Herby rice salad

This rice-based recipe is full of vitamins that can help boost your immune system. It only takes 15 minutes to prepare and is the perfect vegetarian recipe for lunches or for a quick dinner.

Nutritional highlights

Using wholegrain rice, instead of white rice, means we’re consuming a slow-acting carbohydrate, so energy is released slowly and steadily into the bloodstream once you have eaten it; helping us to feel fuller for longer.

The green vegetables and herbs are also full of vitamins that help convert food into energy. The spinach for example contains iron, vitamin c, folate and calcium.

Vitamin C - helps protect cells, maintain healthy skin, blood vessels, bones and cartilage.

Iron - required by the body to create the part of the red blood cell that carries the oxygen around the body.

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Ingredients

Makes 2 servings

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

• 160g wholegrain rice
• 100g green beans, trimmed
• 4 spears of tenderstem broccoli
• 50g spinach leaves, washed and stalks removed
• 50g frozen peas
• Half a cucumber, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 6 cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
• 10 torn fresh basil leaves
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaved parsley
• 1 avocado, stone removed, flesh chopped
• 4 spring onions, finely chopped
• Juice of 1 lime
• Drizzle of olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper

Method

Boil the rice in a large pan of water according to the packet instructions. Drain and wash through with lots of running cold water to cool it down quickly.

Steam or boil the green beans, broccoli, spinach and peas for just for a couple of minutes until they're slightly cooked but still crunchy.

Run under cold water and set aside.

Place the cucumber, tomatoes, avocado and herbs in a large serving bowl.

Cut the green beans in half and the broccoli into small bite-sized pieces and add to the bowl, along with the rice.

Squeeze over the lime juice, drizzle with the oil, season with pepper and toss together.