Meatless Monday with Chinese Rice Bowl by Rachel Ray

For those interested in living a greener lifestyle the next step after switching over from plastic water bottle to sustainable and recycling is being part of Meatless Mondays. It is a movement to cut meat out of your diet at least one day a week in an effort to reduce your carbon footprint. One hitch when trying to switch over to eco-vegetarianism, is children as they are notoriously picky eaters. Well with a little help from Rachel Ray’s Yum-o organization this recipe for a Chinese Rice Bowl should make everyone in the family happy. For those that haven’t heard, “launched in 2006 by Rachael Ray, Yum-o!® is a nonprofit organization that empowers kids and their families to develop healthy relationships with food and cooking by teaching families to cook, feeding hungry kids and funding cooking education and scholarships.”

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups short-grain white rice
Store-bought vegetable spring rolls (optional)
1/4 cup Tamari (dark soy sauce), plus more for dipping spring rolls
2 teaspoons-1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 scallions, chopped with kitchen scissors into small pieces
1-pound medium or firm tofu, cut into cubes
1-tablespoon sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS:
Bring water to a boil over high heat. Add rice and return to a boil. Place lid on pot and reduce heat to simmer; cook until tender, about 18 minutes.
If you would like to serve some vegetable spring rolls with this rice bowl, prepare them while rice is cooking according to package directions, in a toaster oven or microwave.
In a bowl, combine Tamari, sesame oil and scallions. Add tofu and toss to coat in sauce.
Using a large ice cream scoop, place scoops of plain rice in bowls and top with tofu and sauce, and then sprinkle the bowls with sesame seeds to garnish.
Serve alone or with spring rolls on the side with extra Tamari for dipping.

This meal serves four, and the recipe can be adjusted to feed a crowd easily. For those wanting to eat a healthy and earth conscious diet, tofu is a great meat replacement. Tofu is made from soybeans and is very healthy, as with any soy product it is best to buy organic. The option of serving pre-made vegetable spring rolls is a great one because when you are trying to get kids to try new foods it is easier to introduce something new like tofu with something they are sure to like spring rolls. So here’s to trying something new that is earth friendly and kid approved. Enjoy!