Soup...In a Rice Cooker

That's right folks. Soup. In a rice cooker. 

In my psychology class, I learned about functional fixedness, which basically means that you can only see an object as performing its given function. 

Take, say, a rice cooker. If you think that all it can do is cook rice, that, my friends, is functional fixedness. 

To overcome this egregious condition, try making soup in your rice cooker! 

I technically have access to a kitchen. However, I do not have pots or pans and the kitchen is in an inconvenient area. This issue was my initial motivation for using my rice cooker, but it turned out so simple and delicious I can’t wait to make it again! 

I used frozen vegetables-fantastic storage and convenience wise- and fresh vegetables. How many vegetables you use depends on the size of your rice cooker and desired yield. For the broth, I used Better Than Bouillon, but I’m sure regular vegetable broth would work as well. You could also try V-8 vegetable juice. 

My first attempt consisted of only vegetables, no beans or lentils. Do as you please. Make vegetable soup. Use more than one type of beans and/or lentils. The point isn’t to make a culinary masterpiece. (Though you can if you like!) It’s to be able to make scrumptious soup anytime with any thing you have on hand. Use up the last of your vegetables that you don’t think you’ll eat before they go bad. 

Simply Soup

Ingredients: 

2 cups water 

AND

2 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon low sodium vegetable broth  

OR

2 cups low sodium vegetable broth 

OR 

2 cups low sodium V-8 juice

1 can diced tomatoes 

1/2-1 cup each of 2-4 different types of frozen vegetables 

1/2-1 cup each of 2-3 fresh vegetables 

1 can no salt added beans 

OR 

1/4-1/2 cup uncooked lentils  

1-3 teaspoons herbs and spices (basil, thyme, and oregano are good options)

Chop vegetables. Rinse beans. Put everything in your rice cooker and set it to cook mode. Cook for about 60 min. (Time might vary with your rice cooker.) Do your homework while you wait. Set to warm if you want to keep it warm. Turn it off if you want it to cool down. 

I used frozen corn, peas, and green beans. I also added red potatoes, carrots, and celery.  

A different one had lentils, carrots, celery, and frozen green beans, corn, and peas. 

All rice cookers do-at least simple ones like mine- is boil the rice. This is perfect for nutritarian/plant-based cooking in college. Cooking in water doesn't kill all the nutrients the way some other cooking methods do.

I look forward to trying other unconventional uses for my rice cooker...  

One rice cooker. Infinite possibilities.

Soup it up and enjoy :)

Simply Salad

Salads are a crucial staple for eating a whole foods, plant-based diet. In Eat to Live, Dr. Fuhrman says to make the salad the main dish. They are a fantastic way to get in lots of health promoting nutrients! 

And I like salads. I really do. But, sometimes they get…boring…time consuming…complicated. 

As a college student, I don’t always have the time, space, and ingredients needed to make the complicated (albeit delicious) salads that my mom makes at home. I have found a basic formula to be the perfect solution. This way, I don’t have to spend too much time finding recipes and overly specific ingredients. I can throw together a salad with whatever I have on hand. It can be as simple or as complicated as I want or have time for. 

The Salad: 

Greens. Greens. Greens!

     The more the merrier. Experiment. Mix and match. Find your favorites. My favorite lettuce for salads is romaine, but there are so many options including green leaf, red leaf, spinach, kale, arugula, collards. 

Veggies. Veggies. Veggies! 

     Again, the more is better. Use whatever veggies you have on hand. Celery, cucumbers, zucchini, broccoli, radishes, cauliflower, carrots, jicama, corn, beets, peas, bell peppers (I love bell peppers!).

Fresh fruit, dried fruit 

     Any kind works: mango, apples, pears, raisins, oranges, pineapple. (This is my favorite part of the salad. They add a special sweetness.) 

Beans, lentils  

     Sometimes after eating a salad of just veggies, I get hungry again soon. These help keep me satisfied for hours. 

Nuts, seeds 

     These also help with satiety. 

Optional dressings 

     With so many other toppings, decide whether or not you feel the need for anything more. Sometimes just a squirt of lemon or orange juice does the trick. 

My organization system for a quick salad: 

Chop veggies in advance. Put them all in a container with a paper towel and keep them in the fridge to pull out whenever. 

Wash lettuces in advance. Put them in a ziploc bag with a paper towel and keep them in the fridge to pull out whenever. Or get pre-washed lettuces. 

This way I can just pull out the lettuce and veggies, chop up a fruit, and add some nuts.

A few recipe ideas, simple to more complex depending on how much time you have:

Simple: 

Romaine lettuce 

1 apple (diced)
1 oz. walnuts 

A bit more variety: 

Green leaf lettuce 

1/2 cucumber (diced)

1/2 bell pepper (diced)

1 stalk celery (diced) 

1/4 cup corn 

1/4 cup black beans 

1/4 cup kidney beans 

All out: 

Romaine lettuce 

Spinach  

1 mango (sliced)                                                

1/8 cup jicama (diced)                                           

1/8 cup cucumber (diced)                                             

1/4 cup bell pepper (diced)

1 stalk celery (diced) 

1/8 cup carrots (chopped)
1/8-1/4 cup raisins 

1/2-1 oz. pecans
squirt of orange juice 

For each of them, lay down the lettuce on your plate or bowl, then add all the toppings.

Here is a salad I made last minute with whatever I had on hand.

Salad it up and enjoy :)  

Simply Smoothies

I love smoothies. I adore smoothies. If I could only eat one thing on a desert island, I would choose smoothies. 

Some of my friends and family think that my regular routine of a fruit smoothie for breakfast must be boring. That couldn’t be further from the truth! There are an infinite number of possibilities with smoothies! With so many different fruits and vegetables, you don’t have to settle for same old thing. I love coming up with different combinations for my smoothies. Half the time, I just make them out of whatever fruit is on hand. This has been especially helpful in college. It takes less planning than if I calculated how much of each piece of fruit and vegetable I needed and allows me to take advantage of whatever happens to be on sale. I love the spontaneity of coming up with new creations every day. 

I make my smoothies the night before so I don’t have to wake up my roommate with the sound of my blender :)

Given my love for smoothies, then comes my second love: Jamba Juice. They have a lovely assortment of smoothies made from just fruit and fruit and veggie juices. Peach Perfection. Pomegranate Paradise. Berry UpBEET. Tropical Harvest. These sound like heaven right? Unfortunately my wallet does not agree with my taste buds. You certainly can’t beat them for convenience though. 

Here is my solution-my own personal Jamba Juice formula: 

Just fruit: 

1-4 types of fresh fruits 

opt. 1 type frozen fruit 

1/2-1 1/2 cup liquid 

opt. add ins 

Green smoothie:

Greens

1-3 types fresh or frozen fruit 

1/2-1 1/2 cup liquid 

opt. add ins 

 Notes: 

You can use any type of fruit or vegetable. Experiment to find which combinations you like best. 

MAKE SURE YOUR FRUIT IS RIPE! Unripe fruit makes terrible smoothies. The riper the fruit, the sweeter your smoothie will taste. Smoothies are perfect for salvaging fruit that looks too ripe eat. 

Depending on its size, one piece of fruit is more or less than a cup of smoothie. 

If omitting the frozen fruit feel free to add ice cubes. Never only use frozen fruit. (I tried it once-came out as a mushy disaster.) Depending on the strength of your blender, I also recommend defrosting the frozen fruit and least a little before blending.

For the liquid, you can use juice, water, coconut water, almond milk, any type of non-dairy milk, etc. Using milks makes it creamier. Vary the amount of liquid with how thick you want your smoothie. The more liquid, the thinner it will be. 

For the green smoothie, blend the greens and liquid first, then add the fruit. Adjust the ratio of greens and fruit to your liking. If you want them sweeter, add more fruit. 

Add ins can mean anything that your heart desires: flaxseeds, chia seeds, nut butters, avocado, cocoa powder, cinnamon, lemon, lime, etc. These can really add variety to your smoothies. The same bananas and frozen berries taste completely different with some cocoa powder and cinnamon. Really experiment here. 

My Favorites: 

Breakfast: 

2 oranges   

1 can pineapple in its juice  

Put it all in together and blend it up. Add a banana if it tastes too acidic. 

Green Love: 

3 cups greens 

1 pear
1 apple  

3/4 cup water 

Mix greens with water first. Then add the pear and apple. 

Dessert: 

2 bananas
1/2 cup frozen berries

1-2 tablespoons nut butter 

1 tablespoon cocoa powder 

1/2 cup coconut milk 

Put it all in together and blend it up. 

Smoothie it up and enjoy :)