Know what's great about grocery bulk departments? You get to try a new food to know if you like it. Take it for a spin, kick the tires. Last week, when daughter Heather spotted Forbidden Rice, a newbie in our organic food co-op's bulk section, she bagged enough for a dinner or two, and memorized the cooking directions taped to the outside of the bulk container. It's what was for din that night.
We don't love everything new that we try. Who does?! Millet's a good example. Just don't care for it---even though it's got one fine nutritional profile. Quinoa, another nutrish dish, did make the cut. It's welcome on our dinner plates just about any night of the week.
Back in the day, I'd thought that Uncle Ben's rice was the gateway to nutrition. Uhh, no. All rice is not created equal. Take white rice. Tastes good, but, up against brown rice, it doesn't stack up.
Enter Forbidden, er, black rice. It leaves the other colors at the starting gate. It's the "in" rice, the new superfood. Tastes pretty good, too. Take a look at its pedigree in just one-quarter cup, uncooked rice:
- Minerals, substantial amounts
- Iron and amino acids, goodly sums
- B vitamins, fair amount
- A and C vitamins, zeroes out
- Fat grams, 1.5
- Carb grams, 34
- Fiber grams, 2
- Calories, about 160 per serving
Add it all up and those nutritional goodies spell good health. We're all paying more attention to eating foods with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties these days. Black rice's got 'em, loaded with 'em, in fact. It protects against the Big 4 diseases Americans worry about most---heart, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's. If you want to age more slowly---well, black rice is there for you, baby.
Black rice has a long, not so noble history in Asian cultures. Only emperors were allowed to eat it---hence it's "forbidden" moniker---and commoners would find themselves in a world of trouble if they managed to get hold of, and eat, it. Today, black rice is available to everyone who wants to eat healthy foods.
What you see in the picture is the dish Heather made. She used leftover baked chicken, red onion, and avocado, and tossed it all with a fave salad dressing. Healthy doesn't always taste yummy. Sure did that night!
If you enjoyed this article, please share it with your Twitter and Facebook followers!
Comments