Cinnamon & Vanilla Rice Pudding

 It's St.Patrick's Day. I have nothing green or Irish for you. However, I do have rice pudding. Wait...rice pudding on a nutrition blog? Yes, ma'am! I was driven to make this recipe due to a particularly aggressive pregnancy-induced craving. I gave in. But I did make a few changes to make it a bit healthier, yet still crave worthy.

Although this is not something I make often because it's fairly high in calories, it does include healthy ingredients like milk (high in calcium, vitamin D and protein), vanilla and cinnamon (hello antioxidants) and rice (low in fat). On the other hand, keeping your portion small is also important because the sugar and rice provide a substantial amount of carbohydrates and calories. I ate 1/2 cup for one serving and froze what my family didn't eat. 

A week later I took it out of the freezer, let it defrost in the refrigerator for a few days and was pleased to find it held up. After a quick nuke in the microwave for about 30 seconds, I would have never been able to tell it was frozen. I love how the freezer helps me avoid throwing out food. Just love it.

Anyway, back to business. Here is the recipe I used and adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook via Joy the Baker.

Ingredients: 

• 2 Cups Water
• 1 Cup Long Grain Rice
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 4 Cups of Low-Fat Milk
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

Preparation:

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add rice and salt. Allow to return to a boil, then set the heat to low and simmer, covered until water is absorbed. Once rice is cooked, set aside and rinse pan.

Next, add milk, sugar and vanilla to pan and bring to a low boil, stirring often to prevent the milk from burning. Add rice to hot milk mixture and continue stirring often until the mixture is creamy (about 15 to 20 minutes)