I am currently on a mission to re-make most of the recipes on this blog. The aim is mainly to help me focus on healthy meals again and also to add some new photos on my previous pics.
The next one in line is this Brown Rice and Lentil Pilaf! Originally posted on the 8th of January 2015: https://lifeistooshorttoeatlettuce.co.za/2015/01/08/brown-rice-and-lentil-pilaf/
Yes, if it is Thursday night it must be “Vegetarian” night! Yay!
Needed to put a quick meal together – so this is where meal prepping and planning comes in! I usually cook and portion food like brown rice and lentils in advance so that it is easy to throw a healthy and wholesome weekday meal together.
So here goes – Coconut Curried Lentils (with geelrys). Geelrys is a traditional South African dish – directly translated it means ‘yellow rice’. Rice is cooked with turmeric to give it a lovely, warm yellow colour and is usually served with raisins. But I left the raisins out this time around – simply because I didn’t have any! LOL!
First – the Yellow Rice: I had some pre-cooked brown rice in the fridge, I usually freeze it in 140g portions – 2 CCs. I popped the frozen rice in a pot, topped it with boiling water and 1/3 tsp turmeric. Bring to a quick boil, don’t cook it for too long otherwise the rice will become mushy. Drain and keep aside.
Curried Lentils
100g chopped Onions
5ml Olive Oil
1/2 tsp ginger and garlic paste
1 heaped tsp curry powder (your choice – mild, spicy, hot! I decided to go with Woolies Cape Malay curry powder – a slightly sweet, mild curry powder)
1/4 tsp turmeric
200g cooked lentils (again, had it pre-cooked and frozen, just put the plastic bag I froze it in, in some hot water for a few minutes to thaw)
100ml chopped tinned tomatoes
80ml coconut milk
Salt and Pepper to taste
Fresh coriander to serve
Fry onions and spices in olive oil until onions are soft – you can add a few drops of water if the mixture cooks dry. Stir in rest of ingredients and simmer until most of the liquid has cooked away. Add yellow rice, stir through and simmer for a minute or two. Serve with fresh coriander.
Serves 1 (LARGE portion – you can divide it in two) 2 CC, 2 Prot, 2 Fat, 1 Veg
480g raw Haddock
250ml fat free milk
100g chopped onions
100g chopped yellow pepper
10ml olive oil
280g cooked brown rice
140g blanched peas (cover frozen peas with boiling water and leave to stand for 10 minutes, then drain)
100g cherry tomatoes, halved
2ml chopped garlic
5ml turmeric
2ml smoked paprika
Salt and Pepper to taste
Fresh Coriander to serve
Poach hadddock in milk on low to medium heat until the fish flakes easily. Remove from milk, flake and set aside.
Fry onions and peppers in olive oil until soft. Add garlic and fry for another minute or so. Stir in cooked rice, add rest of spices. Add a bit of water or chicken stock if needed. Add rest of ingredients, stir through and simmer on medium heat, covered from a few minutes.
Serves 2: 1 Serve = 2 Protein, 2 Veg, 1 Fat, 2 Carbs
As South Africans we ‘braai’ a lot! So that often leads to eating way too much meat – especially red meat! So, one Friday evening when Hubby had to satisfy his craving for lamb riblets, I decided to improvise a bit! Didn’t feel like meat, so I tried this dish – it will make a great braai side dish as well!
2 Pimento Peppers (you can use bell peppers or paprika peppers as well)
Garlic and Herb Brown Rice
140g cooked brown rice
5ml Basil-infused olive oil
50g chopped onions
Garlic and Herb Seasoning to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
60g low fat feta, crumbed
Prepare Peppers by making a slit on top and removing the pips and core. Roast/braai on grill until the peppers start to blister.
Fry onions in olive oil until soft. Stir in cooked brown rice and add Garlic and Herb Seasoning. Season with salt and pepper.
When ready to serve, stuff peppers with brown rice and top with feta.
Serves 1 – 2 Veg, 2 CC, 2 Protein
When serving it as a side dish at a braai, you can omit the feta and have the peppers with your favourite braaied meat 🙂
70g smoked snoek, flaked
140g cooked brown rice
100g cherry tomatoes (I used Woolies’ exotic tomatoes – beautiful colours!)
20g chopped onion
30ml low fat mayo
Salt and Pepper to taste
Lettuce and chopped fresh parsley to serve
Mix all the ingredients together and serve on a bed of lettuce with fresh chopped parsley
Serves 1: 2 CC, 1 Prot, 1.5 Veg, 1 Fat
70g cooked brown/wild rice
100g corn kernels
10og cherry tomatoes
50g chopped green pepper
130g tinned baked beans (drained, so that it isn’t too ‘saucy’)
5ml lemon infused olive oil (or just add a few drops of lemon juice to plain olive oil)
a sprinkling of smoked paprika and cayenne pepper
Salt and Pepper to taste
This salad is lovely and colourful! You can pack it in layers in a clear bowl, or mix it all together, served on a bed of lettuce like I did 🙂
Serves 1: 2 CC, 1 Prot, 1.5 Veg, 1 Fat
250g brown mushrooms, sliced
5ml olive oil
140g cooked brown & wild rice
75g cooked (tinned) chickpeas
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
Sprinkling of garlic salt
30ml red wine vinegar
Salt & Pepper to taste
Brown mushrooms in olive oil. Leave to cool.
Mix rest of ingredients plus mushrooms and leave in fridge for a few hours to “marinate”.
I served it on a bed of lettuce, with cucumber ribbons 🙂
Serves 1 (big portion!!) – 2 CC, 1 Protein, 1 Fat, 3 Veg (or count mushrooms as free veg!)
Serves 4
1/2 fat (excluding almonds to serve), 1 Veg, 1 Protein, 2 CC
10 ml olive oil
100g chopped onion
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp groud cumin
1 tsp chili and garlic paste
1 TBS Medium Curry Powder (or mild if you prefer)
400g Woolies Cauliflower rice – or make your own
560g parcooked brown rice
400g parcooked red lentils
Fry onions in olive oil until soft. Add spices, chili and garlic paste and curry powder and fry for a minute or two to release flavours.
Add cauliflower rice and fry for a few minutes. Lower heat, add the rest of ingredients and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Serve with fresh coriander and almond slivers (according to formula)
280g par-cooked brown rice
1 chopped onion
1 red pepper, chopped
5ml olive oil
1/4 tsp chopped garlic
1/4 tsp dried chili flakes
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1 heaped tbsp tomato paste
Fresh coriander
Fry onion, garlic and pepper in olive oil.
Add chili flakes and paprika and fry for another minute.
Stir in rice and tomato paste. Add 200ml boiling water.
Simmer over low heat until liquid is reduced.
Serve with fresh coriander.
Serves 1
5ml olive oil
50g chopped spring onions
125g chopped red pepper
1/4 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp Woolies Fajita Spice mix (or use equal amounts of ground cumin, ground coriander and crushed chillies)
125ml veggie stock
100g cooked lentils
140g cooked brown rice
Fresh basil to serve
Fry onion, spices and pepper in olive oil for 4 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until stock has reduced.
Serve with fresh, chopped basil leaves
