Friday, August 21, 2009

Simple Rice Bowl and Vacation Wrap Up!!

Build your own rice bowl, Fallon's way!
 
Hello everyone. You know it is Friday night and I'm at home. It is actually normal for me. I figured I had some free time and I'd make a new post tonight. I had a full work day today, came home had a wonderful NY steak dinner with baked potato (butter and Greek yogurt), steamed green beans, and sliced tomatoes. It was delicious. Then you know my mom wanted something sweet. I think it just in the "Jewish blood" to crave sweet after a meal, I get it all the time too. We ended up sharing a vanilla custard blended with caramel and pretzels from Sheridan's Frozen Custard. YUM! Of course I usually opt for something healthier like FRUIT! Speaking of healthy I always like to eat my best when possible. I just feel so much better about myself physically and mentally.

Before vacation I didn't grocery shop and did with what I had left in the house. I had carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower. I knew I had brown rice in the freezer. I did one of my favorites, a rice bowl but my way! I always make it different and this time I kept it completely simple. I had leftover boiled chicken that was seasoned while cooked in its chicken broth. All I had to do was steam up brown rice in my rice cooker (about 45 minutes), and I had lunch and dinner for at least 2 days! Like I said I kept it really simple this time. I usually will have grilled chicken or steak, sesame seeds or sunflower seeds, almonds, water chestnuts, scrambled egg, red bell peppers, eggplant, bean sprouts, zucchini, chili paste or chili sauce etc. It's build your own rice bowl!!  

Build Your Own Chicken Rice Bowl By Fallon
Ingredients:
Head of broccoli and cauliflower, washed and cut into florets
2-3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 serving of steamed brown rice (about 1 cup) (you can use white rice)
3-4 oz of boiled chicken (make your protein grilled or steamed)
Toasted sesame oil and light soy sauce
Green onions for taste and color

I used a steamer basket for the veggies. I'll add the carrots first since they always take longer to cook through but not fully. I would say about 10 minutes of a head start, then I add the broccoli and cauliflower. I steam for about 8-10 minutes or until they are steamed but still firm, basically not mush! I make sure my brown rice is heated up, usually in the microwave. I will heat my chicken in the toaster oven, then slice it up and put it on top of the brown rice. Once the veggies are done I load as much as I want on top of the chicken and rice. I like about 3/4 brown rice and 3 oz of chicken. Then tons of veggies. To finish it off I drizzle the toasted sesame seed oil on top and dash on some soy sauce. Top it with green onions and I dive in!!

Waiting on the rice to heat up and vegetables to cook!
 
The toasted sesame seed oil adds great flavor to the dish. A little goes a long way and I think it is the most important part of the dish! It is a really simple dish to put together. I always make extra rice and vegetables to just throw together when I'm hungry. This dish can easily be vegetarian as well. This is something I will make often when I'm keeping my weight in check. It makes me feel great and keeps me full for a long time! I like to keep the flavors simple because I want to taste the freshness of my vegetables and not have it laden with a heavy sauce.

The soy sauce and toasted sesame oil are from Trader Joe's!
 
Doesn't it look beautiful? Well it tasted wonderful too!
 
I'm not a huge Asian food eater. If that makes sense. The smell of the restaurants make me sort of nausea. Once in a while I'll go to one but I'm so picky on what I order. The flavors are strong and I know the food is soaked up in vegetable oil and the heavy sauces. Yeah not a fan! So that why I came up with my own versions and how I'd want my rice bowls to taste. My rice bowls are always different. Sometimes I want my vegetables sauteed in coconut oil instead. So it really depends on my mood! My mood this time around was keep it light and simple because vacation time was coming!!

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Now I'm wrapping up my vacation. I can't believe it been a week I've been back home already. It sucks!! I wish vacation could last a lifetime.

My very first baseball game! Went with a friend from 
Long Beach and had a blast.
  The stadium
  I loved the hats out front. I thought they were so cool!
  Went to Newport Beach/Balboa Island one day.
  My first time riding a beach cruiser! 
Did this 2 days in a row. A fun exercise.
  Happy hour!!! This was a mango martini. The vodka was infused 
with fresh mangoes. Delicious and STRONG!
  Don't worry I spent time near the beach for a few days too. ;)
  Love the ocean, and I grew up in a desert. hah
  I miss it so much. Love you ocean!
 
My best friend is going to have her baby any moment now!! So I may be hanging out near the hospital tomorrow. My boyfriend's birthday is coming up September 6th and I have his package ready for him which I'm bringing to the post office tomorrow. I put a little something special in there for him, which I will talk about soon!

Good night y'all!!
Fallon

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks like fun!

Pam said...

The rice bowl looks healthy and tasty. I am glad you had a fun time on your trip.

Katrina said...

Looks like a fun vacay! One of my sons turns 8 on Sept 6!