Rice & Grains

With its rainbow of colors, this all-in-one dinner looks and tastes great.

Bottled peanut satay sauce is a convenient way to add the traditional Thai flavor combination of basil, peanut, and coconut to your cooking.

Lemon-tinged cream cheese tempers peppery arugula in this nutrition-packed entrée.

The contrasting bright green edamame, shiny black beans, and snow-white feta cheese in this dish will please your eyes as well as your palate.

An attractive dish for entertaining, this recipe has a Middle-Eastern flavor. If you are really in a hurry, try the alternate cooking method.

With their assertive flavors, the dried cherries, pecans, and mushrooms in this dish pair well with poultry or game. You can also use this recipe to make a vegetarian stuffing for baked winter squash, such as butternut.

Using a small amount of crushed dry-roasted almonds lets you distribute their nutty flavor throughout this dish without adding much fat.

If you can keep a secret, no one will guess that this delectable salad uses leftovers from Apricot-Barbecue Chicken Chunks (page 141) as a key ingredient.

For a nice change from the typical pasta or potato salad—and a different way to enjoy brown rice—try this Mediterranean side salad with a bit of Mexican heat.

Cooking bulgur with turmeric turns it a bright yellow that contrasts nicely with the red and green of this zesty salad.

Brimming with color and texture, this substantial side salad will keep for up to four days in the refrigerator.

This sweet, fragrant breakfast dish is even more delicious and healthful when topped with slices of banana or strawberries and additional fat-free milk.

Have a nutritious start to your morning when you add oatmeal and whole-wheat flour to your pancakes. Topped with granola, bananas, and maple syrup, they’re amazing!

This versatile Asian-flavored slaw can be as mild or as spicy as you like. Use it as a salad, or add chicken and serve over rice for a main dish (recipe on page 65).

Using presliced fresh mushrooms and frozen chopped onions will hurry things along in this recipe.

Brown rice is a must-have staple for healthy eaters. I used to think I wasn’t a fan—and then I was introduced to short-grain brown rice (long- and medium-grain varieties are much more commonly found but not nearly as tasty, if you ask me). The short-grain has a nuttier taste that I’ve truly come to crave. If you haven’t tried it, it’s definitely time to do so. One of the best things about brown rice is that you can make a pot on Sunday and it keeps all workweek if refrigerated in an airtight plastic container or resealable plastic bag.

Let’s face it, baking cookies or making candy can take a lot of time—time we sometimes just don’t have. But we do still want to offer treats that are made with love. These truffles are a simple, fast, and fun answer that will keep you from slaving over a stove and will keep your family fit and happy. In fact, they’re the perfect homemade sweet treat to impress everyone whether they’re interested in eating healthfully or not. And, they’re even perfect for getting the kids in the kitchen with you.

Make a big batch of brown rice at the beginning of the week and have it ready for reheating in your refrigerator, or buy precooked brown rice in the freezer section of the grocery store. Though this likely sounds odd, we much preferred the Laughing Cow Light Gourmet Cheese Bites over the Light Original Swiss Cheese wedges in this recipe. When you compare the packages, you’ll see they are similar, but everyone in my test kitchen agreed the squares taste better. So trust us when we say it’s worth opening the ten squares instead of using a smaller number of wedges.

It may seem odd to figure out how to slice a tube of polenta into fries, but it’s actually quite simple. Just follow the directions below, imagining the polenta halves are large potatoes. Then cut the fries as if you’re cutting them from potatoes.

In recent years, pomegranates have emerged as one of the healthiest fruits due to their powerful antioxidants. Here’s a quick spin on plain oatmeal you can enjoy for its delicious flavor while reaping the great benefits of this superfood.