How do I make brown rice more interesting?

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Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Anyone have any suggestions? I just started having brown rice and fish/chicken and its really good as long as I have some meat with it, but once the meet is gone it is really hard for me to continue eating it because of the blandness of the rice.

    Any tips or things I can do to spice up the brown rice to make it more desirable?

    throw a low sodium stock cube into the water while you're cooking the rice.
  • free8gent
    free8gent Posts: 61 Member
    Try adding:
    - browned onions (can also add mushrooms too if you like them - just quickly stir-fry the onions alone for a minute before adding the mushrooms and sauteeing for a few more minutes until brown)
    - saffron
    - a few drops of soy sauce
    - mix it with purple rice

    Kasha, barley, brown basmati rice, and quinoa are other healthy whole grains that have quite distinct flavours and textures. They're great to try for some variety.
  • firedupfriend
    firedupfriend Posts: 140 Member
    Craft glue, board, noodles, spray paint.

    Good craft idea for the kids!
  • bdtyson77302
    bdtyson77302 Posts: 86 Member
    I LOVE the minute rice brown rice cups...I buy the brown and wild cups. Perfection in one minute! I mix in a half cup of fat free refried beans and add tobasco...sounds nasty but tastes really good! :)
  • nessagrace22
    nessagrace22 Posts: 430 Member
    Bump :smile:
  • Bettyeditor
    Bettyeditor Posts: 327 Member
    Anyone have any suggestions? I just started having brown rice and fish/chicken and its really good as long as I have some meat with it, but once the meet is gone it is really hard for me to continue eating it because of the blandness of the rice.

    Any tips or things I can do to spice up the brown rice to make it more desirable?

    What you described is basically what I eat for lunch every day, and often for dinner! Brown rice and some kind of meat: chicken or turkey or fish. I yummy it up with delicious veggie mixes. I found some amazing frozen steams-in-the-microwave mixes from Green Giant and Bird's Eye that have seasonings and spices and sauces. You can browse my diary to see, but here are some examples:

    All Green Giant boxed veggies: http://www.greengiant.com/pages/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=1
    * Healthy Vision (carronts, zucchini and green beans in rosemary butter sauce)
    * Antioxidant Blend (broccoli, carrots, red/yellow peppers in garlic-herb sauce)
    * Healthy Weight (carrots, snap peas, black beans and edamame in butter sauce)
    * Farmer's Blend (cauliflower, sugar snap peas, carrots and cranberries in butter sauce) -- goes good with turkey
    * Just for One Peas and Corn in a basil butter sauce

    Bird's Eye Steam Fresh veggies: http://www.birdseye.com/vegetable-products/birdseye-steamfresh/steamfresh-chefs-favorites
    * Green Beans & Spaetzle in Bavarian Sauce
    * Szechuan Vegetables in a Sesame Sauce
    * Lightly Sauced Roasted Red Potatoes & Green Beans with Parmesan Olive Oil Sauce
    * Lightly Seasoned Southwestern Corn (the YUMMIEST corn on the planet, no joke!)

    I could go on and on.... so many yummy varieties!

    I cook up a whole bag of veggies (ignore the 3-4 servings and eat the whole thing! ;-)

    There is always enough sauce in these mixes to flavor your rice too. And meat too if you want. When I'm in a hurry for dinner and have homework to do, I will cut up my meat and dump my veggie mix with its sauce into a big bowl and add my rice and meat and eat it out of one bowl so that my veggie seasoning flavors everything. That's my quick-and-dirty trick. :flowerforyou:
  • Jemellc
    Jemellc Posts: 308 Member
    spices
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    Oyster sauce. Trust me, it makes everything better. That & Tumeric
  • mmddwechanged
    mmddwechanged Posts: 1,687 Member
    Pour curry and lentils all over it!
    Cook with yams
    Make rice pudding with it
    Serve it with spicy chilli
  • BellaReady
    BellaReady Posts: 11 Member
    I love grating a couple of carrots & crushing a glove of garlic and mixing in with the brown rice.. More of a salad but goes well with chicken..
  • doctorwhome
    doctorwhome Posts: 59
    There's a lot you can do with brown rice depending on your mood. I eat it in the morning mixed with some plain Greek yogurt, berries, almonds and honey. For dinner, I'll put in some garlic (because garlic makes everything better) and whatever spices and sauces I'm in the mood for...usually salsa, soy sauce, or red wine vinegar.
  • askeates
    askeates Posts: 1,490 Member
    I love rice, and sometimes find it bland too since I am no longer doing any kind of sauce on it... I have started adding lime and a little fresh cilantro to it, and it's amazing how that little bit of pop adds so much to it!!!! YUMMY!
  • Jenny775
    Jenny775 Posts: 108 Member
    There's a lot you can do but my favorite go to is lemon & feta
  • jsiricos
    jsiricos Posts: 340 Member
    Chicken Tiki Marsala .. YUMMM
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
    I tend to make spanish rice a lot when I do eat brown rice. Throw in a can of no sodium tomato sauce, pepper, diced onions, diced green bell peppers, diced tomatoes, 1/2 a can-1 can of corn, minced garlic and wala! :) You can then add in your black beans as a topping. Because of the versatility of this, I actually throw in already-cooked shredded chicken into the pot as well.

    I do this as well. I only serve rice (brown, white or otherwise) when I make something with a good deal of gravy. Trinidad Stew Chicken, Curry Chicken/Shrimp, Dhal etc.

    You have to season your rice to make it yummy enough to stand on it's own. To season rice, heat a little oil in a pan, add diced onion, 1/4 tsp of annatto, and finely diced/smashed garlic. When fragrant, add cold rice (brown or white) and stir well to coat. Continue to cook till rice is heated through, add anything you'd like to make it more interesting.

    Suggestions are beans, diced sweet peppers, spinach, diced tomatoes, frozen veggies, really, the possibilities are endless. :drinker:
  • drchimpanzee
    drchimpanzee Posts: 892 Member
    Have a naked woman serve it to you. This works for all foods.
  • agggie550
    agggie550 Posts: 281 Member
    Add food coloring then you can make green rice :D
  • monicalosesweight
    monicalosesweight Posts: 1,173 Member
    Is there a reason you want to eat brown rice instead of something you enjoy eating?
    Mainly because it is one of the foods on a meal plan I am following and I always hear how good it is for you.
    Comparison of the nutritional value between brown rice and white rice

    Callegaro Mda D, Tirapegui J. Arq Gastroenterol. 1996 Oct-Dec;33(4):225-31.

    Cereals are considered an important source of nutrients both in human and animal nourishment. In this paper nutritional value of brown rice is compared to that of white rice in relation to nutrients. Results show that despite higher nutrients contents of brown rice compared to white rice, experimental data does not provide evidence that the brown rice diet is better than the diet based on white rice. Possible antinutritional factors present in brown rice have adverse effects on bioavailability of this cereal nutrients.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9302338

    Effects of brown rice on apparent digestibility and balance of nutrients in young men on low protein diets

    J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 1987 Jun;33(3):207-18. .Miyoshi H, Okuda T, Okuda K, Koishi H.

    The effect of brown rice with low protein intake was studied in five healthy young men. Feces were weighed, the digestibility of nutrients was determined, and blood tests were made. Each subject followed a diet consisting mainly of polished rice for 14 days and one consisting mainly of brown rice for 8 days. Both diets contained 0.5 g protein per kg of body weight. The brown rice diet had 3 times as much dietary fiber as the polished rice diet. On the brown rice diet, fecal weight increased, and apparent digestibility of energy, protein, and fat decreased, as did the absorption rates of Na, K, and P. The nitrogen balance was negative on both diets, but more negative on the brown rice diet. The phosphorus balance on the brown rice diet was significantly negative, but other minerals were not affected by the diet. The levels of cholesterol and minerals in the plasma were not significantly different on the polished rice diet and the brown rice diet. Comparing these results with data on standard protein intake (Miyoshi, H. et al (1986) J. Nutr. Sci. Vitaminol., 32, 581-589.), we concluded that brown rice reduced protein digestibility and nitrogen balance.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2822877

    That's very interesting. Thanks for the information. I've always preferred white rice so now I don't feel so guilty if I choose it over brown. :)

    Monica
  • Ge0rgiana
    Ge0rgiana Posts: 1,649 Member
    Make gravy. Use pan drippings if you have them.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Is there a reason you want to eat brown rice instead of something you enjoy eating?

    Mainly because it is one of the foods on a meal plan I am following and I always hear how good it is for you.

    Comparison of the nutritional value between brown rice and white rice

    Callegaro Mda D, Tirapegui J. Arq Gastroenterol. 1996 Oct-Dec;33(4):225-31.

    Cereals are considered an important source of nutrients both in human and animal nourishment. In this paper nutritional value of brown rice is compared to that of white rice in relation to nutrients. Results show that despite higher nutrients contents of brown rice compared to white rice, experimental data does not provide evidence that the brown rice diet is better than the diet based on white rice. Possible antinutritional factors present in brown rice have adverse effects on bioavailability of this cereal nutrients.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9302338

    Effects of brown rice on apparent digestibility and balance of nutrients in young men on low protein diets

    J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 1987 Jun;33(3):207-18. .Miyoshi H, Okuda T, Okuda K, Koishi H.

    The effect of brown rice with low protein intake was studied in five healthy young men. Feces were weighed, the digestibility of nutrients was determined, and blood tests were made. Each subject followed a diet consisting mainly of polished rice for 14 days and one consisting mainly of brown rice for 8 days. Both diets contained 0.5 g protein per kg of body weight. The brown rice diet had 3 times as much dietary fiber as the polished rice diet. On the brown rice diet, fecal weight increased, and apparent digestibility of energy, protein, and fat decreased, as did the absorption rates of Na, K, and P. The nitrogen balance was negative on both diets, but more negative on the brown rice diet. The phosphorus balance on the brown rice diet was significantly negative, but other minerals were not affected by the diet. The levels of cholesterol and minerals in the plasma were not significantly different on the polished rice diet and the brown rice diet. Comparing these results with data on standard protein intake (Miyoshi, H. et al (1986) J. Nutr. Sci. Vitaminol., 32, 581-589.), we concluded that brown rice reduced protein digestibility and nitrogen balance.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2822877

    Yeah, brown rice isn't really better for you. It's pretty much marketing, so that companies can get away with charging more money for it, even though it actually costs less to make then white rice.
  • holothuroidea
    holothuroidea Posts: 772 Member
    Just put some soy sauce on it. A good rule of thumb is a 1/4 tsp for every 1/2 cup of rice.
  • dkutnyak
    dkutnyak Posts: 13
    Seems like brown rice is VERY high in calories. I am doing a raw/ plant based diet and I do like brown rice but the numbers add up fast per serving.
  • squirrelythegreat
    squirrelythegreat Posts: 158 Member
    I like to cook some steak in my cast iron skillet. I then fry my already cooked rice in the beef juice. Add veggies as desired. Curry powder goes great in the rice when frying it too.
  • _kannnd
    _kannnd Posts: 247 Member
    Anyone have any suggestions? I just started having brown rice and fish/chicken and its really good as long as I have some meat with it, but once the meet is gone it is really hard for me to continue eating it because of the blandness of the rice.

    Any tips or things I can do to spice up the brown rice to make it more desirable?

    I like to cook mine in beef broth or some saffron for flavor. I also like to add some roasted veggies and feta to it.
  • OrganicNotes
    OrganicNotes Posts: 29
    I love brown rice, and I LOVE it best when added to crisp salads. Similar to the Southwest-Inspired salads you might see on the menu at a local restaurant, the flavors give the rice something to hold onto. Brown Rice, in my opinion, is wonderful for texture. The spices, veggies, proteins, cheeses, or sauces, are what give the rice it's delicious flavor. A favorite salad of mine, I put together with the following..

    Chopped Romaine
    Cherry Tomatoes
    Green/Red Sweet Bell Pepper
    Sweet Corn Salsa [by World Table]
    Grilled Chicken + Fiesta-Lime Seasoning
    Brown Rice, Steamed
    Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese
    Jalapeno-Lime Vinaigrette
  • pippa120862
    pippa120862 Posts: 1
    A tin of mixed taco beans in spicy sauce, small tin of sweetcorn, salt and a little cayenne pepper. Mixed all together and it tastes great.

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