Know what’s great about grocery bulk departments? You get to try a food you stumble upon 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 front of the bulk container. It’s what was for din that night.
We don’t love everything new that we try. 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 day of the week.
Back in the day, I used to think 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.
Then there’s Forbidden, er, black rice. It leaves Uncle Ben’s, basmati, and brown rice back at the paddock. Know what black rice is? It’s a super-superfood! Tastes pretty good, too. One-quarter cup of uncooked black rice begets
- Minerals, substantial
- Iron and amino acids, goodly sums
- B vitamins, fair amount
- Vitamins A and C. zeroes out
- Fat grams, 1.5
- Carb grams, 34
- Fiber grams, 2
- Calories, about 160 per serving
Sure impresses me—how about you? We’re all paying more attention to foods with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties these days. Black rice’s got ‘em, 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 ya, baby!
Black rice has a long 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.
Baked chicken seasoned to near-perfection!
The beautifully cooked chicken Heather baked last week actually tasted better than it looks. She gets quite a few meals out of a bird that size. In fact, some of the leftovers went into the black rice salad. So did red onion and avocado and one of our fave salad dressings. Healthy doesn’t always taste yummy. Sure did that night!
Our first-ever black rice salad. See the white chunks? Baked chicken!
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