Hey, you, Hear Us – there’s no reason to cut back or feel guilty for Eating rice if you’re trying to get into a shape you’ve always wanted to. You can still maintain a healthy weight while eating your favourite Rice. Yeah, if you’re looking for a healthy Rice recipe that not just cuts your Guilt, but also your Weight, you’re here at the right spot. We’ve got four tempting, easy-to-make, low-calorie recipes to keep you filled. Before that, let’s go through some essential and general tips to cook anything healthy. 

General Tips to Cook for Weight-Loss/ Maintenance

• Choose a Heart-friendly oil. Prefer Olive, Sesame or Coconut oil over conventional Cooking oil.
• Prefer Home-cooked meals done with your Basic Ingredients: Veggies, Eggs, Meat or any other Vegan alternative.
• Prefer boiling or Steaming if you really want to lose an extra bit of Fat over Deep Frying.
• Avoid Drinking Empty calorie drinks like Sodas, Soft drinks or any other Drink that’s heavily based on Sugar after your meals. Instead, try sugar alternatives like Honey with a refreshing Lime & Mint. 
• Balance your meals with Carbs, Healthy Fats & proteins.
• Don’t go Heavy on Salt generally.
• Prefer Brown Rice or Long-Grain white rice varieties. These usually make you feel filled for a long time.

Fun Fact: There are a lot of Long-Grain varieties in the market that are really beneficial for health. Know more about Long grain Varieties to choose the one that’d suit you.

One-Pot Pulao 

The one-pot Pulao is a healthy Rice recipe you can make under a few minutes. You can prepare this using a pressure cooker. What’s more exciting about this recipe is that you can add more protein of your choice and make it more enriching and rewarding.

Things to love about this Pulao

• You can make this recipe completely Vegan-friendly!
• A hearty Lunch that can keep you filled till your tea break
• Make it exceptionally tasty with your favourite Veggies and protein choice. 

Ingredients

• Long Grain rice of your choice
• Ghee/ Oil (For Vegans)
• Onions 
• Carrot
• Capsicum
• Peas (Fresh)
• Green Chilli (for additional; spice)
• Cumin Seeds
• 1 small bay leaf
• 1 big black cardamom optional
• 2 tsp red chilli powder
• 2 tsp Haldi powder
• Soya Chunks (Boiled)/ Paneer for Protein (Optional)
• 1 tsp Garm Masala
• Salt

Preparation

1. Soak your Rice in Warm water for about 20-25 minutes and Wash your veggies gently in the water.
2. Cut your Veggies as you prefer them: Diced/ Finely chopped anything would be fine.
3. In a Pressure Cooker Add tbsp of Ghee or an oil of your choice. Once it heats with a fresh aroma add Bay leaves, cardamom & your favourite spices.
4. Add Onions to the mixture and cook them till the Onions get transparent, then throw in your chopped Tomatoes & Chillies.
5. After spicing it up with Masalas, add your chopped Veggies: Carrot, Beans, Cauliflower, Capsicum & Peas.
6. Add Rice and adequate water, leave this mixture to cook well.
7. You can also throw in some of Soya Chunks or Raw Paneer before closing the lid. Let it simmer for 15 minutes after two whistles, then let it cool down for another 15 minutes. 

You can serve this steaming hot with a fresh piece of Papad, Nicely Boiled Egg& cup of Curd to make it more satisfying & filling at the same time!

Pro Tip: While choosing Rice, prefer brown long grain rice or a Low GI White Rice to make it more healthy!

Veg-loaded Fried Rice

This is a fantastic low-calorie Fried Rice that you can prepare at home – only much healthier. This version of Fried rice is low in Sodium and fat compared to the Street version of it. And of course – this is a lot more suitable for your weight loss/ healthy weight maintenance goals!

Things to love about this Fried Rice

• It’s richly flavorful and healthy at the same time, you can enjoy this with low-calorie tomato ketchup.
• You can top it and experiment with your favourite source of protein (Boiled Chicken, Paneer or Tofu) – Which keeps you filled with fewer calories. 
• All the loaded veggies are filled with macros to keep your skin shining & muscles and bones hydrated.

Ingredients

• Cold Cooked Rice (Long Grain)
• Eggs (optional)
• Veggies (Bell Peppers, Onion, Broccoli, Carrot, Cabbage, Beans & Mushroom)
• Garlic Cloves
• Olive oil/ Sesame oil
• Low-Calorie Soy Sauce
• Low-Calorie Soy Sauce

Preparation

• In a low-flame Pan add 2 Tbsp of Oil and Throw in some chopped Garlic.
• Add Freshly cut onions and saute till they become yellowish-brown, then toss in your Eggs, Diced Bell peppers, Carrot, finely chopped cabbage, Beans & Mushroom. If you want to load it more on macros, then add Cut broccoli to this minerals-packed Veggie volcano.
• Add a cup of Cooked Cold White rice and stir fry for a few minutes till the Veggies and Fried rice mix & cook well.
• Add a half spoon of Low-calorie Soy sauce and 1 spoon of Ketchup to make it more satiating. 
• Cook for a couple more minutes, sprinkle some black pepper powder and serve it hot with Ketchup and your favourite protein-based side dish

This Fried rice is extremely delicious and at the same time carries only about 300-400 calories per bowl. You can add more Rice according to your daily calorie intake or better load something with Clean protein like boiled chicken breast, sauteed Tofu or paneer. 

Quick Beetroot Rice & Coriander Rice

These two recipes are rather very easy and quick fixes you can do with some leftover cooked rice. Beetroot has the quality to purify your blood and Coriander can fix your gut issues and cool your body overall.

Ingredients

• A cup of Beetroot Grated Beetroot/ Freshly prepared Coriander Chutney 
• A cup of white long-grain rice
• Ghee/ Sesame Oil/ Olive oil
• Mustard
• Turmeric & Chilly Powder 

Preparation

• Heat 2 tbsp of ghee/ oil of your preference and add black mustard seeds allow them to heat up well.
• Add grated beetroot/ or 3 spoons of Coriander chutney and cook for a couple of minutes. To this, add ½ tbsp of Turmeric powder & 1tbsp of Red chilly powder.
• Add a cup of warm cooked rice and saute well till it’s mixed well. 

Since this is a quick fix with no loaded veggies and protein. You can prepare a salad for sides and eggs to make it more balanced!

Final Thoughts

These above recipes can be an excellent alternative to their traditional, heavy counterparts. Eating Mindfully matters a lot more than you think if you’re so set on losing weight and achieving your fitness goals. Always remember to Eat as per your needs and holding back completely on carbohydrates is the last you want to do!