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Hi, I’m Helen. I spent more than ten years trying to get a diagnosis before I was told in 2020 that I have panhypopituitarism, and I also live with dysautonomia and chronic fatigue. I’m a mother and partner who still has to feed a family on days my body won’t cooperate, so everything I share here is something I’ve worked out and use myself.
Butter rice is a complete meal on a hard day, and I won’t hear otherwise. It’s the base of my five-minute meals, and the only rule I follow is that the worse I feel, the less I do.
- Spoon level to make: Low. The rice is already cooked.
- Makes: 1 portion
- Equipment: Microwave, and an air fryer or frying pan if I’m adding sausage or egg
What I use
- 1 portion of cooked rice, from the fridge or the freezer
- Half a teaspoon of butter
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- On a good day: an egg, a sausage cut up (I like the ones with cheese in them), and some frozen peas and corn
How it changes with how I feel
My very worst days
rice and butter. That’s it, and that counts as feeding myself.
When I’m feeling sick and faint
I won’t fry anything. I add the soy sauce, and I may manage a sausage in the air fryer for five minutes at 180°C.
On a good day
I fry an egg and a cut-up sausage and put them on top. Sometimes I add some frozen peas and corn while I’m heating the rice.
The base is always the same. The effort scales up or down with the energy I have.
How I make it
- Put a portion of rice in a bowl. If I’m adding frozen peas and corn, they go on top of the rice.
- Microwave until it’s piping hot all the way through.
- While it heats, I fry the egg and the cut-up sausage if I have the energy, or air fry the sausage for five minutes at 180°C.
- Stir the butter and soy sauce through the hot rice.
- Add the egg and sausage on top and eat it wherever I can sit down.
Why I always add soy sauce
I always try to add soy sauce because it’s very salty, and I need the salt when I feel rubbish. That’s about how I manage my own body, not a recommendation. Please talk to your own doctor about what’s right for you.
How I cook and store the rice
I cook my rice with coconut oil. It tastes more like popcorn that way. Then I cool it, keep some in the fridge for the next day and portion the rest out and freeze it.
I usually freeze it in Ziploc bags, but my Souper Cubes have excellent portion sizes, so a single portion is ready to warm up when I need it.
Cooked rice can make you seriously ill if it’s stored or reheated badly, so I cool it quickly, never leave it out at room temperature for more than an hour, and only reheat it once until it’s piping hot. When in doubt, I freeze it. I explain my whole freezer system in my dump bag post.
Notes
- Allergens: contains dairy (butter), soy, and egg if I add it. Check your sausage labels, as ingredients vary.
- If I don’t have the energy to cook anything else, rice and butter on its own is enough.
I’m sharing what works for me, not medical advice. Please read the Disclaimer and the Affiliate Disclosure. My protein waffle recipe is my other go-to for hard days.
Hi, I’m Helen. I live with chronic illness and chronic fatigue, and I share the systems that help me get through the hard days. Read my story.