Under Pressure: Brown Rice Super Grain Congee Topped with a Breaded Maitake Mushroom, Asparagus, Avocado, Pickled Veg with or without a Soft Boiled Egg

What’s congee? It’s rice, rice baby. Rice porridge…cooked slowly for a long time or under pressure until the rice is completely broken down and soft. Rice gets a bad rap as a grain, but a staple of East Asian cultures. While white rice does not have much nutritional value, short grain brown rice has fiber, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6 and manganese. Magnesium is good for or regulating blood pressure and offsetting sodium in the body. When the rice is cooked down into a porridge, it is easy to digest.  To give it even more nutrition, I included an seed and grain blend that included quinoa, hemp, chia, flax, amaranth, sprouted buckwheat, and sprouted millet. Topped with a Maitake mushroom breaded with a gluten-free nut breading, quick pickled radish, fermented carrots and ginger, avocado, sauteed asparagus, sunflower seeds and a soft boiled egg, this was a satisfying flavorful brunch.

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Break Bad and Bake Bread: Spiced Zucchini Pumpkin Chia Bread with Pecans and Cranberries

Up until two weeks ago, I was really on top of eating clean, but after the election, I found myself struggling to eat well. Thanksgiving this year really inspired me to make a change – get out of my rut. But that did not turn off my cravings. The cold weather combined with the holiday feeling left me with the craving for warm bread…so I made one that would keep me healthy and happy.  What better than a slice of a healthy flavorful bread and a cup of tea. This whole wheat, oat, zucchini, pumpkin, cranberry, pecan, chia bread made with psyllium husk, sweetened with dates and spiced with green cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove will keep you satisfied. It was moist, filling and full of flavor.

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V is for Veggie, with a side of eggie

Today was one of those days I am thankful that I cook in advance and cook in large batches so I have food for several days. As a veggie, these Whole30-like program can prove to be difficult without some thought and advance planning (especially for someone like me who refuses to call a smoothie and a side of veg a meal and refuses to break the rules with legumes and quinoa in the first few weeks).

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