Recipe to beat high blood pressure: wild rice with walnuts

Wild rice is tastier and healthier than white rice, and adding walnuts gives this recipe an extra health boost. Tackle high blood pressure in a delicious and easy way.

Wild rice has a nutlike flavour and pairing it with a healthy choice like walnuts makes for a great combination. Your prep time will take about 15 minutes, while cooking time will be just under an hour and a half. Once you're finished, you should be able to serve 4. Just make sure to read the recipe from start to finish before beginning.

Ingredients

• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 celery stalks, cut into 1-cm pieces
• 1 carrot, quartered lengthwise and sliced thinly crosswise
• 1 cup wild rice
• 1 and 1/2 cups carrot juice
• 1 and 1/2 cups water
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp white or black pepper
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries or raisins

Instructions

• Heat oil in medium nonstick pot over low heat.
• Add the onion and garlic to the pot and cook until the onion's tender, stirring frequently. This should take about seven minutes.
• Add the celery and carrot to the pot and cook until the carrot is tender, stirring frequently. This should only take about five minutes.
• Stir in the wild rice.
• Add the carrot juice, water, salt, pepper and thyme to the pot and bring the liquid to a boil.
• Once it's come to a boil, reduce the heat to let it simmer.
• Cover the pot and cook until the wild rice is tender. This will take about an hour, but check back regularly to see how much liquid the rice has absorbed and if it's starting to look a bit fluffy.
• While the rice is cooking, toast the walnuts in a small skillet over low heat. Make sure to turn them frequently so they don't burn, as this step only takes about five minutes. You'll know when the walnuts are done when they're crispy and fragrant.
• Stir the walnuts and cranberries or raisins into the wild rice just before you serve the dish.

It may seem a bit odd to use carrot juice instead of water or broth to cook the wild rice in, but you'll get a big boost of flavour and colour with the dish. As well, carrot is high in beta-carotene, which is a super healthy antioxidant that can make you feel better and healthier overall.