Recipe
This post is brought to you by Naked Juice:
Fad diets are everywhere. Each one seems to vilify a different food group. It’s almost impossible to keep up with what’s ok to eat and what’s not. But the one group of foods that is rarely bashed: fruits & veggies.
So instead of focusing on all the things that could be bad, why don’t we focus on making sure we’re at least getting the good stuff. Loading up every meal with mostly fruit or vegetables is a great way to get started.
Now I’m not a big fan on sneaking veggies into unsuspecting foods, but I am an advocate of doing so to up the nutrient value. It can be a good tool to get kids to eat veggies they don’t like, but try to use it as a teaching tool, not as a trick.
There are plenty of ways to sneak in extra fruits and veggies: banana pancakes, zucchini bread, pumpkin muffins. I got these two flavors of Naked Juice to try for this post, so I thought I’d see how I could use them in a different kind of snack, although they’re delicious on their own. Each bottle has a pound of fruit and no added sugar.
I turned to one of my favorite Thai desserts for inspiration: Mangoes with sticky rice.
I’m no sticky rice expert, so I decided to put a spin on the dish by turning it into rice pudding.
Instead of traditional sticky rice I used Arborio rice, the rice you typically use for risotto. This is the perfect dish to make with leftover rice from dinner.
Mango Sticky Rice Pudding
by with a Side of Sneakers
- 1 cup cooked Arborio rice
- 1/2 cup coconut milk {the canned kind}
- 1/2 cup Mighty Mango Naked Juice {or other juice}
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- Sprinkle of cinnamon {optional}
- 1 fresh mango, sliced
Warm coconut milk, mango juice, and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, about 5 min.
Stir in rice and cinnamon.
Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until most liquid is absorbed. The rest will be absorbed as it cools.
Serve while hot & top with fresh mango slices.
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Even babies love it!
Naked Juice is worth its weight in good! There’s a pound of fruit in every bottle. (Secondary messaging: Naked Juice has partnered with charity Wholesome Wave to improve access to fresh produce in communities across the country. You can help by visiting www.nakedjuice.com/gooddeeds. For every coupon downloaded, 1 LB of fresh produce will go to an underserved community, up to 100,000 pounds.)
Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Naked Juice via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Naked Juice.
Recipe
While I could eat the grilled jalapeno-peach crostini for a meal by itself, I went the mature route and made a salad to go with them.
A giant, grilled fruit, coconut shrimp salad. And don’t worry, there’s a vegan version too.
First up, the coconut shrimp.
Grilled Coconut Shrimp
1/2 lb shrimp
4 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp cayenne
dash of cumin
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
Set up three small bowls with the following: cornstarch, cayenne, & cumin in one; orange juice; coconut flakes.
Dip de-shelled shrimp into the cornstarch mixture. Wipe off extra cornstarch so there’s just a light coating. Dip into orange juice, then coconut flakes.
Place shrimp on hot grill. Cook a few minutes on each side, until shrimp just turns pink. Alternatively you can bake them in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.
Now time for the salad. Grilled fruit is 10x better than sliced bread. I haven’t met a fruit I don’t like better grilled…this was just my excuse to eat a lot of it.
Grilled Fruit Salad
1 head romaine
1/2 pineapple
1 mango
1 orange bell pepper
Slice fruit and pepper into long strips.
Heat on grill.
Chop lettuce and top with grilled fruit.
And of course you can’t have salad without salad dressing. {Well you can, but it’s way better if you do.}
This dressing is probably best made a day ahead so the flavors can meld together, but if you have to, you can make it last minute. {Just make extra so it’s really good the next time. 
}
Citrus Witbier Salad Dressing
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp diced shallot
1/2 garlic clove, diced
2 tsp dijon mustard
3 Tbsp wit bier {like New Belgium’s Mothership Wit}
splash of honey
If you can’t make the dressing the day before, you might want to pop the shallot and the garlic on the grill for a few minutes before dicing- it’ll mellow the sharp flavors of the fresh shallot and garlic so they don’t overwhelm your dressing. Otherwise, just leave them raw.
Place ingredients in a jar and shake to combine. Couldn’t be easier.
To put it all together: top romaine with fruit and coconut shrimp, then drizzle dressing on top.
Goes great with jalapeno-peach goat cheese crostini. The shrimp taste great dipped into the jalapeno-peach jelly mixture too.
Don’t eat shrimp? Make grilled coconut tempeh!
How’s that for beer pairing?
Recipe
Risotto has a reputation for being difficult. It’s the dish that gets people kicked off cooking shows.
But it’s worth it. And it’s not really so hard. Risotto is the only recipe that requires a glass of wine while cooking. It’s mandatory- no excuses.
The reason risotto gets a bad rap is that it needs almost constant stirring to achieve that thick creaminess that makes you swear there’s the heaviest of heavy creams in there. As soon as you take that first bite, you’ll know every turn around the pan was worth it.
You can put almost anything in risotto- spring vegetables, mushrooms, butternut squash- but my all time favorite is my black bean & mango risotto recipe.
So go get that bottle of wine and let’s get started on that risotto recipe.
Risotto Time
Start by sautéing a cup of shredded carrots and a chopped red bell pepper for just a few minutes. While they’re cooking, dice half an onion and try not to cry too hard.
Mix together one can of coconut milk and a cup of vegetable broth, then gently heat them. I use a teapot so it’s easy to pour later.
Set the carrots and pepper aside and toss in the onion with a tablespoon or so of coconut oil. The smell of the coconut oil melting is enough to momentarily send you to the tropics. But come back- you have cooking to do; risotto to make!
As the onion starts to turn translucent, throw in a cup and a half of Arborio rice. Or perhaps slightly less than a cup and a half after you spill the rice all over the kitchen floor. I promise I haven’t even poured the wine yet.
That’s what happens when you try to pour a cup and a half of rice into a single cup measure for the sake of photography.
[And yes, I contemplated sweeping the rice up and using it anyway, but then I realized how long it’d been since I mopped the floor. The rice would have to be sacrificed.]
Toast the rice in the pan for a bit, until it just slightly browns or you can start smelling the grain cooking.
Now it’s time for the wine. Pour half a cup of wine into the rice, and pour more than a half a cup of wine into a glass. Don’t skip the second half of this step- you’ll thank me later.
Once the wine has absorbed into the rice, pour about a half to a cup of the heated coconut milk- veggie broth combo into the pan. Now’s when you start stirring. That’s what causes the starches to come out of hiding and turn into that delicious creaminess you’re looking for in a risotto.
As the rice absorbs the liquid, slowly add more–about a half a cup to a cup at a time.
Add liquid. Stir. Stir. Stir. Repeat. Until you’re done.
If you think you’re running out of liquid but the rice hasn’t softened enough, add some water to the mix. I end up using a different amount of liquid every time.
Patience is a Virtue
Don’t rush the stirring & liquid adding. It won’t work. Trust me, I’ve tried. This is why you have the wine. Stir & enjoy. You’ll know you’ve mastered the art of risotto when you’re able to stir and drink your wine at the same time, without neglecting either of the two.
When all the liquid’s added, toss the peppers & carrots back into the mix, along with a can of black beans and slew of spices & lime juice. Slice a mango and warm the slices over low heat.
Serve and top with mango. Top with an extra squirt of lime juice, coconut flakes, and basil.
You can thank me later.
Recipe Style:
Black Bean Mango Risotto
1 1/2 c Arborio rice
1/2 c dry white wine
1 c vegetable broth
1 can coconut milk
1 T coconut oil
1/2 onion
1 red bell pepper
1 c shredded carrot
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 mango
1/2 T onion powder
1/2 T garlic powder
1/2 T basil
red pepper flakes to taste
1 T lime juice (or to taste)
coconut flakes
Your turn. Go get stirring.
Feel free to share your favorite risotto recipe.
Dinner
I had a serious attack of the hunger monster this afternoon at work. (This is why I eat oatmeal & PB for breakfast- not wimpy bread!!!) Luckily I had a key lime Larabar stashed in my car to tide me over, but by the time I realized that I was already obsessed with thinking about what I was going to make for dinner.
Last night my friend Emily and I were talking about how much we love Thai food. My favorites- tom ka puk soup, tofu pad Thai, and mangoes with sticky rice. Have you ever had mangoes with sticky rice? It’s seriously amazing.
Well I had mangoes with sticky rice on my brain, and I just so happen to have mangoes. I wish thinking about how I could turn the dessert into a meal, and how I’d have to stop and get some rice on the way home. Then I realized I had Arborio rice (for risotto) in my pantry already, and the ideas just started flowing! I decided I was going to make risotto with coconut milk!! I had no idea whether it’d work or be any good, but it sure sounded like a good idea to me. With some black beans, veggies, and warm mangoes on top? Oh yeah, it was going to be good.
First things first, I started off with a little snack since risotto takes awhile to cook. Once I let myself get to hungry I just don’t feel right, so this was a vital step!
Honey grain English muffin and almond butter. The warm nooks and crannies just sucked all the almond butter right up! This is definitely the best flavor in the whole box of muffins we have.
Now back to dinner.
Black Bean & Mango Risotto
1.5 cups Arborio rice
1 can light coconut milk
1 can vegetable broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper
1/2 c shredded carrot
1 can black beans
lime juice
cilantro/dried basil
red pepper flakes
onion/garlic powder to taste
1 T coconut oil (or other oil)
1 mango
unsweetened coconut flakes
Saute red peppers & carrots. Set aside. Melt coconut oil over medium high heat, then add onions. Heat broth and coconut oil (I use a tea pot). When onions start to turn translucent, add rice. Toast lightly. Add white wine. Stir. Add ~1 cup broth/milk mix. Stir. Stir. Stif. Once liquid is absorbed, add more. Stir. Stir. Stir. You get the idea. Keep adding & stirring until it’s all absorbed. Probably takes about 20-30 minutes. Add in black beans, red pepper, carrots, and seasonings. Remove from pan and set aside. Add sliced mango to pan and heat gently. Place on top of rice. Garnish with coconut flakes and a dash of lime juice. Eat. Enjoy. Say yum.
(Add chicken or tofu for extra oomph. Or whatever other veggies you like.)
(The husband said I had to take a picture of his because I had to “show all variations” hahaa. He also says I should make this again tomorrow.)
I was extremely pleased with the results…this was SO good, and a great change from the usual flavors we have. It takes while to make, but the time invested definitely pays off. The slow cooking and stirring makes it super creamy- if I didn’t know better I would swear this had cheese in it. I’m definitely making this one again (but not tomorrow hubby, sorry haha)
Come back tomorrow morning for Did You Know Tuesday!!! Can’t wait to hear what you have to say about this one…
