Citrus-Infused Mediterranean Rice

Citrus-Infused Mediterranean Rice

This is an easy recipe that my whole family enjoys. I typically make it on Sunday so that we can have it available for lunch or dinner during the week, as it tastes great warm or cold.  Adding in your favorite bean (try dark red kidney beans, garbanzo beans, or black-eyed peas) will make it a one-dish meal! 

Watch me make a version of this dish on California Bountiful TV!

Ingredients
1 cup of barely steamed chopped kale or collard greens*
1/3 cup each (chopped finely): celery, parsley, sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, scallions
3 cups cooked black, red or brown rice* (from 1 cup uncooked rice – pick an easy cooking technique and see step-by-step pictures)
2 Tablespoons chopped almonds

Procedure
Combine all ingredients, except for the almonds, toss with Citrus Mustard Dressing (below) and allow flavors to marry for ~30 minutes at room temperature. Garnish each serving with almonds and a sprinkle of freshly chopped parsley.

Citrus Mustard Dressing

Ingredients
2 tsp veggie broth, freshly squeezed orange juice or water
2 tsp spicy mustard
1 tsp lemon zest*
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice*  (zest before squeezing)
salt & pepper to taste

Procedure
Whisk all ingredients to combine and let sit until ready to use.

The Nutrition Professor’s Shop Smart, Prep Smart Tips:

*While your favorite raw green leafy veggie works greats in this recipe, so do lightly steam greens, especially frozen chopped greens!

*Feel free to add more veggies to this recipe – like lightly steamed asparagus, broccoli, zucchini or any other that sounds yummy! The larger variety of veggies you eat, the better! For a BIG nutrient BOOST: Add a legume… your favorite bean or lentil! Garbanzo beans (a.k.a. chickpeas) would be a wonderful choice!

*This recipe can also be made with quinoa, wheat berries, Kamut, barley or any other whole grain that you love!

*My favorite type of lemon for this recipe is a Meyer lemon! Once you taste these lemons, you may just end up at your local nursery picking up a dwarf tree of your own!

*Garlic – either roasted (a few cloves) or a clove of fresh can be a nice addition to this dressing if you love garlic!

Timaree Hagenburger, a plant-based registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN), certified exercise physiologist with a master’s degree in public health, has over 20 years of experience as a nutrition professor. She is a sought after speaker, media personality and author, who works with private clients, and in corporate wellness, has contributed to several cookbooks and published her own cookbook, The Foodie Bar Way: One Meal, Lots of Options, Everyone’s Happy (www.foodiebars.com)! Timaree is also the founder of an incredible online membership community, The Foodie Bar Way of Life, that makes loving the food (and living a life) that loves us back… simple, satisfying, sustainable AND FUN! You can contact her about working with her through 1:1 dietitian nutrition coaching, for hands-on cooking instruction and to inquire about arranging a speaking engagement.