Healthy Vegetable Fried Rice Recipe

So, this is something that I was having an intense craving for lately and decided I really wanted to cook it myself.  I've seen a number of recipes for "healthy" fried rice around and I knew that if I loaded it up with veggies, I'd be able to have a really healthy meal for a low amount of points.  In fact, I went a little overboard in my mind and when I started cooking this meal, I was originally planning on making only 2 servings.  However, about halfway through I realized just how much vegetables I was cooking.  I last minute decided to double the amount of rice I had planned to use and make 4 servings with a good vegetable-to-rice ratio rather than 2 servings of mostly vegetables with a little bit of rice mixed in.

I chose not to use any meat even though this is a main dish due to preference.  I don't often cook meat for myself and prefer veggies just fine.  I also knew that I would be getting some protein from the egg in the dish (albeit not much... but it is there!)  I swear, this is one of the most delicious dishes I have eaten in a while-- at home or in a restaurant.  It was SO good and really filling, which is why I am immediately here blogging it for you.  Seriously, my empty plate is still sitting next to me!  I couldn't wait to share it!

And yes, I ate it all with chopsticks!

Vegetable Fried Rice

Serves: 4

Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 7 per serving

Ingredients:
- 1 cup (uncooked) brown rice
- 2 eggs
- 2 red bell peppers
- 1 large white onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 small can sliced water chestnuts
- 1 cup chopped or shredded carrots
- 2 broccoli crowns
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- Soy sauce
- Ground white pepper

Step 1: In its own pot, cook the brown rice according to the instructions on the box/bag (depending on whether you bought instant or stovetop, cooking instructions will vary.  However, do not add salt or butter to the rice.  When the rice is cooked, fluff, and then set aside.

Step 2: In a large wok over medium heat,  first spray the wok with some non-stick spray and then add about 1/4 cup of broth and the broccoli florets.  I covered the wok so that the broccoli could steam a little bit and also keep all of the flavor in one pot.  However, you could certainly just steam the broccoli on its own.  Steam the broccoli for about 3-4 minutes until it is bright green and still maintaining a bit of crunch.  You want the stems of the broccoli to still be a bit firm and not fully cooked so that it will hold together in the fried rice.

Step 3: Remove the broccoli from the wok and set aside.  Add about another 1/4 cup of broth at this time. Be sure to keep enough liquid in the wok at all times for the vegetables to cook in.   You are essentially replacing broth as oil for the stir fry.  Add your red pepper and onions.  I wanted to have big vegetable pieces in my rice so I cut the vegetables to about an inch or 1/2 an inch pieces (sorry I didn't take any pictures of just the vegetables!)  You can cut them into whatever sizes you would like.

Step 4: When the pepper and onion have gotten soft and the onion is translucent, add more broth, the chopped garlic, carrots, and water chestnuts.  Stir and recover the wok for about 5 minutes.

Step 5: Okay, here is where it starts to get interesting.  Move your vegetables up along the sides of the wok so that you have a small circle on the bottom of the pan.  Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and then crack 2 eggs into the bottom of the pan.  Picture is below:

Step 5

Step 6: Begin to scramble the eggs right where they are to incorporate the yolk and the whites together and start to cook the egg.  Slowly incorporate the vegetables into the cooking egg and stir all the vegetables and the egg together.  Be sure to fully cook the eggs.

Step 6

Step 7: Next, turn the heat down to low and then stir in the cooked rice that had been set aside.

Step 7

Step 8: Sprinkle a small amount of ground white pepper over the stop and add about 1/8 cup soy sauce drizzled over the top.  Stir in the pepper and soy sauce.  This step very much has to do with taste.  Take a bite of the fried rice and see how the flavor is.  Add more soy sauce if desired.  Soy sauce has a lot of salt so be careful with how much you add yourself. You do not salt the meal. If you are serving more than one person with this dish, I would recommend adding soy sauce sparingly and put the soy sauce on the table for guests to use on their own if desired.

Step 9: Serve and enjoy!

Enjoy!

As a side note... I cannot believe I initially thought that this was going to make only 2 servings.  Good thing this was delicious, I know what I will be eating for the next few meals :)  As a side note... I also wanted to point out how you can save yourself some prep time.  For this meal, it may have seemed like a lot of chopping but it really wasn't that bad.  I had chopped the carrots earlier in the week when cutting up carrot sticks for snacks.  I also was able to prep some food to use tomorrow morning in an omelet while preparing this dinner.  You can see my onion, red pepper and broccoli on the side and see that I portion my meals out right away into single serve Tupperware containers to save myself time later.

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I did!