Brown rice veggie risotto with almond cream

This recipe is perfect when you need to make a quick lunch or dinner. In addition, using brown rice instead of white rice will give you the extra health benefits ;)

Just to mention a few of the health benefits of brown rice, here are some:

Brown rice is high in:   

• fiber and selenium, which are shown to reduce the risk of colon cancer. The high fiber content helps healing from an overgrowth of candida organisms and may offer some protection from cardiovascular diseases. With a low glycemic index of 50 and high fiber content brown rice also helps with weight loss.
• iron, B1, B2 and B6 vitamins
• manganese, which is required to produce fatty acids and hormones needed to maintain a healthy nervous system
• magnesium, which keep the bones healthy (1cup of rice contains 21% of the recommended daily magnesium intake)
• naturally occurring oils, which help normalizing cholesterol levels
• anti-oxidants

 
What will you need:
For the veggie mix:
- 1 medium green zucchini 
- 1/2 yellow zucchini

- 1 medium red onion

- 1 medium tomato

- 1/2 tsp white pepper

- 1/2 tsp curry powder

- 1 tsp Worcester souse

- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

- 1 tbsp bujon, homemade
- salt

For the rice: 

- 2 cups of brown rice, soaked overnight
- 4 cups of water
- 1/2 tsp white pepper

- Salt

- 2 tbsp cold pressed sunflower seed oil (or coconut or olive oil)

For the almond cream: 

- 2 white almond butter, 
- 1/2 cup of mineral water
If you can't find white almond cream, you can as well use soy or oat cream :)

This amount serves 3-4 people. 

Soaking the rice overnight reduces the cooking time to half. If you are in a hurry, I recommend to do so ;)
Start with preparing the rice: heat the oil in a pot, add the rice and fry until it becomes glassy. Add 4 cups of boiling water and cook as long as the instructions say on the package (about 20-25minutes). I like to add a bit of white pepper and salt to my rice. They give it a special flavor:) My mother thought me this way of preparing the rice. I find the taste very different from simply boiling the rice in water. Try it out and let me know how you like it;)
While the rice is cooking, start preparing the veggies by cutting them up to small cubes. Heat the oil in a pan, add the onion and sauté until glassy. Add the veggies and the bujon, fry for about  5minutes on high heat. Add the spices and the Worcester souse. Turn the heat off.
Prepare the almond cream: mix the almond butter and the mineral water together, until a smooth liquid paste is formed. 
Mix the veggies and the almond cream to the rice. 

Serve hot and enjoy :)

Red lentil (dhal) curry with brown rice

 This is an Indian inspired dish. I am not an expert in Indian cooking, however I just love the spices, and I mix them up from recipes I find:) If you have any suggestions how to improve the Indian inspired recipes, please let me know :)

This is an easy dish, as usual, which is ready in 30minutes.

This is what you will need: 

- 500g dry red lentil
- 400ml coconut milk
- 2 tbsp of cold-pressed sunflower seed oil  (you can use coconut oil or olive oil)
- 1 smaller yellow bell pepper
- 1 smaller red bell pepper
- 1 small red onion
- 2 cups of dry brown rice
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp cardamon
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp garam masala mix
- salt and pepper according to taste

Start with preparing the rice according the instructions on the package. Usually un-soaked brown rice takes about 40-45 min to prepare. Tip: soaking the rice for a night will reduce the cooking time to half. 
While the rice is cooking, cut the onion and bell peppers into small cubes. Start with heating the 2tbsp sunflower seed oil, add onion and sauté until glassy, about 5 minutes. Add the cumin and cardamon powder, and sautè for 30 seconds. Add 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and the bell peppers. Add the red lentils and mix in the garam masala. Simmer for about a minute. Add coconut milk. If you need, add a bit of water, just until it covers the red lentils. Cook for 20 minutes on medium heat. Add salt and pepper according to taste and 1/2 tsp turmeric powder. Bring to boil and tralallalalalal. The dhal curry is ready:) Serve on a bed of rice. 
Ladies, the portion of rice is only 1 cup for us, and 2 cups for men :) The portion in the picture is for the gentlemen ;)

Enjoy :)