Chinese style rice vermicelli, serves 2

The main reasons that people eat unhealthily are commonly due to the convenience of fast food and unhealthy food. Compare this to the effort required to cook healthily. Here are some tips on how to save time and prepare a healthy meal when you are busy.

Step one:
Invest in a slow cooker. A slow cooker is an important addition to your kitchen. It saves time and allows you to cook stews and soups the day before.

Step two:
Throw away those instant noodles - they aren't good for you! Instant noodles are high in MSG (monosodium glutamate), contain tartarzine (artificial coloring that makes its yellow color) and are made from wheat flour (inflammatory). They do not contain any nutrients that your body requires on a daily basis.

Step three:
Shop smart. Look for bargain deals, for this recipe I purchased a roast chicken at $7 when the deli was about to close. The wings and thighs were consumed for one meal that night and the leftover breast meat and bones were used to make soup stock for this recipe.

Prepare the chicken and veggie stock the day before.

Place in a slow cooker:
5 cups filtered water
1 piece cooked chicken breast, shredded. (or leftover chicken breast from a roast and bones to add to the flavour)
1 carrot, chopped
1 potato, chopped
1 tomato, sliced
1 onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
dash of pepper
1 tablespoon tamari sauce

Slow cook for 6-10 hours.
Remove chicken bones and stir the soup.

Now the fun part - cooking rice vermicelli in 10 mins.

Ingredients:
1 bunch rice vermicelli - rough estimate for 2 people
2 eggs
1 tsp ricebran oil
2 tsps chopped spring onions
pepper and 1 tbsp tamari sauce

In a heated small pan, add rice bran oil.  Beat the eggs in a bowl and add the pepper and tamari sauce. Fry eggs in the pan, 3 mins on each side. Place the cooked eggs on a plate to allow them to cool. Once cool, slice the eggs into thin strips with a knife.

In a separate pot, add the soup stock and bring to boil. Add a bunch of rice vermicelli and make sure it is submerged in the soup. Boil for 10 mins. Scoop the rice vermicelli in 2 separate portions, divide the ingredients evenly. Top with sliced egg and spring onions. Enjoy!