Grilled Salmon & Veggie Rice

We have a version of this dinner about once a week - it's so fresh and light and perfect for summer.  I actually think I could eat it every night!  It doesn't look too kid friendly, but our very picky 4 year old will eat it most of the time - although we are hit and miss with the salmon.  We really think fresh sustainable fish is important to our diets and try to eat it at least twice a week.  We've been getting our fish from Vital Choice - Caleb has done a few projects with them so we have been lucky enough to try a lot of their products.

So, back to the picky eater :)  We find that very small portions of fish work best.  She will eat it most of the time if there is rice or pasta that she can eat with it in the same bite, which is fine by me.  We also have good luck mixing fresh greens and veggies in with our rice.  Below is jasmine (a kid favorite) - it's quick cooking (20 min), but if I have time I will make brown rice (40 min).  Also, for this rice recipe you can make the rice ahead of time or even the night before.

From this meal, Callie ate all of the corn, most of the rice, and the smallest piece of salmon (better than nothing and definite progress for us!).

Veggie Rice

Prepare rice according to directions.  I buy in bulk and use these general rules: 1 cup rice to 1 3/4 cup water.  Meanwhile, saute chopped (finely chopped if serving toddlers) fresh greens, herbs, and vegetables* in olive oil on medium heat - I actually use safflower oil because I can't stand the smell of olive oil, but any kind will do.  Add a bit of sea salt.  They will cook fast, so stir often for about 5 minutes.  Add rice and soy sauce (secret ingredient!) and increase heat to medium-high.  Cook for another few minutes, stirring often.  Serve!

*We make this recipe all the time and use whatever we have on hand... it makes it interesting each time to use different flavors.  For the meal above, we used garlic scapes, zucchini, red onion, chard, beet greens, and parsley.  You wouldn't think a 4 year old would eat these things, but I swear it makes a difference if it's mixed with something she likes!