{Not Your Traditional} Rice Pudding

By: Jayda Siggers

The holiday preparations are in full swing in our house, as I assume they are in many houses. We are still trying to establish our own family traditions, now that we no longer travel for the holidays. Since nutrition is a big part of my life, I will share our new family food tradition. This year I wanted to find a special, delicious, yet nutritious breakfast for our family to enjoy that didn’t involve us hovering over the stove all morning.

My husband and I were fortunate to have lived in Copenhagen, Denmark for five years. We have adopted many of our family’s traditions from our time in Denmark. Traditionally, the Danes prepare a rice pudding (ris a la mande) for dessert after Christmas dinner. This is similar to the North American rice pudding, yet different. Traditional Danish rice pudding includes rice, cream, sugar and slivered almonds served with a hot cherry sauce.

Our first Christmas in Denmark was spent with a colleague (now a dear friend) and his family. Danes celebrate on the eve of Christmas. After a large feast everyone was bubbling with excitement as the rice pudding was served. We didn’t understand why there was so much buzz. Remember, the children must wait all day then sit through dinner, drinks and dessert before opening presents. (This breeds patience.) All that buzz was about the whole, blanched almond hidden in the rice pudding. Who ever finds the almond wins a prize!

Instead of dessert we are planning on serving a Danish inspired rice pudding for Christmas morning breakfast. Of course, I changed a few ingredients to include whole grain rice and added some protein in the form of beans (trust me) to slow the breakdown of the carbohydrates to glucose.

Not Your Traditional Rice Pudding

——————————————————————————–

Recipe By: Jayda Siggers

Serving Size: 1 cup

Yield: 8 cups

Ingredients:

1 cup short grain brown rice

6 cups vanilla coconut milk

½ cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

10 cardamon pods

½- 1 cup adzuki beans (or mung or black beans), cooked

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a rice cooker or slow cooker. Cook on low for 4-6 hours in the slow cooker, or follow the instructions for the rice cooker.

*Experiment with the ratios of spices to meet the tastes of your family.

——————————————————————————–

Traditionally, the one who finds the whole almond wins a marzipan pig. In Scandinavia and Germany the pig is a symbol of good luck and fortune. It is believed to have originated with farm families, who counted themselves lucky if they had a pig, which meant they would have meat to survive the winter.

Our ‘almond present’ will be a Christmas tree ornament with the year 2011 stated on it somewhere. I hope I can find a little pig ornament!

What inspires your family’s traditions?

Jayda Siggers, PhD, has a doctorate degree in Clinical Nutrition.
Currently, she is completing her certification in Holistic Health from
the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York. She blogs at
jaydamomphd.wordpress.com. She is also a Nutrition Counsellor at:
eatwholebevital.com