0 Lentil Soup with Sausage Brown Rice and Spinach Things Are Looking Up

Today on Serious Eats: Swiss Chard and Turkey Sausage Over Polenta. So simple. So seductive delicious.

Painful things I have done recently (SPOILER ALERT):

Dislocated and/or broke my left pinky toe on a door frame. That’ll teach me to ... uh ... walk.  

Read the entire Lord of the Rings series. Fellow nerds! Hear my call! Why did no one tell me the books were butt-awful? Sweet bejeezus, Tolkien dedicated entire CHAPTERS to whether Frodo and Sam should take a left at the scary-looking rock, and exactly two pages on the death of Gollum, destruction of the ring, and collapse of Mordor. By the ancient sword of Elendil, Charles *freaking* Dickens would been like, “This needs fewer words, old chap.” 

Admitted my English degree has been fairly useless. With apologies to the Bronte sisters, Jane Eyre does not prepare you for the intricacies of expense reports. 

Watched Precious. “Hm,” I thought halfway through the film, “The only thing that could possibly make this more depressing is if they gave Precious AIDS.” (ten seconds pass) “Aaaaand there you go.” 

Threw out my old music cassette tapes. Oh, man. Here’s something they don’t tell you when you move: Carrying 90 boxes up a flight of stairs isn’t the hardest part. It’s chucking beloved, but outdated and useless possessions, like Open Up and Say ... Ahh!, the 1988 multiplatinum classic from Poison. Every rose has it’s thorn, indeed.

A very enjoyable thing I did recently: 

Ate Double Lentil, Sausage, Brown Rice, and Spinach Soup from the stupendous Kalyn’s Kitchen. Speaking of which, Kalyn just published her Top 10 Recipes of 2010, which you should gaze upon immediately.

HOTUS and I had guests for the first time at our new apartment. As it turns out, it’s impolite to starve company, so thus, the soup. And it tasted good. Real good. So good, there was slurping. From guests! Even my sister liked it, and she hates food.

I made two medium-sized changes to Kalyn’s original recipe: I substituted water in for part of the chicken broth, and used a combination of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika for Spike Seasoning, which I couldn’t find in Brooklyn. Also of note: Kalyn and I both used a 3.5-quart slow cooker. If you don’t own one, she includes instructions to adapt the recipe for the stovetop at Kalyn’s Kitchen. (They’re not included here).

A wonderful thing I have recommenced recently: 

Blogging. Its good to be back, sweet readers.

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If this recipe floats your boaty, these will surely make you gloaty. (Sorry.):

• Pasta with Turkey Sausage and Broccoli Rabe
• Slow Cooker Pork Chops, Apples, and Sweet Potatoes
• White Bean and Kale Soup with Turkey Sausage

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Double Lentil, Sausage, Brown Rice, and Spinach Soup
Serves 6.
Adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen.

1/2 medium onion, diced small
1 carrot, peeled and diced small
2 stalks celery, diced small
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
A few shakes each: kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, garlic powder, paprika
3 links pre-cooked chicken or turkey sausage, chopped into 1/3-inch pieces
1 (15-ounce) can petite dice tomatoes, undrained
2 (15-ounce) cans chicken broth
2-1/2 cups water
1/4 cup brown or green lentils
1/4 cup red lentils
1/4 cup long-grain brown rice
4 cups chopped fresh spinach
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1) Heat olive in large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery. Saute until ever-so-slightly softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Saute an additional 2 minutes.

2) Pour onion mixture into crockpot. Add sausage, tomatoes, broth, water, and all lentils. Stir to combine. Cook on high 3 hours.

3) Add rice and spinach. Stir to combine. Cook 1 more hour.

4) Add balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine. Cook 15 minutes. Serve, with crusty bread and “Parmesan cheese if desired.”

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price Per Serving
226 calories, 7.8 g fat, 7.3 g fiber, 15.5 g protein, $1.72

Note: Calculations are for Chef Bruce Aidells Chicken & Apple Sausage from CostCo., since the numbers were easily available online. I personally used a different, yet similar brand, the label of which I cant remember, and is currently buried under two feet of garbage.

Calculations
1/2 medium onion, diced small: 23 calories, 0.1 g fat, 0.8 g fiber, 0.5 g protein, $0.17
1 carrot, peeled and diced small: 25 calories, 0.1 g fat, 1.7 g fiber, 0.6 g protein, $0.08
2 stalks celery, diced small: 17 calories, 0.2 g fat, 2 g fiber, 0.9 g protein, $0.25
1 tablespoon olive oil: 199 calories, 13.5 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.13
3 cloves garlic, minced: 13 calories, 0 g fat, 0.2 g fiber, 0.6 g protein, $0.20
1 teaspoon dried thyme: 3 calories, 0.1 g fat, 0.4 g fiber, 0.1 g protein, $0.12
A few shakes each: kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, garlic powder, paprika: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.03
3 links pre-cooked chicken or turkey sausage: 480 calories, 30 g fat, 1.5 g fiber, 42 g protein, $4.34
1 (15-ounce) can petite dice tomatoes, undrained: 70 calories, 0 g fat, 3.5 g fiber, 3.5 g protein, $1.69 (ugh, I know)
2 (15-ounce) cans chicken broth: 67 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 13.1 g protein, $1.33
2-1/2 cups water: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.00
1/4 cup brown or green lentils: 119 calories, 0.5 g fat, 14.7 g fiber, 12.4 g protein, $0.37
1/4 cup red lentils: 119 calories, 0.5 g fat, 14.7 g fiber, 12.4 g protein, $0.37
1/4 cup long-grain brown rice: 171 calories, 1.3 g fat, 1.6 g fiber, 3.7 g protein, $0.18
4 cups chopped fresh spinach: 28 calories, 0.5 g fat, 2.6 g fiber, 3.4 g protein, $0.86
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar: 20 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.20
TOTALS: 1354 calories, 46.8 g fat, 43.7 g fiber, 93.2 g protein, $10.32
PER SERVING (TOTALS/6): 226 calories, 7.8 g fat, 7.3 g fiber, 15.5 g protein, $1.72

0 health benefits of eating rice

Health Benefits of Eating Rice

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health benefits of eating rice

BENEFITS:

• Enriched varieties provide B vitamins and iron.
• Makes a complete protein when combined with beans and other legumes.
• A starchy food that provides energy and contributes to protein synthesis.
• Gluten free and suitable for people with celiac disease.
• Easy to digest and useful in restoring bowel function after a bout of diarrhea.
• Rarely, if ever causes food allergies.

DRAWBACKS:

• Diets high in white rice may be deficient in thiamine.
• Brown rice is more nutritious but takes longer to cook than white rice.
• Substances in brown rice can inhibit absorption of iron and calcium.

health benefits of eating rice

Rice are our one of the best nutritional diet in daily routine, rice are unique and delicious than other food and rice can be the very easy resource to take a lot of energy for our daily requirement. For thousands of years, rice has been the staple food for more than half the world’s population. In some Asian countries per capita consumption exceeds 300 pounds a year, and survival still depends on the rice crop. In contrast the average American eats only about 25 pounds of rice a year, which is consumed mostly in cereals and dishes made with refined white rice.

Like barley and oats, rice grows in protective husk that has to be removed if the grain is to be used as food (wheat, rye and corn, by contrast, are bare seeds that require less processing). Many nutrients are lost with the bran and germ that are removed in milling to make white rice. Brown rice intact kernels that retain their bran layers is somewhat more nutritious than white rice, but is also contain physics acid and substance that interferes with the absorption of iron and calcium. Most of the white rice that is grown and processed in the United States is fortified with iron, niacin, and thiamine, which are applied in a solution o the outside of the grain, coated with a protein powder, and dried. Rinsing the grain before cooking washes away these important nutrients, rice should be cooked in just twice its volume of water, which will be completely absorbed by the grain and will preserve the nutritional content.

health benefits of eating rice

Converted rice is processed by a 2000 year old method; this involves parboiling the whole grain, which makes milling easier by loosening the husk. Conversion improves the nutritional quality of the grain by causing the B vitamins in the bran and germ to permeate the endosperm. It also gelatinizes the fat and nutrient bearing aleuronic layer, which then adheres to the grain instead of being lost with the bran. Thanks to this technique, the thiamine deficiency known as beriberi was never a serious threat to people in India and Pakistan, although it ravaged Asian people who subsisted on unconverted white rice. Instant rice should not be confused with converted rice, which takes at least as long to cook as other types. Much of the rice sold in the United States is also polished in special machines to make it shiny. An extra sheen is achieved by coating the grains with talc and glucose this type of coated rice is favored by Latin Americans.

health benefits of eating rice

NUTRITIONAL VALUE:

Ninety percent of the calories in rice come from carbohydrates. A half cup of cooked rice constitutes one of the 6 to 11 daily servings of carbohydrates recommended in the Food Guide pyramid. A half cup of white rice contains about 100 calories, while brown rice may have 105 to 110. Brown rice is significantly higher in fiber, with 1.6g per half cup compared to 0.03g in the same volume of white rice. The protein content of rice, ranging from 2.0 to 2.5 mg per half cup, is less than that of other cereals, but the amino acid balance is superior to that of other grains. Processed rice contains only a trace of fat and no sodium.

Macrobiotic regimens were FAD DIETS in the 1960s the most restrictive seventh level of the diets provides little else but brown rice. It fell out of favor when people became aware of the serious nutritional deficiencies created when some individuals adopted this strict level, like other carbohydrates, rice must be counterbalanced with foods from the other compartments of the food guide pyramid to provide a complete range of vitamins, minerals and protein.

health benefits of eating rice

HEALTH BENEFITS:

Rice has a binding effect in DIARRHEA, and as such, is part of the BRAT (for banana, rice, applesauce, and toast) diet. It helps restore normal bowel function and provides needed energy for some on recovering from diarrhea. Rice pudding made with low fat milk and flavored with cinnamon is a soothing, easy to digest dish for convalescents.

Several studies have shown that rice bran helps to reduce cholesterol and may reduce the risk of bowel cancer. Some studies also show that rice helps regulate glucose metabolism in people with diabetes. As a complex carbohydrate, it provides a slow, steady supply of glucose, and not the rapid rise that occurs after eating sugars.

Along with lamb and a few other foods, rice rarely if ever provokes and allergic reaction. This quality makes rice ideal as the basis of the strict elimination diet that is sometimes used to identify food allergies.

health benefits of eating rice

A VERSATILE STAPLE:

Rice is a true staple in menu planning. Risotto made with fat free broth and vegetables, and pilaf, based on fat free broth, chopped nuts, and dried fruits, are economical, nutritious, low fat entrees. Rice is an ingredient of hot and cold breakfast cereals, an excellent base for salads, and a natural companion to vegetables, fish, meats and cheese. Rice bran also adds bulk to baked goods.

health benefits of eating rice

RICE VARIETIES:

Rice is classified by size and shape (long, medium and short grain). Long grain rice remains dry and separate when cooked short grain rice which is wetter and stickier, is more often used in Asian and Caribbean cooking.

Arborio rice is creamy textured, medium grain Italian rice used in making risotto because it remains firm at the center through long cooking.

Basmati rice is aromatic rice native to Pakistan and Indian that is also grown in the United States. When cooked, the grains swells only lengthwise, basmati rice stay fry and separate and are especially suitable for pilafs.

Jasmine rice is aromatic rice with origins in Thailand. It has a soft moist texture and grains that cling together. It is also grown in the United States.

Wild rice a very distant relative of common rice is a grass native to the lakes and marshes of the great lakes region. Once gathered by hand in the wild by Chippewa Indians, wild rice is not cultivated commercially and harvested by machine. Wild rice contains more protein than common rice does and is richer in lysine, the amino acid lacking in most grains.

health benefits of eating rice

Knowledge about Rice

• ·     We commemorate an ancient Asian fertility symbol when we shower bridal couples with rice.
• ·        Although the United States produces only 1 % of the world rice crop, it is the one of the largest exporters of rice
• ·      Rice is an important component of many commercially produced baby food, because it is easy to digest and hypoallergenic.
• ·      According to legend, rice was accidentally introduced to the Americas when a storm stricken ship docked in Charleston, S. C and the Captain gave some seeds to a local planter.
• ·    In the United States the outer, most nutritious parts of the rice kernel are removed and fed to live stock when rice is milled
• ·         Broken grains of rice are used for brewing beer.

health benefits of eating rice

health benefits of eating rice

health benefits of eating rice

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