I love hearing from everyone who reads A Side of Sweet. That’s why I respond to every comment (seriously!) and read every email. If someone who leaves a comment have a blog, I always click through and see what they’ve been up to.
It’s that sense of community and reciprocity that has helped me find my place in this crazy internet reality. I recently read that there are over 227 million blogs. Can you believe that!?
There are 227 million blogs and somehow you ended up here. Reading the silly things that I share.
The fact is, I feel grateful every day that people read my posts, and some of you even come back for more – on purpose!
A few weeks ago, Heidi, a newly married lawyer in LA, sent me an email asking for ideas for healthy food to bring to work. Something that will keep her from eating at her work cafeteria or buying unhealthy takeout food.
For me, the ideal recipe for food workweek food can be made ahead, lasts for several days in the fridge, doesn’t need to be heated up, is packed with veggies and contains healthy protein.
There are a lot of things on the checklist, but these brown rice bowls certainly fit the bill. I use Planet Rice products whenever I’m cooking with rice or quinoa. They are a California family farm located just outside of Sacramento. I’ve been on a huge sprouted rice kick lately. It is richer and nutrients and has higher levels of Vitamines E and B, Magnesium, Iron and fiber compared to regular rice. The sprouted California Blonde rice in these bowls has the softer texture and taste of white rice, but all the nutritional benefits of brown rice.
I topped the sprouted rice with seasonal veggies, in this case radishes, kale and zucchini. It’s finished with a healthy goat cheese dressing and  hard boiled egg for protein.
The day I make them, I serve them with the beautifully sliced veggies artfully arranged. For leftovers, I toss the ingredients together with the dressing so that the meal is easy to grab from the fridge and eat. Depending on the batch size you make and your palate for repeating meals, it will easily last you all week. You can swap any veggies for what I used, but I chose kale, zucchini and radishes because they hold up well and don’t wilt.
What sort of tips do you have for eating healthy during a busy workweek?
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PrintHealthy Leftovers :: Whole Grain Rice Bowls with Massaged Kale & Veggies
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Main Dishes
- Cuisine: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 10 ounces kale
- 1.5 tablespoons olive oil or other oil of your choosing
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups uncooked whole grain rice, like Planet Rice Sprouted California Blonde Rice
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 16 ounces radishes, thinly sliced
- 1 cup pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
- 6 hard boiled eggs
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
[i]For the goat cheese dressing:[/i]
- 4 oz goat cheese (chevre), at room temp
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon water
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
[i]Special supplies:[/i]
Instructions
- Combine the kale, oil, lemon juice and salt in a large bowl and massage vigorously with clean hands. The kale will soften and become darker in color.
- Cook the rice according to package directions
- Place a scoop of rice in the bottom of each individual serving bowl. Top with chopped cucumbers, sliced radishes, hard boiled eggs, and pepitas.
- Make healthy goat cheese dressing: Combine goat cheese, honey, oil, vinegar, lemon and water in a food processor and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- To make leftovers :: Toss ingredients with dressing, put in glass food safe containers (which are healthier than plastic tupperwear!). Leftovers should be good for the whole work week.
Thanks to Planet Rice for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions are my own!
Hi Kelly! Wow, that’s a lot of blogs! This lunch sounds like something that would taste even better the next day, because all the flavors marinate together! Yummy stuff! 🙂 Oh and Go Warriors!
To eat healthy during the week, the best tip is probably to be prepared by having meals planned and healthy snacks on hand. It’s always when you run out of time that you settle for something on the less healthy side. I also try to drink lots of water and green tea, which helps keep my voracious appetite under control.
I love rice bowls and this one looks so colourful and healthy. Aaaand it has a goat cheese dressing- how could I not try it! Plus I just discovered these giant radishes (seriously the size of my palm) at the local farmers’ market that would amazing in this.
Alix
This looks amazing!! The bowl concept is really my favorite for the work week. Simple, lots of variety, and a great way for me to disguise veggies 🙂
Have fun in LA!!
xx Katie
lovely letters
227 million?!?!? Say whaaaaaa. So amazing! As is this recipe — bowls with veggies + rice are my favorite kind of meals and I should definitely prep this kind of thing *today* for the week ahead. Definitely an easy to pack/finish off option for when the lunch cravings hit =)
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I love this and have been thinking about healthy easy lunches, too. WNYC is currently running a hack your lunch challenge because so many people share in this dilemma. I find lunch is one of the easiest meals to “get wrong.” Especailly if you’re trying not to eat too much bread.
Oh man, Iove LA, have fun! 🙂 These bowls look amazing, love all the veggies!