From the Kitchen of Dr. Bonnie Brock, NMD, RD, MPH
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups dry wild rice blend
2 cups vegetable broth
2+ cups various mushrooms, including shiitake, maitake, baby portobello, etc
1-2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic
4 green onions
2 cups greens (dandelion or arugula)
black pepper, to taste
Tofu or tempeh (optional)
1/3 cup fresh parsley, for garnish
3 tablespoons chopped walnuts, for garnish
Instructions:
1. Cook the wild rice. You can use 100% wild rice but it’s about twice as expensive, and I really like the more commonly sold wild “blends” that also include brown, red, black rice, etc. Cook according to package instructions in a large skillet. However, I highly recommend replacing two cups of the water with vegetable broth – it will add so much flavor to the finished dish.
2. While the rice is cooking (wild rice takes about 45 minutes), sauté the mushrooms and all the other wild things in a separate skillet. Slice at least two cups of mushrooms (they don’t actually have to be wild, I used shiitake, oyster, and crimini) and add them to the skillet with a splash of soy sauce and two cloves of minced garlic. Once the mushrooms have reduced significantly, add in four chopped green onions and a few handfuls of loosely chopped greens (dandelion, preferably, or arugula) and give them just a few minutes to wilt over medium-low heat.
If you want to make this a more complete meal with extra protein, you could also add some chopped tofu or tempeh into the skillet at this point.
3. Finally, when the rice is done, combine the contents of both skillets into one and toss until everything is evenly mixed together. To serve, chop some fresh parsley and walnuts together and sprinkle on top of each serving dish.
Immune Boosting Ingredients:
Wild rice – Though wild rice is technically a gluten-free grass and not rice at all, it is an excellent source of potassium, zinc and fiber; with a fraction of the calories or grams carbohydrate as regular rice. Zinc is an important mineral to the immune system and cancer prevention, as it plays a role in regulating healthy cell division.
Mushrooms –Mushrooms contain high-molecular-weight polysaccharides (beta-glucans), which seem to stimulate innate immune cells, such as monocytes, natural killer cells, and dendritic cells that pay a role in cancer prevention.
Walnuts – In addition to being a good source of essential fats, a new study conducted in mice finds that eating walnuts appears to alter their gut bacteria and suppress colon tumors.
