Now, cover the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer 6-7 minutes. The veggies should be tender when finished. Remove from heat and serve over the rice. Garnish with a sprinkle of almonds.

Vegetable Juice

(All recipes adapted from Pat Crocker and Susan Eagles' book, The Juicing Bible)

If you own a juicer, you will never have a problem clearing out your crisper. You can juice almost anything. Initially you might think, "Gross, who wants to drink celery juice?" Celery juice alone is not a tasty drink but if you mix it with the juice from a few other veggies and fruits then you can improve the flavor immensely.

Generally, when fruit juice is added to vegetable juice, the fruit juice will override any other flavors. One popular mix is apple-carrot juice. Apple mixed with the high-glycemic carrot yields a very sweet and satisfying drink. Check out the following recipes to see the possibilities available to you.

ABC Juice

• 10 spears of asparagus, washed
• 1 apple, washed and cut into pieces
• 1 stalk of broccoli, washed and cut into pieces
• 2 carrots, scrubbed

In your juicer, process all of the ingredients. Whisk together when finished and drink your vitamins!

Apple Spice Cocktail

• 4 apples, washed and cut into pieces
• 1 carrot, scrubbed
• 1 stalk of celery, washed
• 1-1 in. ginger root
• 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Using your juicer, process the apples, carrot, celery and ginger. When finished, pour into a large carafe and whisk in the cardamom and nutmeg. Pour into glasses and serve at brunch.

Those were only 2 recipes out of many possibilities. Try mixing your own leftover spices, fruits and veggies to see what you come up with. Juicing has many health benefits.