Healthy Fried Rice - Do It Up

Fried rice is seriously, like, one of the easiest meals ever. Especially if you have leftover cooked brown rice. If you're smart like me, you probably made a huge batch a couple of days ago to use in various meals throughout the week. Even breakfast. If you are as smart as people who learn from me, you're going to start doing this now that you realize how simple life can be when you have cooked brown rice ready to go. You know I'm not kidding about this stuff. I would never do that to you.

*Healthy Tip: Soak your grains for 1-8 hours before cooking to reduce phytic acid which can interfere with the absorption of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc. If you didn't soak your rice or you really don't have time, chill out... at least you're eating brown rice. That still counts for a lot. Just soak your grains whenever you are able to think ahead.

I made this dish last night for 3 kids that all wanted something different. I swear kids do this on purpose to make adult's lives more difficult. With Fried rice I win, always. Everyone can "invent" their own combination of a protein and at least 2 veggies. I started by taking their orders. They think its fun and feel like they're in charge which is a great way to get kids to eat healthy food. Meanwhile, you know that with your devious health tricks, you're the one who is actually in charge. So, the Picky Eater wanted his with rice, peas, corn and leftover steak on the side, no sauce. The Vegetarian chose scrambled egg and edamame for protein and added peas, corn, carrots, broccoli, and tamari for flavor. Lastly, the Good Eater chose leftover steak, scrambled egg, peas, corn, carrots, broccoli, and tamari with balsamic vinegar for flavor. Perfect. I made it in stages. First, I combined the ingredients for the Picky Eater, then plated his. Then, I added the Vegetarian's ingredients, mixed it up, then served him. And finally, I added the steak and balsamic vinegar for the Good Eater. Ha! I win!




*Healthy Tip: Kids have fun cooking with you! Fried rice is a great dish to make with them.


Healthy Fried Rice

1 Tbsp peanut or canola oil
1 onion, diced
1 (or more) garlic clove, minced
3-4 mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 cup green peas (I use frozen)
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup leftover cooked brown rice
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
3 Tbsp soy sauce, tamari or shoyu
1/2 cup water
salt to taste

1) In a large pot, saute the onion, garlic, mushrooms, and green peas for 3-4 minutes. Remove veggies from pan.
2) Add a little oil to the pan and scramble 2 beaten eggs, break up into small pieces.
3) Add cooked vegetables and 1 cup of leftover brown rice. Season with sesame or olive oil, tamari or soy sauce and water. Cook for another 3 minutes.
4) Think to yourself, "This can't be it! That was way too easy... I must have missed something."
5) Enjoy it because you rocked it. It was incredibly easy and tastes amazing!




You can adjust the ingredients as much as you want based on your tastes and what you might have in your refrigerator. This is a great way to use leftovers.