Cilantro Lime Brown Rice

I love rice. All kinds. I like to think of myself as an equal opportunity rice lover. Which is why when you combine rice with lime and cilantro–two other things I seriously love–I’m positively excited to eat. Brown rice holds a special place in my heart with it’s nuttiness and chewy texture. It take a bit longer to cook than white rice, because of the retained bran, but that same bran also gives brown rice a higher fiber content, zero sugar and a bit of protien as well. (The numbers obviously fluctuate a bit depending on the brand)

What you’ll need:

1 c. dry brown rice 
Half of a lime
~1/4 c. finely chopped cilantro
Pinch of salt

First, lets make the brown rice.

Wanna know a secret about me? I’m not very good at cooking white rice. 

I can, however, make some pretty awesome brown rice. And that’s because I make it the lazy easy way. The hardier structure of brown rice makes it ideal for boiling it like pasta. That takes the simmering step out of there altogether, which is always what throws me off. (Is this simmer too much? Too little? Is this even a simmer? What exactly IS a simmer?)

Read on.

Depending on how many servings you’re looking to make, measure out your rice. We usually make one cup of dry rice–it ends up making more than enough for the three of us.

•In a large sauce pan, fill about 2/3 full with water and set on high to boil.
•Once at a rolling boil, pour your rice in and give it a quick stir to make sure it’s not sticking, reduce to med-high so that it doesn’t boil over.
•Continue to boil, uncovered, for 25 minutes.
•Drain the water and cover, set aside to steam for about 10 minutes.
•Fluff with a fork and move on to the next steps for cilantro lime rice.

This method makes it easy to get the rest of dinner ready while the brown rice is cooking.

Next, squeeze half a lime into your fluffed rice. Add cilantro and a pinch of salt and toss all together.

Some mornings when I know I’m going to be running all day, or I’m heading into leg day, I’ll throw together a bit of left over cilantro lime brown rice, some black beans and an over easy egg or two. Throw a little salsa on top and ooohhhhhweeeeee. That’s a tasty breakfast!

How do you like your brown rice? Let me know in the comments!