Rice is Nice! Well it is for my 10 month old. I’d say that he has a rice dish of some description for lunch most days of the week. I don’t think I’ve cooked quite as much rice as I have in the past few months for him!
Yesterday, after cooking plain white rice for his fussy older brother, I took a portion of rice for my 10 month old, added half a small tin of tuna, a few tablespoons of mixed frozen vegetables, grated cheese over the bowl and then I microwaved this for 30 seconds at a time until the veggies were cooked and cheese gooey and melted. This effortless dish was his lunch. A perfect Toddler Lunch.
My 10 month old is still, thankfully, at the eating everything, non-fussy stage. Oh, how I wish his fussy older brother, was the same… So, I can pretty much feed my youngest anything. His face lights up as the spoon approaches his mouth, he devours my latest cooking concoction, while making an abundant collection of mmmm… yummm… noises. Once he’s finished his bowl, he looks at me expectantly for more!
His agreeable attitude has inspired me to experiment to cook him a wide variety of food, in particular – rice. I have cooked with different rice varieties, vegetable combinations and cooking methods. Knowing that the results will be greedily welcomed and consumed is the best reward a mother could hope for.
Generally I’ll cook a cup of rice, along with my veggies of choice, in 2 cups of water. Once the water is absorbed I keep adding more, a half a cup at a time, until the veggies and rice are cooked. White rice with veggies takes about 20 to 25 minutes, while brown rice with veggies can take up to 45 mins to be fully cooked.
I’ll serve a portion up for today, pop one into a sealed container in the fridge for the next day and then freeze the rest. To freeze food for my toddler, I use a 12 cup mini muffin silicon baking tray. I freeze his food in these, popping out as many as needed for a meal and reheating it in the microwave. I tried using ice trays to freeze his food and the trays themselves ended up snapping once frozen a few too many times.
This image is a combination of rice, sweet potato and mushroom I made last week. Conveniently, I now have a couple of lunches waiting in the freezer to be defrosted and ready for the high chair in minutes.
I’d love to hear of your favourite rice dish, be it for yourself or your children.
