Day 10 - I'm In Love With A Kitchen Appliance!

One of the drudgeries of eating more whole grains and legumes is cooking more whole grains and legumes.  Dried grains and beans take time to cook and if you don't pay close attention, you can end up with a mushy mess and another hour or two of cooking before you can eat.

I've discovered that you can cook grains in a rice cooker  I'm sure this isn't news to any smart vegan, but it certainly was a revelation to me.  The convenience of dumping wheat berries or brown rice into my little Aroma rice cooker, flipping it on and walking away has made eating whole grains so much easier.  Of course, I haven't tried to cook beans or lentils in the rice cooker, but I suspect it should be able to handle the task without much problem.

How cute is that?  I bought it at WalMart for under twenty dollars and it is worth every penny.  So far, it has  cooked brown rice, wheat berries and wild rice to perfection.  The teflon insert comes out and is easy to clean with a little warm water.  If you'd like to add more whole grains to your diet, I'd recommend buying a rice cooker.    

ETA:  I just cooked garbanzo beans in my rice cooker.  So now, it officially does everything I need it to do! Here's a link to the Whole Grain Council with info on cooking grains in a rice cooker.