This morning I had to call my son’s school to find out what happened to the $25.00 we gave him last Monday for lunch. He told us yesterday that the lunch lady said he needed more money. How could that be? It turns out he was buying lunch, a drink and a snack every day which cost $4.40. Ugh! Its bad enough that I cringe at the stuff they feed the kids, let alone the cost.
Our school district offers our children such “healthy” (said with MUCH sarcasm) lunches such as nacho chips with an ice cream scoop of greasy ground beef and soaked in artificial cheese. Oh! Doesn’t that sound YUMMY (NO WAY!). Or another “healthy” option is 4 or 5 mozzarella sticks as the MAIN COURSE! I’m sorry but I do believe mozzarella sticks are an APPETIZER, not a main meal. Sigh…
I truly wish that our school would offer something like rice bowls. There are so many healthy and nutritious meals you can make using rice as the “base” ingredient. Rice also helps to fill you up. If the rice bowl could be made with brown rice even better.
I would LOVE it if our school could offer a bowl of rice topped with steamed veggies and grilled chicken. I realize that many kids might not be keen on that idea but you’d be surprised at just how many kids would eat it. Another suggestion would be to take a scoop of chili and put it on top of a bowl of rice. I do that at home for my family. It is not only filling but you also get the extra fiber from the beans in the chili.
Sometimes I make rice with scrambled eggs as a side dish. My family loves it! All you need to do is make scrambled eggs then drop them in the pot of boiling water, add the rice, stir it around, cover and wait for the rice to cook. Make sure to “fluff” it up with a fork after a few minutes.
Rice is so incredibly versatile. Did you know that rice costs about .10 cents per serving? Also, enriched white rice and whole grain brown rice contributes more than 15 vitamins and minerals, are low in calories, are sodium- and cholesterol-free, gluten-free and have only a trace of fat with no trans fat.
Our family eats rice at least a few times per week. Sometimes as a side dish, other times as part of the main meal. I even save a little rice to use in tomato soup. MMM!!! I love rice in tomato soup!
You can even eat rice for BREAKFAST! The USA Rice Federation website has a huge assortment of recipes featuring rice. They have a recipe for All-Star Breakfast Rice which include fresh fruits. Or you can try Confetti Eggs And Rice for breakfast.
You can view all the yummy rice recipes, including award winning recipes, on the USA Rice Federation website, http://www.USARice.com. Click on the “Consumer” tab on the top task bar to find the recipe sections. You can even sign up for a FREE e-mail newsletter to have delicious rice recipes delivered right to your e-mail inbox.
The USA Rice Federation website is a valuable resource. I learned a lot from the site including the proper way to store rice. Did you know that milled white rice can be stored indefinitely, meaning it doesn’t have an expiration date? Knowing that I think maybe some rice would be great to store (in a proper container) in an emergency kit. If you have a way of boiling water then you can make some rice.
September is National Rice Month (be you didn’t know that!). In honor of National Rice Month the USA Rice Federation is having a contest that ends on September 31, 2010.
The contest is called Bowl Us Over. Many busy parents, such as myself, can submit an original ideas for great tasting and healthy rice bowls.
With this contest, USA Rice Federation is hoping to educate consumers about the versatility, great taste and health benefits of rice.
It’s simple to enter. All you need to do is submit your ideas to easily transform U.S. rice into healthy, quick and uniquely different rice bowl meals online at www.USARice.com/BowlUsOver.
First place winners will receive a prize of $500, second place is $250, third place is $150; seven runners-up will receive an Aroma Rice Cooker. I have an Aroma Rice Cooker. I ♥ it! I especially love to make brown rice in it. It turns out perfect nearly every single time.
The Aroma Rice Cooker that you could win if you are one of the lucky 7 runner ups makes entering that much more worth while. Yeah, the cash would be great but even to win the rice cooker would be wonderful too.
The Aroma Rice Cooker allows you to make as little or as much rice as you need. Its one of those “fix it and leave it” sort of things. You don’t even have to fork fluff the rice like you do when you cook instant rice on the stove. It also comes out nice and moist. I hate it when rice is under cooked and you find crunch pieces. Blah! So far I have not experienced that with the Aroma Rice Cooker.
I honestly think that our Chinese restaurant across the street has the same cooker! The next time I stop to get my family take out I’ll have to double check.
The Aroma Rice Cooker is not just for rice. It also steams veggies. I steamed some baby red potatoes chunks in it the other day and they turned out SO GOOD! I have also steamed baby carrots and broccoli in the Aroma Rice Cooker. I know you can make soups and chili in the rice cooker but I haven’t tried that yet. I believe you can cook meats in it as well but I have also not tried that yet. I’ve just been enjoying making white and brown rice in it as well as steaming vegetables.
My husband was like “oh no, not another appliance”. Ha! Now he requests me to make the rice in the rice cooker instead of on the stove because even he sees that the rice is just so much better in the cooker.
To learn more about Aroma Rice Cookers (they have many models) visit www.Aroma-Housewares.com.
Put your “thinking caps” on and come up with some tasty and healthy ideas for rice bowls. Don’t forget to include heart healthy foods such as vegetables, tofu, beans and lean protein such as chicken and fish. Or maybe consider adding something like cilantro for a Mexican flavored rice bowl, or feta cheese, yogurt and cucumbers for a Mediterranean rice bowl. MMM!!! I’m drooling just thinking about those fantastic flavor combinations.
With the holidays fast approaching maybe you can come up with a fun rice bowl idea that utilizes left overs from Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas dinner?
Once you have come up with some tasty ideas be sure to enter at www.USARice.com/BowlUsOver.
Good luck!
Kimberly
*I received a free sample rice cooker in order to do this review/post. There was no financial compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.
Lauralee Hensley says
I entered, thanks for the information.
I like how the form let’s you give two suggestions.
Mine were called Rice Italianized I & II.
I’m crossing my fingers, because I love to eat rice. I grew up eating a lot of it as a kid and I still love it.
Granted I don’t guy 25 pound bags of it, but I do have a five pound bag on hand.
I use it to make our favorite, stuffed bell peppers.
I love various types of rice, not just the traditional Enriched white rice, but I love brown, wild rice, Jasmine rice etc..