Thanks to challenger ninemoremonths for accepting this week’s mini challenge and breaking down what many find to be a complicated dish. We could all use a way to incorporate more of this healthy grain, and she offers a surprisingly simple solution.

I remember the first time I tried to cook brown rice, in an attempt to start eating healthier. I measured everything out and popped it in my rice cooker, and selected the brown rice setting. I continued on cooking the rest of my dinner, and when I checked on the rice, it was still chewy. I turned the rice cooker back on and went about finishing the other dinner items, and washed some dishes. When I came back to the rice again, it was nowhere near done.

After delaying dinner for 20 more minutes, I finally just gave up. I searched the internet to see what went wrong and read that I should have rinsed the rice. Another page said you have to soak it for up to an hour. Yet another page said you can absolutely not add salt to it, or it will never cook.

I love brown rice, but it seemed to me that it was just more work than I was prepared for. I resigned myself to never being able to cook delicious brown rice from scratch, and instead turned to packaged brands that were loaded with sodium.

In response to this week’s mini-challenge, I wanted to share how I overcame my aversion to cooking brown rice. While reading a blog that I love, the writer mentioned that her favorite way to prepare brown rice was in the oven. She didn’t say any more about it, so I turned to my search bar to see how that could be possible. I found a recipe and tried it out, and was amazed! I am now no longer afraid to cook brown rice from scratch, and you don’t have to be either!

Oven-baked Brown Rice: (should make 8 half-cup servings)

Ingredients:

- 1 1/2 cups brown rice
- 2 1/3 cups water
- 2 teaspoons oil (I use Olive Oil)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Set your oven to 375°. Meanwhile, add water, oil, and salt to a pot and let it come to a bowl. Put rice in an 8-inch covered baking dish. (If you don’t have a covered dish, get some foil ready.) As soon as the water comes to a boil, pour over the rice, stir once and cover tightly. Pop it into the middle of the oven and forget about it for an hour. When it’s ready, fluff with a fork and serve.

I let my rice cook while I prepare and cook the rest of my dinner, and I even have time to clean the kitchen before dinner’s ready. I will never cook it any other way!

We like the way challenger ninemoremonths thinks! She’s tackling some of her, and our, favorite soups and recreating the recipes to make them healthy indulgences. Quick, someone get some broccoli and a stock pot!

I’m all about soup, and when you don’t have to feel guilty about eating an entire bowl of it, well that’s right up my alley. I recently lightened-up French Onion Soup and it went over pretty well. I thought I would tackle another one of my favorites. Cream of Broccoli soup. Sure I could go to the store and grab a can of low-fat cream of broccoli junk and heat it up, but what fun is that? And the taste, well I won’t even go there.

Now, in order to lighten up the soup I ditched the cream. It has the same cheesy-broccoli flavor I love, but it is not thick and creamy. So please do not be disappointed in the texture because the taste is still great!

Angela’s Guilt-free Broccoli Soup:


Ingredients:
- 2 cups of broccoli tops
- 1 cube of vegetable boullion
- 2 tbsp Fage 0% greek yogurt
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 oz shredded cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a pot, add the broccoli, water, and bouillion. Simmer on low until broccoli is softened, but still green. Using a potato-masher, break the broccoli into smaller pieces. If you prefer a less chunky soup, you can use a hand blender, but be careful not to burn yourself. Next, add the yogurt and salt and pepper, and stir well. Serve with cheese on top, and enjoy.

This recipe will make a heaping bowl of soup, or two small bowls if you’re nice enough to share. I ate it so fast that I didn’t bother to get a picture, oops!

This entire recipe has about 150 calories in it. If I were to go to a restaurant and get a cup of broccoli soup half this size, it would have nearly double the calories. But best of all, it was delicious, and filled me up for hours. I hope you get a chance to try it and that you love it as much as I did.

Next time maybe I’ll take a stab at Potato Soup, one of the biggest calorie offenders!