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 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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
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!
Fitmas Gifts for Swimmers
Roxanne
I honestly had no idea so much went into rice,production! Great information!
Di Hickman
Me either, Real eye opener
Meagan
Yum! I’ll have to give lotus foods a try now 🙂
Di Hickman
Definitely do! fair trade all the way!
Susannah
Wow! This is fascinating information!!! I think it’s vital to know where our food comes from!
Di Hickman
Yup I had no idea that Rice was mostly a female farmer thing!
Diedre
I had no idea that so many women labored for so long for rice. Good read.
Di Hickman
I know surprised me too!
CourtneyLynne
Oooo everything looks beyond delicious!!! I’m always a fan of anything veggie!!
Eileen
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.
Di Hickman
Yes something about soup when you’re sick huh? I loved that they are fair trade too!
Deb
Our holidays were very stressful unfortunately. I did cook side dishes ahead to ease the prep.
Di Hickman
I wish I’d been a little more prepared!
Rose Sahetapy
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!
Di Hickman
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.
Heather
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!
Di Hickman
me too! Living in California I’m very conscious of the water shortage!
Kids Are A Trip
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!
Di Hickman
Yes! I meal plan but sometimes life gets in the way.
Hannah
This seems like a great option for sure. Looks super yummy!
Di Hickman
Tasted yummy too!
Kelly B.
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!
Di Hickman
The noodles were gluten free also!
Kaylene
Happy Birthday! Also, this all looks absolutely delicious. I’ve never tried lotus foods before, but you have me sold!
Di Hickman
Great! The heat and serve rice bowl was a life saver over the holidays!
Natalia
Those photos look delicious! I definitely want to try.
Di Hickman
Thanks! They were delicious!
Ana De Jesus
I have never tried Lotus foods before but they look heavenly. Are Lotus foods available in the UK?
Di Hickman
not sure if they are in stores, but they do ship to the UK.
Jessica {Swanky Recipes}
This sounds totally delish! We are trying to incorporate more fresh veggies into our diet and this sounds great
Di Hickman
I add extra veggies to everything! lol!
blythea (Prime Beauty Blog)
I haven’t tried Lotus Foods before, but now I’m curious. I love adding brown rice or noodles to my stir fry,
Di Hickman
Oh yeah! Stir fry veggies with noodles rocks!
Beth@FrugalFroggie
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.
Di Hickman
Always seems like a crazy busy time of year for everyone!
Heather lawrence
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!
Di Hickman
Help is always good!
CLAIRE
I hope you had a great birthday 🙂 Lotus products sound great for busy families x
Di Hickman
I had a great birthday thanks! We went to Disneyland for the day 🙂
Robin Rue (@massholemommy)
This is awesome to know. I am always looking for ways to save some time. Especially this time of the year.
Di Hickman
Definitely helps this time of year!