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

Skinny Scones…

Happy Fathers Day weekend to all the Dads out there! My husband is obsessed with Panera Bread orange scones so I thought what a better treat for Fathers Day than some homemade treats! Now I have never made these before and had to look up a recipe luckily I found one and it was out of a Vegan cookbook so that’s a bonus! Skinny Bitch-Everyday Ultimate Cookbook written by Kim Barnouin is a book I have had for a little while now but actually never made anything out of.

Recipe: Makes 10 round Scones

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon (I used Truvia Baking Blend)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I substituted Cinnamon instead)
1/2 cup orange juice, plus 1 tablespoon (I juiced two fresh oranges)
1 teaspoon orange extract (I skipped this and opted for more orange zest)
1 tablespoon orange zest, grated
1/2 cup vegan butter substitute, room temperature (I used Earth Balance)

Here is the nutritional comparison…

Panera Bread: Calories- 540 Fat-20g Sugar- 38g (Contains milk and wheat)

Skinny Scone: Calories- 104 (1scone) Fat- 4.4g Sugar-4.2g (Vegan and Delicious!)

Its not that my husband needs to watch what he is eating at all he is in awesome shape, I just try to cook as healthy as I can for my family.  I think that this version is great.  It still is not really healthy and I don’t think you should eat these everyday, but for a treat they are perfect!  I was nervous for him to try them because he usually doesn’t like my “healthy creations” but he actually loved them! He did think they would be “even better” with orange glaze icing which I later made for him! (confectioner sugar, orange zest, and fresh juice to your desired consistency) I am so excited that they turned out so good and my daughter loved them too!  The cookbook says that the recipe yeilds 4 scones, but I split the dough evenly into ten which equaled around 100 calories a piece you of course can eat as many as you like at a time!  I can’t wait to make some more recipes from this cookbook!

xo Meg

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Nothing better than fresh ingredients!
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They made the whole house smell delicious!

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