As with desserts, I’ve always been a firm believer that if you are going to eat carbs, they should be the best darn tasting carbs possible. If you plan to commit your precious carb calories to something, why would you make your sandwich with squishy, 99 cent, white bread when you could pick a far more glorious option? Of course, that does not apply if you actually enjoy squishy, 99 cent, white bread.

Personally, I really enjoy white rice in it’s most basic state. Plain, white rice is typically what I use in my Mexican dishes. Lately, however, I have been seeing more and more variations on rice at Mexican restaurants. One of my favorites being cilantro lime rice.

With only 3 ingredients, I wasn’t planning to make this until I realized I already had everything on hand. Cilantro, limes, and rice = Cilantro Lime Rice.

I used jasmine rice for this dish, but you could use any variety you want.

For 1 cup of rice, I used 2 tbsp. of lime juice, 1 tbsp. of lime zest, and about 2 tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro.

Now for the easy part, cooking. First bring enough water to a boil as described by the rice package’s directions. Most packages recommend the 2:1 water to rice ratio, but I find this usually makes for sticky rice. I usually go with a 3:1 ratio. When your water is boiling, add the rice, stir, reduce to simmer, and cover.

About half way through the cooking time, I add the lime juice, lime zest, and cilantro. This can just be done at the end, especially for folks strongly against removing the lid during the cooking process, but whenever possible I like to cook my cilantro at least a little bit, especially with outbreaks of e coli linked to cilantro.

Once the rice is cooked, fluff it with a fork. Salt it to taste.

Cilantro Lime Rice:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rice
• 2 tbsp. lime juice
• 1 tbsp. lime zest
• 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. According to your package directions, bring water to a boil. (See note above)
2. Add rice to boiling water, stir, reduce to simmer, and cover. Set your timer according to the package directions
3. About half way through the cooking, add the lime juice, zest, and cilantro. (See note above, this step can be done at the end.)
4. Once rice is cooked to liking, add the rest of the ingredients if you have not already done so, and fluff with a fork.