I eat Rice, Beans, & Broccoli about 3-4 days a week

A struggling law student WHO was blessed.

I love my rice cooker! Hopefully you're using brown rice which is healthier than white rice. Or at least alternate between brown and white. Your diet sounds ok but could use more sources of lean protein and some fresh, rather than cooked vegetables.

I hope you are going to a good law school OP. The reality is there are a lot of people out there with a lot of law school debt and not much income to show for it.

R2 better than my friends. One of my friends lives off of ramen, McDonalds, and Wolf Brand Chili.

The broccoli is frozen (Aldi brand is the best for froze broccoli btw- all florets). When it is cold I make lentil soup. I can eat on that for days and days. The rest of my money goes to booze lol jk

R3 I go to a good one. Not "prestigious," but one of the best in my state.

As long as it’s brown rice

I am not trying to diss anybody here, but i just never understand why somebody gets an appliance that really just does one specific thing. I've never owned a rice cooker in my life and I'm 53 and like to cook. I cook rice on the stovetop; I've even cooked it in the microwave and the Instant Pot.

Buy a bottle of multiple vitamins and take one every other day.

what part of law do you plan to practice if you don't mind we ask?

R6 It is easy for me. Plus I have a tray at the top that steams vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower.

Brown rice and vegetables, asshole.

Jf you like cheese, maybe sprinke in some quality shaved or shredded parmesan cheese to give variety.

You don't qualify for food stamps or a food bank?

If you can find Vietnamese shrimp paste, buy it. Then mix it with a bit of lime juice and sugar and garlic to make a dipping for boiled broccoli/cauliflower/brussels sprout or fresh cucumber, and you will never get bored of it.

PS. Some type of rice cookers can be used to boil and fry and steam eggs. Rice cookers are the best way to cook rice.

Take vitamins.

Rice, beans, broccoli... are perfectly healthy food choices, OP is doing just fine, in fact, he is better than many DLers who have nothing but ultra processed "chemical" food in their freezers.

It's good, OP. Now add some salads, fruit, and nuts.

Olive oil and avocado for good fats.

Sounds like lots of flatulence

Yes, very unhealthy. Rice, beans and broccoli are junk food.

I know it is healthy, but is it good to be eating it so many times a week?

OP I’m gonna get trashed for this but you should try a tin of sardines over the rice. I don’t like the ones packed in oil, but they usually have them in tomato, or mustard sauce also. They’re cheap, snd will give you some protein too. Bon apetit and good luck in school

Sounds pretty good, OP. I ate canned beans for many years until I finally figured out how to make beans from dried. (I could never get them to soften up until recently.)

Your diet is a lot better than my college diet.

I had a rice cooker for a long time and it was useful when I ate more rice than I do now.

What's rice?

R18 lol, it might sound "boring" but there is no issue here, as long as you have a balanced diet and you eat other foods besides these 3 staples of yours, ever heard of "go to meal" or "favorite dishes".

Some multi-purpose rice cooker.

R6, I'm guessing you're a very white Caucasian who enjoys Minute Rice.

Sardines are a great idea. ( I like the ones in oil with lemon.)

R6 Have you never met an Asian person in your life?

[quote]Jf you like cheese, maybe sprinke [sic] in some quality shaved or shredded parmesan cheese to give variety.

This is TERRIBLE advice, OP. Don't do this. Dairy isn't healthy and what you're eating is fine as it is.

shredded parmesan cheese sold in bags are processed garbage food!

R19- I get frequents BOUTS of GOUT so I can only eat Sardines once in a while. I ordered a ten pack of canned Mackerel on Amazon. It's packed in olive oil. I had two cans for lunch on Saturday. They were good.

The rice is usually white.

I was thinking about cooking brown rice and cauliflower (love baking it with broccoli).

r24 and r26, you can fuck right off. I've never eaten Minute Rice and actually prefer brown rice. I cook it on the stovetop, it takes about 25 minutes. Bring to a boil, turn down to simmer and cook for another 20 minutes, voila! Rice is done.

And of course I've met an Asian person in my life; it would be hard NOT TO having lived in San Francisco for 3+ years but I did NOT grow up in a very white/Caucasian upbringing. We were surrounded by all cultures, and my parents (who are great cooks and both have cooked many different cuisines since our childhood) had a huge garden and we ate Asian from-scratch food ALL THE TIME because we were poor and we had to eat a lot of plant-based foods which we grew.

Might try not to assume too much....you know they say it makes an ASS OUT OF U (but not me).

R8 I just saw your comment. Sorry! I have a few different interests. I know a tax litigator, a regular litigator, a corporate attorney, and an employment attorney. I think I would enjoy any one of their work.

Litigation usually translates to personal injury, which is not my first choice. I would prefer to be a corporate litigator, but understand the challenges (I want to be James Mason in The Verdict to be honest. So classy, but also in reality the face of evil).

Which means I will probably end up being a divorce lawyer.

Maybe you could substitute barley, bulgur, or farro for rice sometimes. They’re all quite healthy.

I love barley, bulgur/buckwheat, wheat berries, couscous as subs for rice. It's nice to mix it up sometimes.

Eggs, lotsa eggs. You need at least 5 eggs a day if you don't eat meat or drink milk.

R33 That is fancy.

R35 I cook eggs most mornings (if I have time). My boyfriend makes this weird ass breakfast of milk, eggs, and oatmeal. It's good, but weird.

OP - I agree that you should try making brown rice as well (or instead). Beans and rice make a complete protein, and much of the nutrition is in the brown part!

It’s so easy, when you’re overloaded with school/work to fall into the habit of making the same familiar thing day after day, as it’s one less thing to occupy your mind, and it won’t kill you in the short term. You’re already way ahead of people surviving on plain ramen and fast-food hamburgers (I knew a guy who ate nothing but canned chili for a year. He *did* get scurvy, but he got better… but then he died - later); however, perhaps dip some extra-firm tofu in soy/teriyaki then dredge it in nutritional yeast and bake/fry it (or roast some breaded cauliflower bits). Maybe cook some gai lan with/instead of the broccoli. Add a simple salad and have fruit and nuts on hand as well if you’re into snacks. It’s easy, and you’ll be less likely to need a multivitamin! :)

(Note: I only mentioned vegan options, but you do you - and I LOVE my rice cooker/steamer!)

slightly off topic, do you or law students in general watch legal dramas like "The good wife", "The practice" "Boston legal"...and sometimes had a laugh "that's not true!"?

My friend said apples and black coffee got her through law school.

she lied to you

R38 I have no idea. I do not have time for television when I have to read 50-100 pages per class each week. I care about my grades and career prospects, so I hope they do.

Law school is a lot like the show Survivor. Trust no one and hope you aren't the target of your classmates. Some will ruin lives just for fun/to get ahead. It is sick.

And for the record, I never said OP shouldn't (or anyone else for that matter) have a rice cooker/steamer. I simply don't have the kitchen space for all those appliances and I've been cooking since I was 10. I've always made rice via saucepan/stovetop (I did try it in the Instant Pot and it was just too messy). And I don't even have an Air Fryer or blender. I do live in a studio.

If you can find some time away from opening those cans of beans, take a grammar course, Corporate Lawyer. Also, stop drinking

Sardines come in a can not a tin. What are you a Brit?

Umm, OP. Law school is not all THAT bad. I worked full time at a law firm and went to law school at night. Admittedly, I didn’t have much time to cook - I went to lunch with my fellow employees. But, anyway, I kept up with the reading, recitation, and other issues, I also was on my law school’s advocacy/mock trial team. And I graduated first in my class.

So good luck. Best wishes to you. But please don’t whine. 🙂

r44: you're actually incorrect:

"A can is cylindrical.

A tin is usually rectangular, lower than it is wide (rather flat), and almost exclusively used for containing preserved fish, e.g. "a tin of sardines" and "a tin of kippered herring".

What's the difference between a can and a tin? - English ...

R45 no, law school is not all that bad. I work part time and go to school full time. I have no problem with the assignments. It is the other students who I do not fully trust.

Students will give other students wrong information on purpose to try and rank them. One girl filed false sexual harassment claims on a student. He was innocent (and in the top of our class).

[quote] "Brown rice and vegetables, asshole."

But Cristal @R10... does OP LIKE brown rice and vegetables?

[quote] "Brown rice and vegetables, asshole."

But Cristal @R10... does OP LIKE brown rice and vegetables?

R45 already went to work full time then back to study law at night, his law school experience obviously would be different from you, I assume you are a full time law student surrounded by other full time law students.

And what difference does that make, R50?

R51 A lot! I can't speak for R45 but for people who study law or a second degree in the evening school, they already know what they want and what they need to advance their career, they are very focused, they don't really hang out with other students (they have a full time job during the day!), I hate to say this but only full time college students or in this case law school students have time to sabotage each other.

[Quote]and go out once/twice a week.

There's a saving right there. You're obviously not skint.

I have used a rice cooker to cook when on vacation in hotel rooms and didn't want to eat out 3 meals a day. You can even buy frozen fish sealed in plastic (a lot of salmon, cod and other fish come that way, in individually wrapped portions). You can cook the fish "sous vide" - meaning, you simply boil water in the rice cooker, slip the plastic portion in, cover and reduce to simmer for about 10 minutes. You'll come out with poached fish, essentially, which you can season any way you want when you fish it out and open the package with a scissors. . Yes to all the variety grains - bulger, buckwheat, millet, quinoa, etc.. They will vary your diet with different amounts of micronutrients, and cook just the same way as rice. If you're vegetarian, vary your legumes - they all have slightly different nutritional profiles - black beans, white beans, garbanzo beans, black-eyed peas, lentils, dried peas, soybeans, kidney beans. Vegetables too. If you are buying frozen vegetables, then substitute cauliflower for broccoli periodically, or buy Normandy mix vegetables (cauliflower, carrots and broccoli). Brussels sprouts too, if you like them. Plain old-fashioned frozen mixed vegetables (like peas, carrots, corn and green beans) are not as rich in nutrients as members of the cole family, but they are fine for a change of pace. Your mix sounds fine, but pretty damn boring. When you grow up (graduate from law school) you might find that you can never even look at broccoli, rice, or beans ever again without gagging.

r54 I don't like fish (poached or otherwise, although i do like most sushi). Can you sous vide other meats in the rice cooker or have you tried?

Yes, any kind of meat that is seal-wrapped (shrink wrapped). However, most stores don't typically sell non-fish items that way. People who are into sous vide buy their own shrink wrap device. Looking on amazon, I see many kinds of freezer wrap machines on sale for anywhere from $35 to $75. I think what you'd do is buy a package of meat at the store, take it out of the packaging it comes in, season it if you like, freezer wrap individual portions in the machine and put it into the freezer to pluck out when you want one of your quick rice cooker meals.

thanks for the response menluvinguy. it's just me at home so it might be a bit too much for me.

Here's an instruction site - you can look at it to decide if it looks like too much trouble. Most importantly, all you need is a source of boiling water, and the meat sealed some way into a bag, and then immerse. This site is trying to sell you various devices, but you don't really need them.

whoops, here's the link

Which part of your "limited menu saga" did you suspect would be engaging to us, OP?

I want to make sure I don't miss it.

Sounds wonderful! Add some butter to the rice to get some fat.

r54, you cooked fish in a hotel room?

So many insisting you eat brown rice, but what do three billion people in Asia eat every day of their lives?

White rice.

I didn't cook fish in a hotel room. I'm only saying that I learned that you CAN cook fish in a rice cooker and I have done that on occasion, such as when a flood destroyed my kitchen and I it had to be gutted and rebuilt, so I was cooking in another room with whatever appliances could be plugged in.

A lot of Asians have nutritional deficiencies related to eating white rice. Beriberi is the most well-known, but I'm linking an article outlining other nutritional deficiencies found in white-rice eating cultures.

I like the flavor of brown rice better...it's nutty. However, when it comes to some Indian food, I'd choose jasmine/basmati or brown basmati.

Brown rice is much better for you

There is no clear evidence that shows that brown rice is healthier than white rice. Whole countries all eat predominantly white rice and they are much healthier than the US population. You're doing fine, OP! You should check out a Korean or Chinese store for a little variety. A few drops of Sesame oil might vary the taste on top of being healthy.

Roger Ebert yes him wrote a cookbook of only dishes that were made in a rice cooker.

Well you're certainly getting plenty of your daily fiber requirements with at those beans and broccoli. You'll probably want to take a daily multivitamin to supplement, but other than that, there's nothing unhealthy about such a diet.

I had beans once.

This seems to be quite a limited diet - are you doing this because you're poor?

R71, from the OP:

[quote]I'm a struggling law student

Try Japanese sushi rice for a change of pace.

At least you have made better choices, OP. It may not seem like much, but I think it's a pretty nutritious. It may get boring after a while, but you do what you have to do. Rice and beans make a complete protein...with additional vegetables.

beans AND broccoli??

R44 You seem "special."

Ignore the bitches reaching for something to complain about, r6. I make rice on the stove all the time and my partner is half Japanese, we've never felt the need to buy a rice cooker. His family never had one.

I know Uncle Roger is always saying "don't use a pot on the stove, this isn't World War 2, use technology" but honestly it's so easy to make on the stove that I don't see any reason to waste counter space on another appliance.

Doesn’t a rice cooker produce better rice?

Attorney here. Try to find a wholesale butcher. Get some deep discounts on steak and chicken thighs. It’s how I got through law school!

I don't have a rice cooker, but always wanted to try the tomato cooked with rice recipe. There is plenty of recipes on YT, this one even add plenty of stuff.

I would add a few yogurts per week in you diet, just to keep the good bacterias in your guts is good shape, help to digest... or you have to adopt kimchi as a regular condiment.

New Orleans here. My elderly Italian mother (87) and her six siblings, all late 80s into their 90s, and in decent good health, were raised on white rice with gumbo, red beans, jambalaya, etc. It's a lifelong thing. I've never been at a family event and heard someone say, "Pass the brown rice", Not ever. Raised on lots of bean dishes, seafood, seasonings, fresh fruit, veggies, Variety the spice of life. OP is doing fine for now while in school. Didn't our dearly departed Betty White eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich most everyday, and nothing green? Case closed.

I feel sorry for the people who sit around you in class.

Christ, OP. Rice, broccoli AND beans? You must be farting like a moose.

Beans, beans are good for your heart, the more you eat, the more you fart, the more you fart, the better you feel, so eat your beans at every meal. I keep thinking of the Blazing Saddles camp fire scene... Beans are very good for you, I eat them with variety at least 5 times a week, and with white rice stove top cooked to perfection. :-)

Beans, beans, the musical fruit....the more you eat, the more you toot.

I have a simple rice cooker (just an on/off switch) and it’s much better than cooking on a stove top just because I can set it and forget it. No having to hover in the kitchen checking to see if the water is boiling. Also, with an electric burner, it takes too long to cool down to a simmer. My favorite easy recipe is 1 cup rice, 1 cup water and 2 chicken thighs laid on top with some herbs/spices/oil.

R27, that is TERRIBLE advice. Where is OP getting calcium? Broccoli isn’t enough. If he isn’t supplementing, he should add fat free dairy or vegan sources such as kale.

Rice is too high in ARSENIC to eat regularly. Do orzo pasta or couscous or other whole grains.

Yes ! You need to add meat to your diet, or eggs.

R88 tonight I might have time, so I will bake flounder and have green beans and mashed potatoes with it.

Honestly, I would rather be a DJ at a classical/opera radio station. lol

We had a simple rice cooker growing up. Sometimes my mom would make extra white rice and used what was left over from dinner to make fried rice for lunch the next day. For some reason the fried rice always turned out better after the white rice had sat out for half a day (and fortunately we never got food poisoning!)

[quote] Rice is too high in ARSENIC to eat regularly.

R87 Really? Last time I checked, East Asians eat rice every day and night, and they have been eating it for thousands of years.

I've known about the high arsenic levels in rice and wondered why rice-eating cultures aren't being poisoned too. But now that I know it's hard to forget so I cut my rice consumption way down and never eat products like rice milk or those "health foods" saturated with brown rice syrup.

Op you should probably not eat rice every day.

Brown rice has even higher arsenic levels than white, up to 80% higher.

I buy white and brown basamati from India, Pakistan and California have the least amount of arsenic. All types of rice grown in California have the lowest levels of arsenic. Rice from other parts of the U.S. (Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas) are the highest (except for quick-cooking). Apparently parboiled rice like Uncle Ben's Converted brand has more nutrients and less inorganic arsenic (the really toxic arsenic) than other cooking methods.

One thought about rice-eating cultures--many of them parboil their rice in large amounts of water and toss the excess water, thus reducing the arsenic levels.

Rice eating cultures also mandate the washing of rice before cooking.

R86 also work with left over from KFC...

Buy a whole roasted chicken at the supermarket...get at least two meals out of it. For me, it's good for three dinners....with a salad or vegetable. Then, with the bones, you can make stock out of it to use when cooking the rice....or to make a soup. Soup is another cheap and easy meal...and nutritious.

R97 soup can have a lot of sodium.

Most of my lunches are a banana or apple with peanut butter (Smuckers All Natural) and crackers (regular saltines).

You can make your own soup and control the salt.

Your nutrition sounds good and hearty but this —

[quote] Litigation usually translates to personal injury

makes me worry about the quality of your legal education.

R100 most litigation cases are personal injury.

Maybe you’re right in terms of volume due to small local claims or something, but that is absolutely not true of firm or government litigation.

It's funny how the only time fruit is mentioned in this thread is in a rhyme about flatulence.

R81 Memphis, TN here by way of Barranquilla, Colombia. I'm a mere Amtrak ride away from your glorious city and I'd hang out with your elders if given the opportunity. Do they play booray?

OP I eat white rice all the dayum time. The entire continent of South America does as well. We send our love. Eat more fruit please and start a vitamin and supplement regime, your University might have a student health clinic and they can help you. Lastly, maybe mix things up a bit so you don't burn yourself out, perhaps incorporate salads to mix things up.

Today I am making brown rice and black eyed peas.

peas and rice, it's so nice

Today is a bean day for sure. I’ve got snow outside and navy beans on my stove with onions, garlic, white wine, lemon, thyme, chili peppers.

I eat Wendy's or McD's or KFC just about every day. My diet is awful and I'm clinically obese. No one wants to fuck me or even be friends, and I've come to accept that. And as they say, you don't have to look your best to masturbate. The gay world can be very unforgiving when it comes to body flaws. Fuck 'em.

I have a ham bone, I think beans and rice would be nice

Hey R108 you aren’t just what you eat or what you look like. I like rich foods as well and have really bad habits about junk food at times. But I find that even spending a couple days eating food I make at home instead of takeout fries or chips (my weakness) improves my mood 1000% and makes me feel better about life. Even if it’s just cheese on toast, or some fruit thrown in after a pasta dinner. Give it a try.

R1 Ur wrong, low IQ and and educated……

When I was a starving student, I'd get bulk polenta for $0.5 a pound, and a filling bowl of polenta topped with marinara sauce would cost less than a dollar. In the winter I'd make pots of salmon chowder, which were milk potatoes, and an onion with a cheap little can of low-grade salmon thrown in, which was cheaper than canned soup, or I'd get little fresh-baked baugettes from the Vietnamese bahn mi place for a dollar and eat them with soup or have a cheese sandwich.

Your go-to meal is healthier, OP. Polenta isn't good for you, even if it's as cheap as food can be.

[R100] most litigation cases are personal injury.

Really?

Booray, r104? My family stopped playing once my grandmother died. I'd love a good game.

If I really wanted to food hack a buck to stretch it the farthest, my local mom & pop produce market has big bags of mixed fruits and vegetables that are still fine, but on their last day for $1 each. If you're not fussy you can buy a few and make a huge tray of roasted vegetables, or use for a stir fry and get multiple meals, just cook them today. Make a mixed fruit salad with the fruit, or a banana bread, as they're always in the bag.

The lie that eating fresh produce is "very expensive" needs to stop. Poor people know how to cook and eating fast food junk is just a lazy habit, nothing more.