Today’s recipe is for days you want to add some protein, but stay light on calories. You will need:

2 Scallions
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
2 Cups of Spinach (frozen or regular makes no difference)
¼ Cup of Brown Rice
Shake of Vegeta
Shake of Paprika
Shake of Black Pepper
1 Cup of Milk

Optional

1 Egg
½ cup of yogurt

I learned this recipe from my mom when I was a kid. She use to tell me that this was Popeye’s spinach. Like the one that he would squeeze out of the can in the cartoons, to help him grow big strong muscles. And I believed her and ate it all, believing it will help me grow big.

Years later, knowing all the ingredients I can see how my mom was actually right. So if you do want to grow some muscles here is what you need to do.

 

First you chop the two Scallions and put them in the hot small metal dish with the olive oil. Sauté it for a minute and add the two cups of spinach and keep on stirring. After the spinach has soften add the rice and the spices: Vegeta, Paprika and Black Pepper.

Stir for another minute and add the cup of milk. Place the pot on the bottom of the oven and bake on 400 F for 35 -40 minutes.

 

Here comes option one. My mom loves to take the meal out of the oven 5 minutes before it’s ready and crack an egg on the top. Put it back in the oven for another 5 minutes to finish cooking. This way you can add some protein to the meal. I never liked the egg on top, but chose for the second option.

After the milk has evaporated, the meal has been cooked, take it out and let it cool off for a minute or so. I serve it with adding half a cup of yogurt on it. That was my protein. Stir it and the mix of cold yogurt and hot meal will get you to warm temperature. Enjoy.