whole grain recipe help pls....

[HollyDay]

I finally saw the dietician/nutritionist yesterday.  I learned quite a bit.....but....

I am supposed to incorporate 1-2 cups whole grains/day into my meal plans.  And 1/2 cup beans/day.  She suggested quinoa and rice.  Chickpeas, green peas, etc.  But, I'm just not sure how to do this.  I made quinoa last night and it is rather bland.  Rice is okay, but by itself will get pretty boring after a while.

Lunch:

2 oz lean meat

1 cup fresh/raw veggies

1 cup whole grain

1/2 cup beans

Dinner:

1 cup whole grains

1 cup veggies

3-4 oz meat

Snacks include nuts and fruit 

I've got breakfast figured out.  But, lunch and dinner are confusing me

[CAJinBE]

Brown rice and lentils with carrots, mushrooms, and onions make a really nice pilaf. I do this right in my rice cooker. We put quinoa into our salads with chicken or eggs. You can make a bean soup and serve it over rice. You can mix anything you like in a bowl instead of thinking of just a serving of meat with a side of whole grains. Are you allowed hot sauce and other flavorings? Buddha bowls might be what you're looking for.

[Laura Corin]

I recommend the recipes on this site. You will find tons of great ways to eat what you need. The writer is a medical doctor who uses great flavours.

https://thedoctorskitchen.com/recipes

[Pawz4me]

Veggie soup. Add beans,  a bit of spinach or other leafy green, rice or other whole grain of your choice. It's easy to make, convenient to have in your fridge or freezer.

[Tanaqui]

Cook your rice or quinoa (personally, I mix brown rice with quinoa on a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio) with a little bit of broth instead of plain water. And, of course, serve it WITH something. You don't eat rice by itself, you eat it with some sort of food on top - I suggest getting a vegetarian curry cookbook so you can do beans or lentils that way.

[prairiewindmomma]

This is pretty much how I eat. Do you like Mexican or Indian flavors? Do you have an instant pot? I can chime in later with recipe links.

Kalyn’s Kitchen, Ministry of Curry, and The Kitchn are where I go to look for ideas.

[scholastica]

There are lots of other whole grains to choose from. Barley and farro come on mind. Also adding stuff to the whole grains: sautéed onions or garlic, or both, or green peas, flavoring with a splash of lime. Whole grain salads are wonderful. Even better if you can make whole grain salads with beans in them. Look up recipes for grain bowls. You’ll find endless variety there.

[KungFuPanda]

I’d go with easy stuff until you get the hang of it

whole wheat pita and hummus

refried beans over brown rice

veggie soup with whole wheat bread

a loaded salad over a whole grain  

 

[mmasc]

I’ve posted this recently, but I think plain quinoa on a salad is good bc it soaks up the dressing. Chick peas are also good on salads. So you could start with a bed of greens, then add quinoa, chick peas, additional veggies of choice, dressing, nuts or seeds. 
 

i agree with others that incorporating these things into a veggie/Buddha/type of bowl, or salad, will be easier than using it as a side dish. 

[SamanthaCarter]

Farro is really good! 

[Carrie12345]

Naked quinoa is depressing, lol. It gets cooked in broth at our house, not water.  I like it with onions, black beans, corn, lime, balsamic vinegar, and cilantro when I have some. Oh, and tossed with arugula.  An old homeschool friend gave me a recipe, but now I just play with it depending on what’s on hand.

I am such a huge fan of bowls of grain/protein/veg that it actually bums me out when I have to eat something off of a plate!

[marbel]

2 hours ago, scholastica said:

There are lots of other whole grains to choose from. Barley and farro come on mind. Also adding stuff to the whole grains: sautéed onions or garlic, or both, or green peas, flavoring with a splash of lime. Whole grain salads are wonderful. Even better if you can make whole grain salads with beans in them. Look up recipes for grain bowls. You’ll find endless variety there.

I am obsessed with whole grains lately! I use farro or spelt a lot.  I cook some and keep it in the fridge or the freezer, depending on how long it takes me to eat it.

Most days that I work I take a salad of cooked farro, arugula, feta cheese, and sunflower seeds tossed with a little oil and vinegar (could use lemon juice).  If I was one to add chickpeas to salad, some crispy seasons ones would work well. 

I have a fantastic cabbage soup recipe that includes farro.  Some white beans tossed in here wouldn't hurt at all:

https://smittenkitchen.com/2019/01/cozy-cabbage-and-farro-soup/

Oh yeah, while I was getting the cabbage soup recipe I came across this that I made not too long ago:

https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/07/one-pan-farro-with-tomatoes/

I haven't been a huge quinoa fan because it tastes like grass to me, but I am going to try this soon because I have yet to try a recipe from Damn Delicious that isn't fabulous:

https://damndelicious.net/2014/07/07/quinoa-enchilada-casserole/

Does whole grain bread count?

 

Edited January 24, 2020 by marbel

[Frances]

I like to make a baked rice with brown basmati, tomatoes, onion, garlic, red and green peppers, oregano, salt, red pepper flakes, and chicken broth. It’s very good plain or with one or more of the following: black beans, chicken, cilantro, cheese, sour cream, avocado, etc.

Brown basmati rice can also be used as a base for curries with meat or chickpeas or lentils and lots of vegetables. I also add it to a lentil stew I make with chicken broth, onion, celery, carrots, and spinach.

Brown basmati rice smells amazing when cooking, like pop corn. Using chicken or some other type of broth along with some vegetables and spices when cooking rice can really increase the flavor.

Black bean soup over rice with some toppings is very yummy and easy to make a large batch.

[Miss Tick]

10 hours ago, marbel said:

Does whole grain bread count?

I was wondering this also.

In our house I only buy 100% ww bread and I switched out the floor in my canister from all-purpose flour to whole wheat.

Don't forget that popcorn is whole grain!

[CAJinBE]

7 hours ago, Frances said:

I like to make a baked rice with brown basmati, tomatoes, onion, garlic, red and green peppers, oregano, salt, red pepper flakes, and chicken broth. It’s very good plain or with one or more of the following: black beans, chicken, cilantro, cheese, sour cream, avocado, etc.

Brown basmati rice can also be used as a base for curries with meat or chickpeas or lentils and lots of vegetables. I also add it to a lentil stew I make with chicken broth, onion, celery, carrots, and spinach.

Brown basmati rice smells amazing when cooking, like pop corn. Using chicken or some other type of broth along with some vegetables and spices when cooking rice can really increase the flavor.

Black bean soup over rice with some toppings is very yummy and easy to make a large batch.

How do you make the baked brown rice? That sounds really good.

[KungFuPanda]

32 minutes ago, CAJinBE said:

How do you make the baked brown rice? That sounds really good.

I've used this recipe before.  If you don't have a rice cooker, it's definitely the way to go.

 

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/baked-brown-rice-recipe-1944197

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

One of our favorite meals is black bean bowls.  I cook black beans from dry (overnight soak) in plain water until they are nice and tender.  Then I sauté a diced onion in a tiny bit of oil, add the beans, about a 1-2 cups of chicken or veggie stock, about 2-4tbsp of chili/adobo from a can of chipotle chilis in adobo, finely chopped, coriander seed, and oregano.  I simmer the beans in this until the liquid is mostly gone, then I add juice of 1-2 limes, depending on the amount of beans.  From there, we make our bowls:  I make mine about 1/2 cup rice, 1/2 cup corn, and 1 cup beans.  Then I add sliced green onions and a dollop of sour cream or yogurt, and salsa.  You can eat it with a fork or use corn chips.  Obviously healthier with a fork.  🙂  

Other options:

Whole grain toast (I get that really dark colored bread that looks like twigs and dead bugs were swept off the forest floor and forced into a loaf, not just "whole wheat") spread with PB and a sliced banana

Same bread, but with hummus and baby greens or cucumbers

oatmeal

whole wheat pasta, or a pasta from chickpea or lentil flour

Baked potato (I put baked potato into the whole grains category when planning my own meals, I know it's not actually a grain)

Quinoa salad.  Cook quinoa until al dente, then rinse under cold water.  You want tender, but not mushy.  Drain well, then squeeze out additional water with a few paper towels.  Add a lemon vinaigrette (juice from a lemon, 2tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper, mustard), raisins, diced cucumber, seeded and diced tomato, diced red onion.  Let marinate together for a half hour or so.  This will stay good in the fridge for multiple days, as long as you seed the cucumber and tomato before adding them.  

Right now, I alternate between two lunch salads.  The first is butter lettuce with red onion, pecans, diced apple, 1/2c beluga lentils (canned, rinsed, drained), balsamic dressing.  The second is a bag of mixed cabbage-y type salad (there's also carrots and some other random stuff in there), 1 cup edamame beans (from frozen, I just take 1 cup from the freezer and set them on a paper towel to thaw 20 minutes before lunch), green onion, dried cranberries or fresh pomegranate seeds, cashews, and an Asian dressing.