Macrobiotic Breakfast: Brown Rice Green Bowl

When I first began my journey into plant-based eating I followed a fairly strict Macrobiotic diet. In Macrobiotics two of the most commonly recommended foods are whole grains and vegetables, especially green ones. As someone who had never cooked brown rice in their life, I was initially shocked and a little overwhelmed by different ways this grain can be enjoyed. It also totally blew my mind that the standard Macrobiotic breakfast is miso soup, brown rice and veggies.

I’ll admit that in the beginning I was a skeptical about eating rice for breakfast, but I quickly discovered that it gives me long-lasting energy, makes me feel grounded and keeps me full until lunch- kind of like the very commonly enjoyed breakfast food, oatmeal. While I no longer follow Macrobiotic guidelines all of the time, I tend to gravitate more towards that style of eating in the winter and find myself craving brown rice for breakfast when the temperature starts to drop.

There’s no reason why this Brown Rice Green Bowl can’t be enjoyed at other times of the day, but I find that the tasty yet simple flavors and short ingredient list are just what my belly wants in the morning.

Note– I like to make a big batch of brown rice, store it in the fridge and use it for 3-4 days. For the perfect brown rice, bring 2.5 cups of water to a boil. Add a dash of sea salt. Add 1 cup of rice, reduce heat, and let simmer for 40 minutes, covered. Turn heat off and let rice sit for 5-10 minutes before serving (or storing).

Brown Rice Green Bowl

makes 1 serving

What you’ll need:

1/2 cup cooked brown rice (see instructions above)
handful of broccoli florets
2 cups green of your choice (I used baby kale and spinach in the photos)
2 tsp tamari
1 tsp ume plum vinegar
1/2 avocado, sliced
dash of sea salt

Directions:

Bring 2-3 tablespoons of water to simmer in small pot. Add broccoli and cover. Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes. Broccoli should be turn green.
Add greens (and a splash more water if pot is dry), cover and let cook for 1 minute.
Add brown rice, tamari and vinegar to pot. Stir continuously until everything is warm( about 2 minutes).
Transfer to a bowl. Top with avocado slices and sprinkle a little salt on top. Enjoy!

For those of you interested in learning more about macrobiotics- there’s tons of literature out there but two of the easiest (and most fun) reads are The Hip Chick’s Guide to Macrobiotics and The Kind Diet.