Rainbow Fried Rice

Things I learned yesterday: people love talking about self-care and they love seeing ugly and embarrassing photos of other people. Tazo chai concentrate actually isn’t that good and I need to learn how to make my own. There are little microanimals called tardigrades or water bears that are super cute and basically indestructible.

Do you listen to podcasts? I was making some personal development goals recently and added to it a whole list of podcasts I want to start listening to. So far, I have only listened to Stuff You Should Know. It’s great for long drives if you want to learn something about a completely random topic. Husband and I listened to a different one on advertising to children recently, and it was pretty fascinating. That podcast is also where I learned about tardigrades. (: A great topic for a lazy Saturday.

When you get to the end of the workweek, do you ever sit in front of your fridge and stare at all the half-used or starting-to-spoil vegetables and PANIC because you want to use them up before you do your weekly Saturday morning grocery shopping? Or is that just me? This recipe is one of my favorite ways to use up those lingering veggies so I don’t have to toss them and waste all that money. Plus, it’s super pretty and usually a crowd-pleaser.

If you’re having a fancy dinner party or work potluck, this is a recipe that can work for MOST of your friends, because it can be made vegan, vegetarian, Whole 30, and paleo-friendly. It’s already gluten and dairy free.

Here are the modifications:

Whole 30: Use just the cauliflower rice instead of regular. Coconut oil and ghee, no butter. FYI Sugar snap peas ARE allowed, because they’re “more pod than legume,” according to program rules.
Paleo: Omit the sugar snap peas and use the cauliflower rice instead of regular. Coconut oil and ghee, no butter.
Vegetarian: Omit the chicken.
Vegan: Omit the chicken, egg, and ghee (stick with coconut oil).
No specific diet or GF/DF: Try with brown rice and use that grass-fed butterrrr! I also recommend frying your chicken briefly with Trader Joe’s sweet chili sauce… mmm.

I’m going to tell you right now that if you’re grating your own cauliflower rice like I did, your hand will probably cramp and you’ll make a giant mess. Be careful, too, that you don’t cut your fingers.

You Will Need: 

-1 head purple cauliflower (or any color), grated into rice
-3 tri-colored carrots, sliced into coins
-3 radishes, sliced into coins (let’s be honest, just because I needed something red)
-20 sugar snap peas, diced
-1/2 yellow onion, diced
-6 oz chicken, cooked and diced
-15 Brussels sprouts, chopped
-3 cloves garlic, diced
-3 stalks kale or chard, peeled away from stem
-3 eggs
-3T coconut aminos + 2T for egg
-3/4t garlic powder
-1/2t ground ginger
-1/8t Chinese five spice
-green onions, chopped
-small handful raw cashews, crushed
-salt and pepper to taste
-coconut oil
-ghee (or butter if your diet allows)

Do I like the number 3? Why yes, I’m glad you noticed. (:

1. If you’re making the brown rice, get that cooking first. I use Trader Joe’s quick-cooking brown rice in my Instant Pot, so I literally just add the rice + water and turn the pot on for 5 mins. Super super easy. If your chicken isn’t already cooked, you’ll want to do that first. I like the TJ’s “Just Chicken” frozen bags when I don’t feel like handling raw chicken (which is pretty much always. Why is it so gross?) I realize I sound like TJ’s sponsored my post, but they didn’t. I wish. Then I’d get free groceries. (:
2. Heat a tablespoon of coconut oil in a large cast-iron. Add your diced onion and garlic first, and let that cook while you chop and dice the rest of your veggies. Stir occasionally.
3. Grate your head of cauliflower on the largest side of a cheese grater. THIS WILL MAKE A MESS, so if you’re lazy like I normally am, you can buy it pre-riced or even frozen.
4. Whisk your three eggs with 2T coconut aminos. Heat some coconut oil in small frying pan, pour in your eggs, and cover that sucker on low. You’re going for a perfect omelet here. Omelet is a terrible word to spell. This recipe requires a lot of multi-tasking. Keep an eye on it, because you’ll want to flip it and make sure both sides are cooked without burning it.
5. Add all your veggies to the onion/garlic pan EXCEPT the cauliflower and chard/kale. Drizzle 2T coconut aminos over the veggies and add more coconut oil if you need to. Let those cook until they’re soft and edible. This seemed to take foreverrrr, but I was cooking them on pretty low.
6. Check and flip that omelet if you haven’t already. If it’s done, take it out of the pan and slice it however you’d like it to look – cubes or strips.
7. Once your veggie pan is just about finished, add the cauliflower, chicken, and greens and cook for 5 more minutes, until the cauliflower is soft enough. You don’t want it to get mushy… the timing on this is totally up to your preference.
8. Add your spices and omelet strips to the pan and cook for 2 additional minutes. Taste it, adjust spices and add more coconut aminos, salt, and pepper if needed.
9. IF you’re using brown rice, after it’s cooked, pan fry it in some butter and 1T coconut aminos for that genuine fried rice taste (:
10. Assemble your dish! Top with slices of green onion and crushed cashew.

Sadly, purple veggies don’t retain their vibrant color when they’re cooked… the same thing happened with my purple sweet potato crust. But don’t worry – you’re still getting tons of nutrients and antioxidants.

Feel free to switch up the veggies based on what you have in the house. Also, if you make this entire head of cauli/veggie dish AND serve it on top of rice, this will last you many nights of leftovers. (: And who doesn’t love a night off of cooking?

In the comments, let me know your favorite podcasts! I need to branch out. (:

Have a great weekend!

-Allie

 

If you missed it yesterday, check out my post on DIY Skin Rescue to see some embarrassing photos of how bad my skin was in college and what I’m doing about it now.