lower carb vegetables.

For the broth, you can go as big, bold, and flavorful as you would like. If you are starting with raw protein, cook your protein first, then your vegetables, and lastly build your broth around the seasoned pan. Also, cooking with the fresh vegetables will build a bolder and bigger broth flavor to require less seasoning. Adding fresh chilis and hot sauce will add a healthy kick on the back end as well.

For seasoning, I used onion powder, minced dried onion, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Adding a bit of toasted sesame oil, nori, miso paste, and chili oil are additions that will add rounder flavors to the pallet.

WIth all of the suggestions, the Ramen procedure I use is the same. First, I prepped my produce. I cut my carrots into sticks. You can use shredded carrots. I washed and cleaned my kale. I included the stems for more fiber, but, again, a softer green is a preferred option. I also bought pre-cut shiitake mushrooms, but, again, a good mushroom blend would be a perfect balance or at least adding thinly sliced mutton mushrooms to the end will SET IT OFF!.

To cook the vegetables, I sautéed my carrots in a bit of oil. I used olive oil, but a lighter less flavorful oil is preferred (vegetable oil). I did not season my carrots, but a little salt does hurt. Also, I cook them so they are still firm. Cook to your desired preference. I removed my carrots, then sautéed my mushrooms.

I cook my shiitake mushrooms in a specific way that brings out a meatier texture and bolder flavor within them. This will add roundness to the broth later. If you don’t cook your mushrooms as long, you will have to build more of those umami flavors when building the broth. I put my washed shiitakes in a HOT pan with the heat on medium-hot. I ensure that there’s a little oil left from the carrots. I generously salt the mushrooms and leave them, stirring so they don’t burn, until they are golden brown. Once brown, I flip and repeat until shriveled. At this point I removed the mushrooms, but you can add a little soy sauce to the pan if you’d like. This will leave more to work with for the broth later.

Then, I add my cut kale and about 2 tbsp of water and steam with out a lid. I stir frequently. Depending on the size of your kale pieces, the kale will steam in about 2 minutes. Once bright green, I season with seasoning salt, garlic powder, and minced dried onion flakes. I then sauté the kale for a few minutes until the edges of the leaves are slightly brown. This builds more of those full mouth flavors and makes the kale easier to digest. If you are using bok choy or spinach, do not cook before hand. Add these to your broth with your ramen. At this point, remove the kale and allow to rest.

Once all of your toppings are prepped, you can build your broth. I started with two cups of water to deglaze the pan. I used a hard plastic spoon in a nonstick skillet for this, but the flavors are better built in a metal bottom pan with a whisk in my opinion. Once I’ve gotten as many of the little bits off the bottom of the pan, I add the dry seasonings except salt. You’ll notice everything sits on the surface. Just stir it in as you can. Also, I would skimp on the black pepper. Leave the spice to the chili elements in the dish. (Thank me later.) After a few seconds, allowing the seasonings to melt with the broth flavors, I add the soy sauce and sriracha. This may seem like a lot of soy sauce, but we have not salted our broth yet, and remember that the noodles are not salted. I then taste the broth and add salt to my desired flavoring. Once well seasoned, bring to a boil.

At this point, just assemble your bowl. Add you ramen to the bottom. Then add your broth. Cover and allow to sit for 3 minutes, or until the noodles are tender, per the package instructions. Add your toppings, stir and enjoy. It seems like a lot, but it’s just that simple. With 10 easy steps, you’ll throw away your seasoning packets every time!