Rice Pancakes

I passed my RD exam yesterday...i've been studying for the last couple of weeks, hence no time to write, but hopefully now I will have even more time to write.

I always have leftover rice when I make it. It's usually not enough for another meal....so it ends up getting tossed. But last night Matt ended up saving it. It was a nice suprise this morning when I was trying to decide what to do for breakfast. I made rice pancakes, which don't resemble a pancake in anyway except for their shape.

I was introduced to rice pancakes when we were visiting Matt's grandmother. She asked if I wanted to try them for breakfast one day and it sounded good to me so I agreed, much to Matt's dismay (he does not like them). Well I was hooked and think they are a great, easy, nutritionally balanced breakfast.

So exactly what are rice pancakes? It's scrambled eggs mixed with rice panfried to form a pancake. It's super easy to make and provides about 200 calories. If you use brown rice you'll even get some added nutrients and fiber.

Here's the recipe:

1 whole egg
1 egg white
1/3 cup cooked rice

Scramble the eggs together and add the rice. Spray some non-stick spray in your pan, let it get hot and pour the mixture into the pan. It makes one really big pancake, but you can make two also. You can also add a couple vege's to it if you like. Serve with some soy sauce and a piece of fruit or OJ for a complete meal to get your day started right! Enjoy!

Agave Nectar

I am not a huge fan of honey, to me it imparts to much of its own flavor into what ever it is you are making, however, I discovered agave nectar a couple of years ago and found that I really like it. It has a mellow flavor and adds a light sweetness. It's especially good in place of sugar in drinks or smoothies because its liquid.

The real question is: Is it better than sugar?

Chemically it is very much like high fructose corn syrup. It is comprised of mostly fructose, 55 to 90% depending on the processing. As a comparison table sugar is sucrose, which is 50% glucose and 50% fructose. Calorically both table sugar and agave are about 16 calories per teaspoon.

Those people looking for a substitute for sugar or high fructose corn syrup won't find any benefits to agave. I personally use it in moderation just like other types of sweeteners and find it far superior to honey when it comes to flavor and sugar when it comes to adding it to various drink concoctions I come up with. I imagine this is why manufacturers are flocking to it as well.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

I had friends over for dinner the other night, well I had a friend over, through the power of text messaging our signals got crossed and she didn't think her husband was invited. Which meant a lot of leftovers and also taught me that the phone is still way superior!

I found a good solid recipe for spinach and artichoke dip then made it my own so I could actually enjoy it. It came out great even to my dairy loving friends.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

1 package frozen Spinach
1 can Artichokes in water
6 oz Soy Cream Cheese (3/4 cup)
1/4 cup Soy Sour Cream
1/4 cup Light Mayonaise
2 tsp Vegan Parmesan Cheese
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
Salt to taste

Boil spinach 2 minutes to soften, drain well and chop. Drain artichokes and chop into small pieces. Heat the cream cheese in microwave for 2 minutes, stirring half way through. Add sour cream, mayonaise, parm cheese, red pepper, garlic, and salt. Stir till mixture is even. Add spinach and artichokes. Serve with pita chips, tortilla chips, or my favorite a crusty baguette.

Simple and Yummy!