Raisin Walnut Spiced Rice with Swiss Chard (Gluten Free, Vegan)

I know that most people dread Mondays- as it's the end of the weekend, that time you have off from work to spend your time as you wish. For others, like yours truly- I feel Mondays marks the start of a new week which always brings the potential for something new and exciting. I embrace that.

Something for your Monday sleepy heads- Meatless Monday is a movement or campaign that provides information and recipes you need to start each week with healthy, environmentally friendly meat-free alternatives. Their goal is to help you reduce your meat consumption by 15% in order to improve your personal health and the health of the planet.

Presidents Wilson, Truman and Roosevelt galvanized the nation with voluntary meatless days during both world wars. Meatless Mondays intention is to revitalize this American tradition. They are spearheading a broad-based, grassroots movement that spans all borders and demographic groups. By cutting out meat once a week, we can improve our health, reduce our carbon footprint and lead the world in the race to reduce climate change.

This dish has everything I love in a meal; brown rice with walnuts, which gives it a hearty crunch, while the raisins and ginger tie the whole dish with a tad of sweetness. Of course the Swiss chards soaks up all the flavor adding peaks of  forest green to this robust dish. This rice dish is so filling it can be eaten on its own or as a side dish- thanks to Jan at Domestic Diva Blogspot who presented this recipe to Meatless Monday. 

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 cups brown rice, cooked

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 shallots, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 cup jumbo raisins

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

2 cups Swiss chard, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions

      1      Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and sauté for 3-5 minutes, or until softened. Stir in the ginger and cook for another minute until fragrant.

      2      Stir and combine the raisins and walnuts and cook for 3-5 minutes.  Stir in the Swiss chard and continue cooking for 4-6 minutes, or until wilted.

      3      Stir to combine the cooked rice to the mixture. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook covered for another ten minutes, stirring occasionally.  Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley.