Fried Rice | My Kids Really Eat This

So, many people think that my kids always eat well— without a fuss. But you know if you read my blog that that is not always the case. A few nights this week have been especially difficult with my middle son. Each time I put dinner on the table he whined and cried that he didn’t want to eat what we’ve made. And when I say he whines and cries… he whines and whines and whines then cries. It’s not always easy to ignore (especially when I’m PMSing) but I don’t give in and eventually he comes around.

Except several nights ago I did let him eat something besides the dinner I made. It was a delicious chicken fried rice— brown rice, chicken, kale, beet greens, Chinese cabbage, red cabbage, mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, egg, red bell pepper, garlic, ginger, leeks, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, ground pepper. He cried and cried. He said he liked many of the ingredients, just not all together. I compromised once he was calm and could talk rationally. I said if he ate another 20 forkfulls (basically more than half) then he could get something else. I wanted to make sure he ate the most nutritionally important food before the yogurt and pasta. By compromising I’ve potentially set myself up for more whining in our future.

The next night my husband made bucatini spaghetti with a delicious sausage tomato sauce and a salad. We both couldn’t believe he whined about that one! He wanted the pasta plain with butter and no salad. But we remained firm. He ate it. All of it. Even his salad.

Plus it was fun to eat!

I feel that I chose my battles again. I know my middle son doesn’t really like those one dish meals where everything is combined. I felt the compromise wasn’t really giving in (fooling myself?) because he still ate the majority of the meal. It is so much easier to always give them what they want. Unfortunately, easy isn’t always best for them. But it does get easier. He will keep trying new things and getting a taste for them and I will figure ways to satisfy us both.

One wonderful way to use up leftovers is to make a stir-fry. And a fabulously delicious and nutritious stir-fry is fried rice (home made anyway). We used up scrambled egg from breakfast; rice, a bit of vegetables and a few scraps of pork from dinner. This is adaptable depending on what you have left over or in the fridge. Ours was colorful with plenty of yummy vegetables and delicious flavors from the ginger, soy, sesame and garlic. It is also quick to cook— it’s just chopping that takes any time.

It’s best to use cold rice for this, so if you need you can always cook the rice then chill it before adding it to wok (or in my case, my Dutch oven).

Fried Rice

2-3 cups jasmine or basmati rice, cooked and chilled

pork, chicken, shrimp or tofu (I used about 6-8 oz pork)

2 eggs scrambled, chilled

handfuls of chopped vegetables:

broccoli, asparagus, peppers, mushrooms, carrots, cabbage

½ cup peas (defrost if frozen)

½ cup edamame (defrost if frozen)

½ med onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1½ inch piece ginger, grated

1½ Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp sesame oil

2½ Tbsp canola, sunflower or grapeseed oil

1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

sea salt (if needed) & ground pepper

handful of cilantro, chopped

Blanch for a couple of minutes any vegetables that need longer cooking time like broccoli, carrots and peppers. Set aside and chill. Add the canola oil to a wok, sauté pan or other appropriate pan, and once hot add the onion cooking for few minutes. Add the garlic and meat until almost cooked through. Add remaining ingredients except rice and cilantro. Let vegetables soak up flavors then add rice (breaking apart and lumpy bits). Stir often and adjust seasoning (soy, sesame and pepper) to taste. Cook on medium-high heat for about 3- 5 minutes. You’ll want to make sure you don’t overcook the vegetables so they lose color or nutrients. Stir in cilantro. Serve immediately and enjoy!

My kids loved this. The colors are vibrant, the taste is yummy and there’s a few of their favorite vegetables and a couple of not-such favorites they might actually eat since it’s all blended together.

My Kids Really Eat This

getting kids to eat well in the real world

Tag Archives: fried rice

Ugghh… it’s not always easy- even in my house.

Fried Rice– perfect for using up leftovers