When I turned vegan, the advice seemed to be switch up your carbs- change your white pasta for wholegrain, your white bread for brown and your white rice for brown.
Clearspring Organic Brown and Wild Rice
So why is brown rice so much better for vegans? Well it is rich in selenium- which fights against cancer, heart disease and arthritis. It is high in manganese, which benefits the nervous and reproductive systems and rich in naturally occurring oils, which normalise cholesterol levels. It promotes weight loss because the fibre in it encourages easy digestion and makes you feel fuller for longer.
Another benefit is that it's considered whole grain so it has not lost its 'wholeness' during the production process. Finally, brown rice contains antioxidants, is high in fibre so helps to prevent colon cancer and has slow release sugar so it stabilises your blood sugar levels.
Oh and it has decent amount of protein in it too. This particular variety has 3.9g per 100g, so it goes some way to contributing to your daily intake of protein, which can be hard to come by if you're not careful on this lifestyle.
The one drawback with brown rice is that it can take a lot longer to simmer, usually around 20 minutes- whereas this only takes 90 seconds.
We usually have a curry night at the weekend so I thought it was the perfect time to try out this rice along with my chickpea curry. Once everything else was ready, I popped it in the microwave after giving it a little squeeze to separate the grains and let the microware do its thing. There was enough in a packet for two people as it's really filling, so you only need one pouch for one meal between two.
Brown rice can be quite bland too without a sauce, but the double strength tamari soya sauce gave it a saltiness, so I was happy to eat it on its own.
The mixture of the wild and brown rice meant that it had a real bite to it, so it boasted much more texture than brown rice on its own.
I have to say this among some of the best rice I have ever tasted and so easy too. I was really impressed with Clearspring Organic Gluten Free Brown and Wild Rice and would happily eat it again.
Source: www.vegkitchen.com