Its a delicious, hearty, NOURISHING meal.
For such a long time I had a crazy fear and aversion to eating white rice. The diet culture i’d consumed had me convince that it had next to no nutritional benefit and was only useless carbs that would contribute to weight gain.
Heres the thing — your brain NEEDS carbohydrate/sugars to function. The keto / super low carb diet fads I tried only took my brain to weird and whacky places and sometimes even spiralled me into depressive holes I found near impossible to break out of.
YOUR BODY NEEDS CARBS.
I’ll repeat.
YOUR BODY NEEDS CARBS.
With that in mind, the last 4 years have been a slow, steady (and sometimes fraught) journey of learning to eat in a way that nourishes my mind and body, to eat to fuel, to eat to ENJOY.
Brown rice had been a fave (and still is!), but the more I’ve read into it, the more I’ve realised that white rice can be just as good for you and has incredible prebiotic properties in the gut when prepared properly, and especially when eaten cooled! The husk on brown rice can be quite hard on the gut, taking a lot for our poor bellies to break down. White rice, on the other hand, when soaked and rinsed before cooking, is much easier for the belly to process and can even support the digestion process.
So, in honour of beautiful, nourishing whole grains, have one of my favourite, nutrient dense side dishes, full of herbs and spices for gut-healing, anti-inflammatory goodness.
WARM RICE PILAF
Ingredients:
1 Cup Basmati Rice
1 Brown Onion
1 Clove Garlic
2 TBLSP Organic Ghee
1/2 tsp dried cinnamon
1/2 tsp dried coriander
1/2 tsp tried cumin
1 Cup Bone Broth / Stock
Cardamom Essential Oil
Cinnamon Essential Oil
Flaked Almonds
2 Bay Leaves
Salt & Pepper
Method:
1. Pre-cook rice in saucepan or rice cooker
2. Finely chop onion and garlic
3. On a high heat, use 2 TBLSP Ghee to brown onion and garlic in a pan
4. Add dried cinnamon, coriander and cumin to the pan, and then warm rice,
seasoning with salt and pepper and stirring through.
5. Add bay leaves, bone broth and 2 drops each Cardamom and Cinnamon Essential Oils
6. Allow to simmer, stirring regularly for 10-15 minutes.
7. Serve and enjoy!
More recipe cards like this coming soon!