Friday, November 12, 2010

Frugal Friday: Soup and Rice

We're entering hot soup weather!

Easy tip to stretch most soups is to add brown rice. Brown rice also creates a full stomach effect because the fiber expands inside the belly, which means you need less food to feel satisfied. (Be careful if you are a fast eater or you will have a very full effect!)

I even throw brown rice into canned soups. When I have procrastinated on making lunch and the girlie and the husband are hungry NOW, I pull out a can of chunky soup from the pantry and a portion of frozen brown rice from my freezer. (Hm. Did I mention the frozen rice before? It's a great timesaver!)

I thaw the rice for a minute or two in the microwave and then throw it into a saucepan with the soup and warm as usual, stirring occasionally. Throw a nice simple salad on the side (or just some select veggies and a dipping sauce) and it's a tide-over lunch for three!

Now, isn't this kinder on your wallet, your time, and your hiney than picking up something "to go" on the road?

2 comments:

  1. Great idea! Dumb question... do you just make the brown rice and let it cool and freeze it? Can you just put it in like a ziploc bag?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yep.
    1) Make brown rice.
    2) Let cool.
    3) Freeze.

    Some people freeze the rice on a cookie sheet and then pour it into a Ziploc. I just scoop mine directly into snack-size baggies; they're big enough to hold one cup of rice.

    ReplyDelete