Boost your Brown Rice…

Brown rice is a staple in our house because one everybody likes it and two it’s pretty versatile and quick to make!  I found this Royal Blend with Flax at our local BJ’s and it seriously is delicious, I am officially obsessed with it!  Now this does take longer than the average ten minutes to boil, but it is worth every extra minute because the taste is out of this world.  I make mine with a little bit of vegetable broth instead of all water and it adds so much flavor your wouldn’t even believe it!

IMG_1663 According to the package you take one cup of the rice blend with two cups of water and let boil for twenty minutes.  I find it to be still crunchy and bland tasting so I amped it up a little by adding 1tsp of vegetable base that you can find in the isle the chicken broth and added another half cup of water.  I also increased the cooking time until at least thirty-five minutes or until it’s the texture that you and your family prefer!  To this rice, water, and veggie paste I also add about a tablespoon of olive oil and then let it all simmer until all the liquid is absorbed and then simply fluff with a fork and serve!IMG_1141 To this rice you can also add in whatever veggies or meat you like and make it more of a stir-fry or you could just choose to use it as a side dish.  Either way it has tons of flavor and is very filling!IMG_1139 IMG_1137 IMG_1662 Pictured above I chose to serve it plain with sautéed spinach and grilled asparagus for me, and below for the hubs and my daughter with steamed broccoli and a grilled London-broil marinated in Italian dressing by Good Seasons.

IMG_1666I highly recommend checking out the grain aisle of your local grocery store and seeing what kinds of rice blends you can find, it’s good to switch it up every now and then so you don’t get bored with eating the same thing all the time!! If you have any faves leave a comment down below I would love to hear what you guys like!!

xo Meg

When in doubt, grill it out…

So last night after I got back from my run I had no idea what to make for dinner and of course we waited to the last minuet… again!  My husband and I will try to meal plan for the week so that we aren’t starving and end up making something quick and unhealthy but it usually only lasts for a week and then we end up forgetting to plan out the next weeks meals.  It was getting late and we needed to figure out something quick but healthy at the same time.  I looked in the fridge and saw that I had romaine lettuce, I forget where I saw a recipe for Caesar salad with grilled romaine and I have been wanting to try it out.  After running in the 90 degree heat creamy dressing was just not going to fly, so I just used some olive oil, salt, and pepper.  I also had jumbo portobello mushroom caps and my husband was having a cut of meat which I don’t remember what its called… whoops! We usually always have shrimp in the freezer which are great because they defrost really quickly, I just put them in a bowl of warm water and they quick really fast especially on the grill.

I basically just used a little extra virgin olive-oil, salt, and pepper on everything and threw it all on the grill.  Everything cooked really quickly and it seemed random at first, but was actually a delicious dinner that was light but filling at the same time.  After I grilled my veggies and shrimp i put it all together on top of the romaine, you could also substitute chicken if you don’t like seafood, or just add more veggies if you are vegan.  We also added a sweet potato on the side, I microwaved the potatoes for 5 mins and then cooked them in the oven and they didn’t take nearly as long!

Grilling is another reason I love summer because you can really grill anything and it usually always tastes fresh and delicious!  So when in doubt open your fridge and I am sure you can find something to throw on the grill and you will have a healthy and quick meal in no time!

xo Meg

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Shrimp seasoned with olive oil and old bay

 

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Steak for the hub seasoned with salt and pepper

 

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Looks kind-of messy but so delicious!!