Recipe: Healthy Vegan Fried Rice

Indulge in a comforting yet nourishing bowl of fried rice with this vitamin, mineral and fibre packed recipe using sweet potato, squash and green beans.

Fried rice has got to be one of the ultimate comfort foods. It's hot, tasty and full of carbs. It makes use of leftover veggies and comes together so quickly. This fried rice recipe comes with feel-good vibes too since it's packed full of wholesome, nourishing veggies.

Brown Basmati rice is used in this recipe for it's distinct light and nutty flavour. It has a low GI and is a great source of fibre. The rice is best prepared the night before and refrigerated overnight. This allows the rice to dry slightly, not to mention it cuts down on the cooking time on stir fry night.

Sweet potato, yellow squash and green beans are packed full of vitamins, minerals and fibre. In particular, sweet potato contains Vitamin A, C, B1, B2, manganese, potassium, niacin, magnesium and more. Yellow squash is a fantastic source of Vitamin A and C, magnesium and niacin. And green beans provide Vitamin B1, A, B6 and E, iron, copper, chromium, magnesium, calcium, potassium, phosphorous, choline, niacin and  Omega-3. That being said, the veggies can be substituted to cater to your preferences and dietary requirements.

I tried coconut aminos from Jimalie as a soy-sauce substitute for the first time in this fried rice and I'm pretty impressed! I had continued to use soy sauce in cooking and with sushi even though I'm allergic to soy because flavour is important to me but now I can have that umami flavour without harming my insides. Life changed!

This recipe is vegan, gluten-free, soy-free and sugar-free which makes it safe to serve to just about anyone. It is delicious, it's nutritious and it can be made in under thirty minutes. It is just an all-round easy yet tasty foolproof dish.

In early January this year I finally visited a Naturopath for the first time to sort out allergy and digestive issues I've experienced for as long as I can remember. I may go into depth about my first experience with natural healing in future posts but long story short, in order to fix the damage done to my insides I was encouraged to start a round of strong probiotics and to stick to an incredibly simple diet for at least one month. The simple diet included easily digestible foods that did not return a positive on my skin prick test at the immunoligists(allergy specialists) or foods I'm known to react to. These foods were brown rice, quinoa, sweet potato, pumpkin, green beans, squash, zucchini, avocado, banana and blueberries. Fruits that are low in FODMAPS could be trialled too. As you can see from the restaurant reviews and recipes on this blog, I am not the kind of person who can eat the same thing over and over again and I can't help but experiment with different ingredients, so when I read the list of foods I could eat for the next month I didn't know how I would survive. I have managed to discover some new favourite recipes though and I am appreciating the simplicity of these recipes, not to mention the improvement in my overall health. It has only been four weeks and I already feel more energetic, lighter, less bloated and my skin has improved! :) This fried rice recipe has been one of my favourite recipes over the last month. It's filling and uses a variety of healing veggies that work well together in taste and texture. It's a recipe I'll happily continue to use when my tummy has fixed itself.

Ok, so that wasn't exactly a short story...lucky I didn't bore you with the long version! 

Let's get to it then, shall we?

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS
- 1kg cooked brown basmati rice (preferably cooked the day before and refrigerated overnight)
- 1 handful green beans (approx. 250g)
- 5 large yellow button squash
- 1 medium sweet potato, peeled
- 4 tablespoons coconut aminos (or other soy sauce substitute)
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Parsley or other fresh herbs to garnish
Optional: Spring onions, lemon or lime wedge to garnish

RECIPE
1. Cut sweet potato and squash into small cubes then top and tail the green beans and cut into approx. 3cm pieces.
2. Heat a frypan or wok over high heat then add sesame oil. 
3. Once oil is hot add sweet potato to the pan. Stir and cook for approx. 5 minutes or until sweet potato is fork tender.
4. Add yellow squash and green beans then cook and stir for another 5 minutes or until all vegetables are al dente.
5. Add rice, coconut aminos (or soy sauce alternative), lime juice and salt then stir until combined and rice is hot.
6. Remove from heat. Serve and garnish with fresh herbs.

Storage Suggestions

Refrigerate in an airtight container for 3-5 days.

What is your ultimate comfort food? Have you tried coconut aminos? Have you ever visited a naturopath?

If you tried this recipe I'd love to hear from you. Use the hashtag #chelseycrafts on Instagram or post in the comments form below.