Collegiette Eats: Sole With Mushroom Rice

Sick of eating cereal and ramen for lunch and dinner? Want to spend less money eating out and finally start cooking for yourself? Put down that frozen pizza, because HC’s Health Editor, Sammie Levin, is here to share her daily eats so you can get ideas for healthy, satisfying meals that are easy enough for any time-strapped collegiette to make. After you read Collegiette Eats, your taste buds, wallet and waistline will thank you.

Breakfast

Yesterday, I had my last midterm exam - Michigan's academic calendar is a little out of whack. Cramming a lot of studying into way too few days meant I had little time to cook and I was starting to feel very run-down by yesterday morning. Those are the perfect conditions to make... a green smoothie! When you need something that's easy to make and quick to eat before rushing to the library, a smoothie is always a good pick. Since I haven't been eating as well as I would have liked to in the past few days, I wanted an extra dose of fruits and vegetables, so I packed them into this refreshing breakfast drink. 

I blended together the following ingredients: 

• 3/4 cup almond milk
• 1 date
• 1/2 stick celery
• 1/2 banana
• 3 strawberries
• 1 1/2 cups spinach
• 1 handful kale 
• 1/4 avocado
• A few ice cubes

Lunch

I grabbed lunch on the go before my exam. I got a salad with spinach, avocado, tomato, garbanzo beans and sliced turkey at a cafe. I got balsamic vinegar and hummus on the side. I haven't had turkey on a salad in a while; I forgot how good it is! 

Dinner

Finally done with midterms, I was ready to cook a real meal after surviving off of frozen food and library cafe snacks for the past few days. I had time to go to the grocery store, so I decided to make a recipe for sole and mushroom rice that my mom sent me, which she found in The Boston Globe. Like other fish, sole is a good source of omega-3s, protein and vitamins B-12 and D. Sole is very light and mild, so if you're not into really fishy flavors, then it can be your gateway fish. The bread crumbs in the recipe give it a nice, crispy crunch (without taking away from the lightness of the fish), so overall this is a great dish for fish lovers and fish skeptics alike. The mushroom rice was also delicious and paired well with the fish. The recipe for the rice as posted below makes four servings, so you'll have enough to either share or save. 

For the sole (and the soul - 'cause wordplay is fun): 

Ingredients

• 1 filet Dover sole 
• Handful Panko bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon olive oil 
• 1/4 lemon 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Sprinkle bread crumbs over sole, drizzle with olive oil and lemon and season with salt and pepper.
3. Bake sole on foil-lined baking sheet for about 12 minutes.
4. Broil for about 2-4 minutes until brown.
5. Top with chopped almonds (optional).

For the rice: 

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups water (for the rice)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup long-grain brown rice 
• 1/2 cup red quinoa
• 1 cup water (for the quinoa)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds mixed mushrooms (shiitake, baby portobello or whatever you like), stemmed, caps thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, bring 2 1/2 cups water for the rice and pinch of salt to boil.
2. Add the rice, lower heat and cover.  Simmer for 40-45 minutes or until the rice is tender.
3. Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium heat, toast the quinoa for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Transfer quinoa to bowl.
5. In another saucepan, bring 1 cup water and pinch of salt to boil and add the quinoa. Lower heat and cover; simmer for 20 minutes or until tender.
6. In the skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add half the mushrooms, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes, or until the mushrooms collapse.  Add the remaining mushrooms and cook, stirring often until they release their liquid and liquid evaporates.
7. Add the mushrooms to the rice with the quinoa.  Stir well.  Taste for seasoning.  Stir in half of the parsley.
8. Transfer to bowl and garnish with remaining parsley.
9. If desired, grate some Parmesan cheese on top! 

This is definitely a more time-consuming recipe than others, but it's totally worth it if you can find the time! So tasty. It would be a great meal to make for a few friends (sole sisters?) on a low-key night.