Pineapple Not-so-Fried Rice

I'm feeling a tiny bit like a failure.  I made it about 3 whole seconds into my unprocessed week before messing it up.  Seriously.  I was all set to start on Sunday morning.  I made delicious eggs for breakfast, and then headed off to church.  Well, wouldn't you know... they were serving donuts.  Yeah. like totally processed donuts.  I didn't mean to eat it... I only had a tiny bite before remembering that I wasn't really supposed to be eating it.  You'll be proud to know that I actually stopped after that one bite!  

I was an unprocessed rockstar for about... 2 days.  I made Chris's favorite veggie tacos and tasty curry coconut soup.  I baked a double batch of granola bars, rice pudding and berry banana oatmeal.  I was doing so well.

But, here's the thing about trying to cut something so major out of your daily life. You have to have some super-human willpower to make it happen.  And I don't.  By Tuesday night I was obsessively thinking about the chocolate covered coconut popsicles in my freezer.  I swear, I could hear them begging to be eaten.  Let's just say, it was all downhill from there.

Is this what it is like to be on a "diet"? No wonder people hate dieting! As soon as I label a food "off-limits", that is all I can think of!  I think it is much more healthy to just try and eat the best that I can most of the time, and not freak out if I have to have a cookie (umm... or a bag of cookies) sometimes.  A much better way to live, I think.

The good news is that I'm still doing a pretty decent job of meal planning and trying new recipes.  Last night's dinner was Pineapple Not-So-Fried Rice.  This won't exactly be confused with the sodium and calorie laden stuff from your corner Chinese restaurant, but it is healthy and tasty - which is what I was going for! Use up whatever veggies you have stashed in your fridge and freezer.

Pineapple Not-so-Fried Rice

Original recipe from Blissful Bites, but was altered substantially by the random contents of my fridge.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 cup brown jasmine rice

2 cups water or vegetable stock

1 cup frozen peas

1 can (14 oz.) pineapple chunks, juice reserved

3/4 cup carrot, diced

3/4 cup asparagus, cut on diagonal (I used Trader Joe's frozen)

1/2 cup green onions, diced

1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup frozen edamame

2 Tbsp tamari

drizzle of toasted sesame oil

1/4 cup cilantro leaves

toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Cook rice in water or stock according to package directions. When rice is done, place in medium bowl with frozen peas.

Meanwhile, bring pineapple juice to a boil and simmer with remaining vegetables, pineapple chunks, sesame oil and tamari sauce until veggies are tender, about 5 minutes.

Toss with rice.  Garnish with cilantro and sesame seeds.