The best way to maintain your health everyday is through diet. Congee is a great way to start your morning on your journey to health and wellness. Congee is a Chinese breakfast food. It’s a thin porridge made of simple ingredients, rice and water. This rice soup strengthens the spleen-pancreas. It’s easily digested and assimilated, tonifies the blood and the energy, harmonizes the digestion and is demulcent, cooling and nourishing.

Ingredients:

By starting the congee and preparing the condiments the night before, you can easily fit this breakfast into a “Rise and Run” lifestyle.

• 1 ¼ cups short-grain brown rice or white rice, rinsed well and drained

Other recommended sweet condiments:

• Maple syrup or honey
• Milk, soy milk, rice milk or yogurt (with live acidophilus)
• Ground cinnamon
• Raisins, cranberries or other dried fruits
• Walnuts, pecans or other nuts, toasted
• Wheat germ, toasted
• Coconut, toasted
• Sesame or sunflower seeds, toasted

The night before you plan to serve the congee, bring 6 cups water to boil in a medium saucepan. Add rice, return to a rolling boil, cover, and remove from the heat. Let stand covered at room temperature overnight.Alternatively, to cook the congee the same day, bring 6 cups water to boil and add the rice. Reduce the heat to a very low, cover, and simmer for about 1 ½ hours, stirring a few times during the final ½ hour.

In the morning, place the covered pot over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally. If the mixture seems dry, add a small amount of hot water. – just enough to give it a slightly soupy consistency. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the congee is creamy, adding hot water a little at a time, if necessary. When the rice has reached the desired consistency and is heated through, serve with a selection of the condiments.