Gabby's Eats: Mediterranean Rice Salad For The Uncle Ben's Beginner's Cooking Contest!!

Gabby and I have been in the kitchen a lot together lately over the past few months having fun creating delicious and healthy dishes. This recipe in particular is very special to us, not only because we developed it as an easy alternative to boring lunchbox food but also because we made a video about it and entered it in the Uncle Ben’s Beginner’s Cooking Contest as well.  We were very excited to find out it was accepted and that we are now in the running to win a Grand Prize which includes 30,000 to go towards improving and expanding her school’s cafeteria! Gabby worked very hard on this recipe and the video too and I am extremely proud of my little kindergartener for trying to get the word out about healthy eating to others. Our recipe includes whole grains, legumes, veggies and "good" fats.  It is high in fiber and low in sodium too, but packed with flavor! We also discovered that Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice is a quick, easy and tasty rice to use in this and other recipes! It's done in the microwave after just 90 seconds and tastes delicious!!

We thank Uncle Ben’s for this opportunity to try their rice and to share our video and yummy recipe too! 

Part of the contest involves voting for the best video so we hope you will support us in recognizing Gabby’s video as a winner! The voting starts this Wed October 15th and lasts through October 29th. Individuals over 18 are encouraged to vote once per 24 hours. Click HERE to get to the link to vote!!

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked lentils or beans of your choice (using canned is very convenient)

2 cups cooked brown or white rice (We used Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice- one package works perfectly!)

1 cup finely chopped cucumber

6 tablespoons finely chopped black olives

6 tablespoons finely chopped sundried tomatoes

6 tablespoons reduced fat crumbled feta cheese

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil

1 teaspoon honey

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Cook the rice and lentils/beans according to package directions, let cool and then add to a large bowl. (If using already cooked canned beans, rinse well in a strainer before adding them.) Throw in the chopped cucumber, olives, sun dried tomatoes, cheese and basil to the bowl too and mix well. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, olive oil, rice vinegar and lemon and pour over the salad mixture. Stir well until evenly coated with dressing.  Chill if not serving immediately.

Makes 7 cups,  14 servings

Serving size: ½ cup  Calories 110 Protein 5 g Carb 16 g Fiber 4 g Sugars 3 g Fat 2 g Saturated fat 0 g Sodium 180 mg