Healthy Recipes: Summer Rice Garden Salad

By: Denisse Oller

What I love about this recipe is that I get to include many vegetables in the dish. You can eat it warm, at room temperature, or straight out of the fridge. It is perfect any time of the year, but especially during the days of summer and Indian summer. As a bonus, you get the health benefits of brown rice.

Yields 8 servings

Ingredients

6 cups water
2 cups brown rice
2 garlic cloves
½ cup peas, canned or frozen; drain if canned
2 Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded, diced
3 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
3 scallions, finely chopped
½ red bell pepper, seeded, deveined, small dice
2 cans of white tuna in water, drained
½ cup seedless cucumber, small dice
1 tablespoon salt
Garnish- chopped parsley

Preparation
  1. Add water, rice, oil, garlic and salt in a large pot. Bring to a boil and cook at medium high heat approximately 20-25 minutes or until most of the liquid begins to evaporate.
  1. Cover, turn to low heat and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until rice is done. Fluff rice with a fork, remove garlic cloves, and let cool.
  1. Add peas, tomato, parsley, scallions, red bell pepper, tuna and cucumber.
  1. Mix with dressing. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Dressing

1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil

To prepare, blend yogurt, mustard and olive oil. Add to rice and mix well.