Puffed Rice Snack ( Pori with onions, tomatoes and boiled peanuts)

Are you the type who goes to the doctor regularly or are you the type that visits the doctor only when you have no other choice? I belong to the second category. I grew up in a house with 2 doctors and hence visiting a doctor who is not family feels like a chore. For those of us who fall into the second category there is research on our side. If you are curious here is the link.

Even with insurance where my premium was fully covered by my employer visiting the doctor regularly was never my forte. Now that we are on a high deductible plan as we are both self employed, it makes most sense to visit the doctor only when required. We are also very careful about our healthcare expense asking as many questions as required regarding the various line items that appear on the bill. You'd be surprised if you start paying attention to those details. Nothing like an informed customer.

A small effort to bring down the skyrocketing healthcare costs lies perhaps in being more involved in our own health care expenses. When the insurance company pays for the expenses there is no real need to pay attention to the costs. We are more aware of the various costs involved in a treatment as it comes out of our pockets. HSAs (Health Savings Account) are a good thing for anyone in our situation.

Going to the doctor less means eating right and leading an active life. Now on to the recipe,

I used the puffed rice bought from the Indian grocery store, if you are not able to get those the Puffed Rice breakfast cereals also work fine. I usually make this spiced puffed rice but it takes a little bit of time. This one on the other hand is almost instant.

Puffed Rice Snack (with onions, tomatoes and boiled peanuts)
Ingredients
1. 2-3 cups of puffed rice
2. 1/4 cup of red onions chopped fine
3. 1 cup of raw peanuts (see note:) (optional)
4. 2 cucumbers peeled and diced
5. 2 tomatoes diced
6. handful of coriander leaves chopped
7. 1 tsp of red chili powder
8. juice from 1 lemon or lime
9. a few pinches of salt

Method
1. Boil the raw peanuts and set aside
2. Mix the onions and lemon juice and let it sit for 20-30 minutes (see note:)
3. To the onions add the tomatoes, cucumbers if using, coriander leaves, chili powder and salt and mix it well
4. Take some puffed rice, add couple of table spoons of the onion - tomato mixture and some boiled peanut, mix and serve.

Note:
1. Use roasted peanuts in place of boiled peanuts or skip it altogether.
2. Mango salsa can be used, skipping the peanuts.
3. I like to let the onions sit in the lemon juice to take off the raw edge as I am not fond of raw onion taste.