Brown Rice

I recently bought a packet of brown rice in my continued effort to add better foods to our repertoire. Brown rice is a much healthier option than the usual white rice because it is the grain with its bran layer intact, hence making it richer in fiber and other nutrients like viamins B4 and B6, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, manganese and countless other phytonutrients. One cup of cooked brown rice contains about 4g of fiber, which is 4 times the amount in the white rice!




Because it is minimally processed, it takes longer to cook. I used 3 cups of water for 1 cup of the brown rice and cooked it for 45 minutes. I had heard that the taste of the cooked brown rice is a bit of an acquired taste, but both V and I really liked it. It has a kind of nutty taste, and the grains are flavorful and moist. 1 cup of dry brown rice has about 160 calories.

I served it with a medley of spring vegetables- beans, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, onions, garlic and spinach sauted for about 5 mins to retain flavor, crunch and nutrients and seasoned with salt, pepper and soy sauce. Since the brown rice is fiber dense, it fills you up very well and the 1 cup that I cooked was enough for our dinner (V's and mine) and I even had leftovers to pack in my lunch!