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Less Stress at the Holidays with Lotus Foods

December 23, 2015 //  by Di Hickman//  41 Comments

The Holidays can be a super stressful time, and this week leading up to Christmas is an 11 on a scale of 1-10. My schedule is screwy right now as clients have busy schedules, I had a birthday (I know you’re thinking “Oh Di, happy birthday!” so thanks for the birthday wishes!), and basically we have no routine due to gatherings, parties and events, plus Bob got the horrible flu bug that’s going round. It’s times like this that meals and food prep gets put further down the priorities list and I was glad I remembered I had some products from Lotus Foods to try.

lotus pin

Lotus Foods collaborated with Meatless Monday (yes I know it’s Wednesday – give me a break it’s the holidays) to give some of their bloggers (me) a few free samples for us to write about, and share our thoughts. While I did get the products for free, as always I am completely honest with my reviews. I will admit I thought all rice was the same, aside from organic vs conventional or the different types. I knew the benefits of rice being gluten free, wheat free and whole grain and all that good stuff but the environmental and fair trade aspects of rice never really occurred to me, until now. The system of rice intensification SRI that Lotus Food has put into place not only requires 80-90% less seed, but requires 20-50% less water, and can double-triple the crop yield! Makes it a great environmentally friendly rice option.

lotus foods

Did you know that 50-90% of people laboring for your rice are women? To produce acre of rice women spend 400-500 hours bent over or sitting in flooded rice fields exposed to parasites, leeches and other diseases. The SRI helps with this too as the crops require less tending, so they have more time for family and other activities. Not only is is it good for the planet and workers, but us too as it’s Non GMO and most products are certified organic. You can read more about Lotus Foods and their passion for fair trade farmers, and organic practices on their website.

lotus foods

I received the  Organic Brown Mekong Flower Rice, Wakame & Brown Rice Ramen and Organic Volcano Rice Heat & Eat Bowl from Lotus Foods. While the Brown Mekong Flower Rice I used pretty much immediately I was left thinking “well heck I don’t really do anything ‘instant’ I’ll never use the noodles and instant rice”… yeah famous last words… because then came the holidays!

lotus foods

I’m all about living a life with less stress and worry heading into 2016 so when things got crazy leading up the this holiday week I sat and asked myself: how I could make things easier? By not cooking so much! So one lunch, I decided to cook the noodles, and they were done in under 5 minutes, added some steamed veggies and VOILA a big bowl of noodle soup was born.

lotus foods

Monday is always a especially tough day for me as it’s my busy day and this week was no exception, so when I got home for lunch with just a short time to get food, walk Pixel and get out again, I knew the Lotus Foods Heat & Eat bowl would be getting eaten! In just 90s I had the rice on my plate and devouring it. AWESOME!

lotus foods

Funny how the very things I wouldn’t normally eat (convenience rice/noodles) are the thing that saved my sanity this week. The holidays are stressful enough so taking the headache of food prep off the table really helped, pun intended. I loved that Lotus Food products are vegan, gluten free, wheat free, organic and fair trade. If you’ve never tried the Lotus Foods products, I highly recommend them for a stress free holiday, or any day!

How is your holiday prep going? Stress free I hope!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Roxanne

    December 30, 2015 at 12:38 pm

    I honestly had no idea so much went into rice,production! Great information!

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      December 31, 2015 at 1:24 pm

      Me either, Real eye opener

      Reply
  2. Meagan

    December 28, 2015 at 9:12 am

    Yum! I’ll have to give lotus foods a try now 🙂

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      December 31, 2015 at 1:23 pm

      Definitely do! fair trade all the way!

      Reply
  3. Susannah

    December 27, 2015 at 9:30 pm

    Wow! This is fascinating information!!! I think it’s vital to know where our food comes from!

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      December 31, 2015 at 1:23 pm

      Yup I had no idea that Rice was mostly a female farmer thing!

      Reply
  4. Diedre

    December 27, 2015 at 8:09 pm

    I had no idea that so many women labored for so long for rice. Good read.

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      December 31, 2015 at 1:23 pm

      I know surprised me too!

      Reply
  5. CourtneyLynne

    December 27, 2015 at 7:59 pm

    Oooo everything looks beyond delicious!!! I’m always a fan of anything veggie!!

    Reply
  6. Eileen

    December 26, 2015 at 6:06 pm

    I love this product! I love that they are a fair to woman employer. I have a cold and that soup would be great right about now! I am going to look for this product in my market.

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      December 27, 2015 at 5:28 pm

      Yes something about soup when you’re sick huh? I loved that they are fair trade too!

      Reply
  7. Deb

    December 26, 2015 at 7:31 am

    Our holidays were very stressful unfortunately. I did cook side dishes ahead to ease the prep.

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      December 27, 2015 at 5:27 pm

      I wish I’d been a little more prepared!

      Reply
  8. Rose Sahetapy

    December 26, 2015 at 5:37 am

    In my origin country we always been told by our parents that brown rice beneficial much more than white rice. Another thing though, the juice from cooking the rice sometimes use as drink for a baby as the subtitude of milk. Btw, your recipe look yum!

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      December 27, 2015 at 5:27 pm

      Brown rice is better than white for sure. The juice is basically like rice milk right? Not made rice milk, but sounds about right lol.

      Reply
  9. Heather

    December 26, 2015 at 4:46 am

    I love that this uses less water! That is awesome. I have a serious concern for all things water related, and trying to find ways to conserve water is incredibly important. I will have to check this brand out!

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      December 27, 2015 at 5:26 pm

      me too! Living in California I’m very conscious of the water shortage!

      Reply
  10. Kids Are A Trip

    December 24, 2015 at 8:46 pm

    I’ve never tried Lotus Foods before but these look like some really good meal options. I like anything that can help take away the stress of meal planning!

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      December 27, 2015 at 5:25 pm

      Yes! I meal plan but sometimes life gets in the way.

      Reply
  11. Hannah

    December 24, 2015 at 8:30 pm

    This seems like a great option for sure. Looks super yummy!

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      December 27, 2015 at 5:25 pm

      Tasted yummy too!

      Reply
  12. Kelly B.

    December 24, 2015 at 4:22 pm

    I’m definitely taking notes! I’m gluten free so I’m always on the lookout for new rices and dishes to prepare with it!

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      December 27, 2015 at 5:25 pm

      The noodles were gluten free also!

      Reply
  13. Kaylene

    December 24, 2015 at 7:41 am

    Happy Birthday! Also, this all looks absolutely delicious. I’ve never tried lotus foods before, but you have me sold!

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      December 27, 2015 at 5:24 pm

      Great! The heat and serve rice bowl was a life saver over the holidays!

      Reply
  14. Natalia

    December 24, 2015 at 6:00 am

    Those photos look delicious! I definitely want to try.

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      December 27, 2015 at 5:24 pm

      Thanks! They were delicious!

      Reply
  15. Ana De Jesus

    December 24, 2015 at 2:46 am

    I have never tried Lotus foods before but they look heavenly. Are Lotus foods available in the UK?

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      December 27, 2015 at 5:23 pm

      not sure if they are in stores, but they do ship to the UK.

      Reply
  16. Jessica {Swanky Recipes}

    December 23, 2015 at 9:52 pm

    This sounds totally delish! We are trying to incorporate more fresh veggies into our diet and this sounds great

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      December 27, 2015 at 5:21 pm

      I add extra veggies to everything! lol!

      Reply
  17. blythea (Prime Beauty Blog)

    December 23, 2015 at 4:53 pm

    I haven’t tried Lotus Foods before, but now I’m curious. I love adding brown rice or noodles to my stir fry,

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      December 27, 2015 at 5:20 pm

      Oh yeah! Stir fry veggies with noodles rocks!

      Reply
  18. Beth@FrugalFroggie

    December 23, 2015 at 2:25 pm

    I am getting stressed with all that I need to do in the next few days. I think I have managed my tasks so I can get it done.

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      December 27, 2015 at 5:20 pm

      Always seems like a crazy busy time of year for everyone!

      Reply
  19. Heather lawrence

    December 23, 2015 at 1:21 pm

    So far our holiday plans are going well. We haven’t organized anything super big and our menu is simple and I have recruited lots of help to make sure that I don’t get stressed or over whelmed. Those dishes looks delicious!

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      December 27, 2015 at 5:19 pm

      Help is always good!

      Reply
  20. CLAIRE

    December 23, 2015 at 1:12 pm

    I hope you had a great birthday 🙂 Lotus products sound great for busy families x

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      December 27, 2015 at 5:19 pm

      I had a great birthday thanks! We went to Disneyland for the day 🙂

      Reply
  21. Robin Rue (@massholemommy)

    December 23, 2015 at 12:54 pm

    This is awesome to know. I am always looking for ways to save some time. Especially this time of the year.

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      December 27, 2015 at 5:18 pm

      Definitely helps this time of year!

      Reply

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Hi, I’m Di. A yoga teacher with over 20 years experience in the health and wellness industry. My mission is to give you information so you can be fitter, healthier, stress-free and happier (no, seriously).

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