WOW-you guys really like your Pirate’s Booty! If you haven’t entered yet, click HERE to enter to win a huge Pirate’s chest filled with a variety of Pirate’s Booty snacks.
I will be picking a winner on Friday.
Here in the DC area it has been freezing cold, and we still have piles of snow and ice everywhere from the 2 huge snow storms last week. I don’t know how people up north do it, but this is ridiculous, and I am so ready for spring. So in honor of trying to heat things up a bit, I made this awesome southwestern meal last night.
I used all ingredients I had on hand and made a big southwest fajita bowl. The main ingredient in the dish was Uncle Ben’s Whole Grain Brown Rice. I was given the rice to sample, and thought it was perfect for the main ingredient in my easy quick southwest fajita bowl. Uncle Ben’s offers a variety of different rices, but I decided to use the NEW Boil- in- Bag Whole Grain Brown Rice last night. Uncle Ben’s Boil-in-Bag Whole Grain Brown Rice is naturally low in fat and provides the full day requirement of whole grains in one serving. On top of that it’s gluten free, sodium free (love that), saturated and trans fat free, and cholesterol free. I’m liking this stuff already. It is also a natural source of fiber, iron, niacin, thiamine, and B-vitamins. WOW!
The rice is incredibly easy to make too. All I had to do was stick the rice bag in a bowl of water and pop in the microwave for 10 minutes. Boil, drain, eat. That’s it! And it is very easy clean up.
While the rice was in the microwave I started cutting up and sautéing some of the veggies for my bowl. I decided on red peppers, onions, tomatoes, avocado, corn, black beans, and cilantro. The makings of a perfect southwest meal.
I prepared it like this so Chris and I could throw in whatever ingredients we wanted and make our own. It seemed more fun that way. But of course I chose a little of everything. I mixed the organic black beans and corn in with the rice and then topped mine with everything else.
My bowl was fantastic. So much flavor, and the cilantro just made everything explode with flavor. I absolutely love cilantro, and after reading about all of it’s health benefits, I fell in the love with it even more. I mean check this out. This is taken right from the Eat This! website, but I just had to show you all.
1. Protects against the Salmonella bacteria
2. Reportedly works as a natural chelation treatment
3. Aids in digestion and helps settle the stomach and prevent flatulence
4. Is an anti-inflammatory that may alleviate symptoms of arthritis
5. Protects against urinary tract infections
6. Prevents nausea
7. Relieves intestinal gas
8. Lowers blood sugar
9. Lowers bad cholesterol (LDL) and raises good cholesterol (HDL)
10. A good source of dietary fiber
11. A good source of iron
12. A good source of magnesium
13. Rich in phytonutrients and flavonoids
I also had some leftover Chinese take out veggies on the side and a cozy hot carob drink for dessert.
It was such a creative, healthy, fun dinner. And just because I love cilantro SO much, I decided to include it in my breakfast. Cilantro in the morning? Who knew? I found a recipe in Sarma’s Living Raw Food that looked really yummy, and I tweaked it just a bit and swapped pineapple for frozen mango.
This breakfast cocktail included 1/2 of a large organic cucumber, frozen mango, organic cilantro, agave, vanilla extract, and coconut water. Coconut water has a high potassium and mineral content. One cup of coconut water contains more electrolytes than most sports drinks and more potassium than a banana.
It was so fragrant and had a really bright color to it. The taste was something I have to acquire since I’m not used to drinking cilantro in the morning. But I didn’t mind it either. I would love to try this smoothie with pineapple, but the mango worked just fine.
Now I must get going because it’s time for work! Have a lovely day!
P.s. Don’t forget to enter the Pirate’s Booty Giveaway!
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DElicious food pics!