Intro to Cooking: Mediterranean Rice

December 11, 2011 11:30 am     Posted in Health, Reality  Michelle - College of Idaho g+ page


By Michelle

Rice is such a healthy carb. As a girl who loves carbs, I have been trying to funnel healthier ones into my life lately. A bit less potatoes and a lot less bread. With the holidays coming up, I need to save up my carb quota so I can go wild on cookies and mashed potatoes once Christmas rolls around. (This might not be how eating healthy works, but I don’t care.)

With the addition of foods full of antioxidants and iron, like olives and spinach, rice can become a tasty side dish to everything from grilled chicken or fish to steak, as well as a yummy lunch in its own right.

Mediterranean Rice

You’ll need..

  • 1 bag of Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice, the kind that microwaves in 90 seconds (I like the brown rice variety, as it’s healthier than white rice!)
  • about 1 tablespoons worth of crumbled feta cheese
  • about 1 handful of your favorite olives. I really like getting a small bowl at the grocery store – most stores have olive bars these day and they are wonderful, because these olives are much healthier than the canned variety.
  • less than 1/4 of a bag of spinach
  • 1 tsp of crushed garlic

How to make it…

In a small pan on the stove, saute garlic in about two tablespoons of olive oil. Microwave your rice for about 90 seconds (or according to package instructions). Make sure to tear open one side of the package before microwaving it!

Once the kitchen starts to smell like garlic (but definitely not burnt!), add spinach to the pan and allow to wilt. Remove from heat. Chop olives on a small cutting board, just so they are a little easier to handle.

Remove the rice from the microwave and empty into a bowl. Add spinach and garlic, olives, and crumbled feta cheese. Stir. This is especially good as a side with grilled tilapia!

Note: this recipe makes about two servings, but it can also be saved in the fridge for 1-2 days in an airtight container. 

10 Comments on "Intro to Cooking: Mediterranean Rice"

  1. Maura - Rider University says:
    Sun, 11th Dec 20113:13 pm 

    Sounds yummy, too bad I don't have a ton of cooking options in my dorm. The oven we have is essentially an easy bake oven.

    I'm a sucker for fried rice, which of course isn't so healthy! Wahhh.

  2. Neipori Apartmani says:
    Mon, 12th Dec 20117:16 am 

    Thank you for sharing this recipe. I am totally making these after work tomorrow :)

  3. Jackie says:
    Mon, 12th Dec 20119:35 am 

    This looks really yummy! I love the idea of putting cheese into. But that's because I love the idea of putting cheese into everything.

  4. ajajaj says:
    Sun, 18th Dec 20119:46 am 

    I just ate it, but I had to make some improvements: I added tomato. red pepper (way to little veggies for me in the original recipe) and grilled chicken breast in pieces. It was yummy!

    PS. Microwave rice? Seriously?! I don't get it, what's the problem with cooking real rice?

  5. deravera says:
    Thu, 2nd Feb 20127:45 am 

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  7. Hurip says:
    Mon, 12th Mar 20123:24 pm 

    Mmmmm, I love lentils and this rpciee sounds great. As for enjoying more nutritious foods, I have found that when you slowly add them into your diet not only do you enjoy them, but you really start to prefer them (atleast I have). It’s almost like we just have to retrain our tastebuds to enjoy the deliciuosness of whole, real, non processed foods.

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    Sat, 4th Aug 20124:24 am 

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