02-17-2011, 02:21 AM
I agree with lots of water. Somebody correct me--I think cranberry is beneficial for kidneys. I also agree to cut down the animal protein. Put soy milk on the cereal, not cow mucous.
Here's a way to get veggies in without stress--a rice cooker: I pour enough olive oil to cover the bottom, then put in the rice according to the directions for how many will eat and spread it over the bottom. Next, before adding the water, cut some vegs into chunks so that, say, each chunk would be 2 forksfull. Some that I've used are broccoli, squash (zucchini is good), eggplant and roma tomatoes, and half an onion cut to appropriate size small pieces.
After you add so many vegs, the cooker switch can stay on the Cook setting (the cooker uses weight to tell when to turn off the high heat), so do that. While it is heating up the oil on the bottom, add any remaining vegs; remove the "shell" from a clove of garlic and cut it into bits and sprinkle them on the mix. One clove per person works for me.
Before the water goes in, you are sauteing the rice in the oil, which adds flavor up until the rice burns. You won't take that long. Now add water according to the cooker directions for the rice used; ignore the vegs in this calculation. The steam from cooking the rice cooks the vegs. The cook time is about 1/2 hour.
After you take the first helping or everything from the cooker, put in a quarter inch of water to soften the rice stuck on the bottom. That and the oil make it easier to clean the cooker. You will want some of that darkened rice for flavor.
Serve with salt and pepper to taste, then enjoy.
Here's a way to get veggies in without stress--a rice cooker: I pour enough olive oil to cover the bottom, then put in the rice according to the directions for how many will eat and spread it over the bottom. Next, before adding the water, cut some vegs into chunks so that, say, each chunk would be 2 forksfull. Some that I've used are broccoli, squash (zucchini is good), eggplant and roma tomatoes, and half an onion cut to appropriate size small pieces.
After you add so many vegs, the cooker switch can stay on the Cook setting (the cooker uses weight to tell when to turn off the high heat), so do that. While it is heating up the oil on the bottom, add any remaining vegs; remove the "shell" from a clove of garlic and cut it into bits and sprinkle them on the mix. One clove per person works for me.
Before the water goes in, you are sauteing the rice in the oil, which adds flavor up until the rice burns. You won't take that long. Now add water according to the cooker directions for the rice used; ignore the vegs in this calculation. The steam from cooking the rice cooks the vegs. The cook time is about 1/2 hour.
After you take the first helping or everything from the cooker, put in a quarter inch of water to soften the rice stuck on the bottom. That and the oil make it easier to clean the cooker. You will want some of that darkened rice for flavor.
Serve with salt and pepper to taste, then enjoy.