Carrot Rice

This morning I'm playing catch-up. Frantically making up for the last few days of neglected posts. It's not that I've grown bored or lost interest in blogging- I just don't always have time. So when a few days go by without any new posts, do not fear. I will eventually return, and most likely with a flurry of new recipes!

The fantastic thing about this blog is how it's changed my life (or diet at least). Even though life is hectic now, we're still eating very well. Good food and mealtimes have taken on new meaning to me, and finding the time to purchase, prepare, and relish healthy, quality meals is a priority. My relationship with food has changed and I enjoy it all the more.

One of my nursing instructors asks us interesting questions at the beginning of each class, in order to get to know us better. The first week she asked where she would find us in a Barnes and Noble. That one was easy. Pouring over cookbooks (or cooking magazines). No question. The next week she inquired what our favorite way to de-stress/relax is. Without hesitation, I answered that I'd be in the kitchen...cooking, baking, eating, feeding friends and family. Yes, I recognize that it can be stressful to get dinner on the table when you're starved after a long day. But lately for me, meals have become a way to unwind. To set aside whatever is bothering me, to take my mind off life, and focus on only what is in front of me. Much like running can do, cooking puts me in "the zone".

I do exercise too. That's the other thing that keeps me sane. I wouldn't say I work out so I can eat, or eat because I work out. Really, it's about balance. If all I did was eat, it would no longer be very enjoyable. Food or exercise alone cannot make you strong. Both staying in shape and eating healthy (which is an essential part of it) can be fun and are always rewarding. Especially when done with others.

Make the time to take a walk with a friend, and then to prepare and sit down together for dinner with your family, and your relationship with food will improve and the pleasure you experience from it will increase.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup brown basmati rice, cooked according to package directions
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, chopped
1 Tbsp. butter
1 onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. fresh ginger root, minced
3/4 cup carrots, grated
salt, to taste
cayenne pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onions until golden brown. Stir in garlic, ginger, carrots, and salt to taste. Reduce heat to low and cover to steam 5 minutes. Stir in cayenne pepper and peanuts. When rice is done, add it to skillet and stir gently to combine with other ingredients. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serves 6.

(Adapted from All Recipes)