Any good recipes for a whole foods rice-a-roni substitute??
The time has come. Too much salt, not enough nutrition. But I need something that tastes good and is easy and quick. I'm not having much luck. Anybody have anything good to share??
Hmm...I used to love Rice-a-Roni too! I don't know what you would consider "quick". If you still want something in a box, I don't have any ideas, but I don't use salt at all, so i've learned a thing or two about cooking without it.
What I started doing was cooking my rice in unsalted tomato sauce, thinned down with water of course. I also keep a bunch of my own stock cubes on hand to cook with. When ever I cook chicken or beef (when i've browned it) I add water to the pan after, reduce it down and then freeze it in cubes, very easy and lots of flavor. I also use wild rice since I won't eat white rice and can't stand brown rice. Another suggestion I love is to carmelize onions in the pan first and then add the rice. Put the carmelized onions, beef stock cubes and tomato sauce together and i'm in heaven!
Some of this does take some preplanning, but I keep all this stuff premade/portioned in baggies in the freezer so when I need it all I have to do is pop it in the pan and simmer away!
We tried a box of grains this week (the box looks just like a rice-a-roni box) called "Whole Grain Blends" made by Near East. We tried the Wheat Pilaf which was a a blend of whole grain bulgur wheat with toasted orzo pasta. It had 8g of fiber for one cup serving and cooked in less than 20 minutes. It was really good and my husband and son loved it too and they're picky about "unusual" grains. It does have sodium though. I'm not sure if they sell at a regular grocery store. I got mine at a small market near my house and there were other grains and flavors to choose from like Rice a Roni.
I also eat whole wheat couscous all the time and get this at the regular grocery store in the health food section. My husband really likes it if I prepare like a rice pilaf where you brown it first in a little olive oil and then prepare with the water, spices. I sometimes add fresh basil, sun dried tomatoes, nuts, spinach. If you're in a hurry it cooks in the microwave in two minutes and I add canned salmon, tomatoes, whatever veggies I have on hand, basil & a little parmesean & olive oil. This is a meal I have at least once a week.
My cousin makes quinoa all the time which is high in protein and pretty good tasting but I've never prepared it myself.
I don't think I've ever had rice-a-roni but I think I saw when I was buying rice that they hae a whole grain kind. I assume it's sort of like ww stovetop stuffing, not great but and improvement. Maybe make your brown rice with seasonings? I googled homemade rice a roni and alot of hits came up, I'd just look around to see what appeals to you.
I second the whole-wheat cous cous. It tastes good, it takes a minute or two to cook and a few minutes off heat with some fork fluffing. Super quick. Throw something in it and you have a meal.
I often make it for lunch if I feel like I want a "real" meal the next day--by the time I add something to it, it's cool enough to go in the tupperware. I have it for dinner two or three nights a week.
Just add something while it's still hot--or put frozen veggies in the water to boil, and by the time the cous cous is done the veggies are al dente.
Some things I throw in, usually with a half T olive oil:
peas, parmesan, and tuna
tuna and herbed feta
feta, tuna, salt and pepper, and capers
capers, parmesan
anchovies and capers
sardines in mustard sauce, peas or green beans, pepper
spinach, tuna or sardines, and herbed feta
kidney or other canned beans or frozen baby limas, butter, salt and pepper
leftover salad
walnuts or hazelnuts or almonds, salt and pepper, parmesan
tuna and shredded cheddar, a little butter, salt and pepper
I could go on and on. A glass of wine, a bowl of cous cous with stuff in it, and I have a dinner in under ten minutes--most of the ten minutes spent in the back yard with the dog.
I love all the great suggestions that have been posted already. Just wanted to add that my alltime favorite is barley. It's high in fiber, low in calories, and tastes great with anything. I cook it in chicken stock and add anything to it that I have on hand. I make a Harvest Stew with it often, too. Plus, like the other grains, you can cook a big quantity, portion it and freeze it.
Have you tried 'Forbidden Rice'? It is a long cooking rice, but it is sooooo good. It is a black rice, and after it cooks, it looks like it is colored with blackberries. It is so good that we rarely add anything to it. It has a nutty flavor to it. If you want to make something more like rice-a-roni, try tossing it with some slivered, sauteed veggies, carmelized onions, or some scallions, feta, and almonds. I buy my rice locally, but they also sell it at Amazon grocery.
Hmmmm. I have an excellent recipe from a old hippie veggie cookbook Laurel's Kitchen for a rice/lentil pilaf. I'll run upstairs and get it in a minute.....
Okay, I'm back.
Rice Lentil Polou
1/2 medium onion
1 TBSP oil
1 cup uncooked brown rice
1 TBSP tomato paste
2.5 cups water or vegetable stock (or beef/chicken if you're not veggie)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup uncooked lentils (rinsed)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup pine nuts or chopped almonds - optional
Chop the oinion and saute in oil til soft. Add rice and stir for several minutes. Combine tomato paste with water and cinnamon. Add this mixture, along with the lentils, to the rice. Bring to a boil, cover tightly, turn the heat very low and simmer for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350
Stir the salt, raisins and nuts into the rice mixture, which should still have a little water; if not add 1/4 cup. Placed in a greased aking dish. Cover and bake for 20-30 minutes. Serves 4-6.
NOTE: I usually finish mine on the stovetop by cooking til the rice is done, then stirring in the salt (which I often forgotten ), raisins and nuts.
This is really good, and reheats well.
Oh and I have lots of Near East grain products in the regular section of my grocery. I buy cous cous in the natural food section as it's cheaper than buying the little boxes, but they're excellent for more exotic stuff.
I have a favorite. Everyone always likes it and I LOVE it.
Peel and cube an eggplant, some summer squash, an onion, garlic. Saute in olive oil, then add a small amount of water, cover and steam. Add sun dried tomatoes. Mix up low salt soy sauce, Splenda brown sugar a bit of corn starch and mix in. Serve this over any good couscous or rice. You can add any other veggies you like. I make a good sized amount. It keeps and it freezes.
Idahosenior. I started at 265. I am now 240 and would like to be 140. The older I get the harder it is.
We have learned to eat lots of veggies, fruit, nuts, olive oil, whole grains...
I just joined tonight.
The Near East stuff at Whole Foods is pretty tasty, I have to do the wheat free versions but they taste just as good as the pilaf type of that brand. I add lots of veggies to the pot when the rice is close to being done and basically that's my dinner. Leftovers are always for lunch the next day. haha
How do you cook your veggies? When I add peas, I usually add steamed without any other spices or oils, but most other ones I saute with some olive oil and garlic. I'm always looking for a new way to eat veggies.
Hmm, one baby step forward would be the Lipton side dishes - pasta or rice. Not the best either, but Waaay less sodium that RaR (I would sure guess from having eaten them both). Then, what I use now is the Zatarain's Red Beans & Rice; Dirty John, which is black eyeds and rice (which you could also make yourself with less sodium), and then a black beans and rice mix that someone else makes. You can micro it in 20 minutes, and it will replace that fix that RaR gives you with a hot filling dish with minimal prep.
Hmmm, love Zatarain's mixes - I just leave out the fat. Their salmon cake mix has just a little spiciness, yum. It is the only one that I do use the fat - mayonnaise in this case. But it's not a lot.
I haven't seen a Lipton mix in a long time, but isn't that basically instant rice/noodles and a bunch of thickeners and artificial enhancers? They might have 'cleaned up' more like whole foods since I saw them last, though.
Any good recipes for a whole foods rice-a-roni substitute??
I don't know what you would consider "quick". If you still want something in a box, I don't have any ideas, but I don't use salt at all, so i've learned a thing or two about cooking without it. 
just joined jumping right in.
