The first thing you should know about wild rice is that it’s not actually a rice.  Who knew, right?  It’s actually a grass, and what we think of as wild rice is actually the seed of native, long-grain, North American marsh grass.  It is wild however, at least in it’s original form.  Nowadays, the majority of the varieties that are sold are cultivated varieties (mostly grown in California and Minnesota) that do not occur naturally.  We call it wild, though, because that’s where it started, and in fact, wild rice does still grow in some places.  It occurs naturally mostly in the upper freshwater lakes of Canada, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota these days, but at one time, it stretched from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi Valley and was a staple in the diets of Native Americans.  If stored correctly, wild rice can last a really long time, so it was an essential part of the winter diets of many Native American tribes.  In nature, wild rice grows in shallow water in small lakes and slow-flowing streams, but it is generally cultivated for sale in paddy fields.

Wild rice has been growing in popularity for years, and for good reason: It’s delicious and nutritious.  It has a nutty flavor, chewy texture and purple color, and it’s loaded with nutrients.  It has twice the protein (one cup yields about 6.5 grams of protein and contains all of the essential amino acids) and fiber of brown rice and is high in B vitamins, iron, manganese, zinc, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium.  Another great thing about wild rice: It’s low in calories.  Some people like to mix it with brown rice to create a flavor that’s a bit more subtle.  Wild rice takes longer to cook than white and brown rice (and black), but the time is considerably shorter than it might be if it weren’t processed.  During processing, wild rice is hulled like other rices and then scarified, which means that the surface of the outer bran is scratched.  Scarifying lets the rice cook faster but saves its nutrients, unlike the process of polishing white rice.  Another plus: Wild rice is gluten-free (but watch out for boxed varieties which can contain some gluten).

If you’re thinking you want to give wild rice a try, please do!  You’ll be doing your taste buds and your body a favor!  To cook wild rice, make sure you rinse it well to remove any unwanted particles, then add 3 cups of water or broth for every cup of wild rice.  Bring your rice to a boil, then cover and simmer for 50 to 60 minutes.  You can also cook your wild rice in the over or microwave.  To cook it in the oven, use the same 1:3 ratio of rice to water, rinse, cook the rice and water in a casserole dish with a tight-fitting lid in a 350 degree oven for an hour.  In the microwave, cook your rice in a microwave safe container with a tight-fitting lid for 5 minutes on high, then 30 minutes on medium.

Here are few of our favorite wild rice recipes:

Wild Rice and Edamame Salad 

Wild Rice and Mushroom Pilaf

Roast Turkey with Wild Rice, Sausage, and Apple Stuffing

We try everyday to bring you big flavors with lots of nutrition–fast!  That’s what Brown Bag means when we say we make “cuisine on the fly.”  If you’re looking for a new flavor that will pack nutrition into every bite, give wild rice a try!  You’ve got nothing to lose and a whole lot of fiber and protein to gain!

If you’ve been hanging around the gluten-free set lately, you’ve probably heard a lot of people singing the praises of rice, especially brown, black and wild rice varieties.  Last week, we gave you a primer on brown rice and why it’s so much healthier than white rice, and this week, we’re going to give you the skinny on black rice.

While white rice is essentially brown rice with most of its nutrients polished right out, black rice is a horse of a different color–and consequently, a nutritional powerhouse. Uncooked, black rice (also called “Forbidden Rice”) is just that–black–but cooked, it turns purple; so not only is it pretty on your plate, it’s full of things like antioxidants that brown rice just doesn’t have.  Black rice is a lesser-known variety of rice but it’s no less potent.  It contains a powerful antioxidant called anthocyanin, which gives it its pigment, and happens to be the same antioxidant that adds the beautiful color to fruits like blackberries, blueberries and cherries.  It also has anti-inflammatory properties and has been linked to all sorts of health benefits, like lowering cholesterol and the prevention of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease.  On top of all of this, it’s high in iron.

Antioxidants prevent oxidative damage to cells from free radicals that can damage our cells and DNA and are a factor in most (if not all) degenerative diseases.  Studies are showing that black rice has even more anthocyanin than blueberries, and like us, you’ve probably been trying to eat as many of those as possible, right?  Well, now you’ve got another choice, and it could just be the focus of your meal.  Black rice has less sugar and more fiber than berries, so it’s a great way to meet some important nutritional needs and enjoy doing it.  Also, antioxidants can be water-soluble (blueberries) or fat soluble (soybeans), but black rice has both, which means you’re getting more from your meal.  If you’re still not convinced, let us share this little nugget of information: Black rice is somewhat lower in calories than brown rice.  A 1/3 cup serving of dry, black rice has about 200 calories, while the same amount of brown rice has about 227.  We know, it doesn’t seem like much, right?  But according to Livestrong.com, consuming an extra 27 calories a day over the span of a year can add up to a 2.7 pound weight gain.

If you decide to take the black rice plunge, you might want to cook it just a little longer than your white or brown varieties.  If you’re using a rice cooker to make your black rice (or brown, for that matter), you should add about 1/4 cup more water or broth.  This is because rice cookers are generally made to cook white rice, which has no hull.  If you happen to be serving your black rice with something coconut-ty, try using coconut water or some coconut milk to cook the rice.  It adds an extra pop of flavor.  You might also try mixing some black rice with white or brown, to add some color and wow to your meal.

While Brown Bag isn’t telling you to ditch your brown rice, we do think you should give black rice a try.  Why not?  You’ve got nothing lose, and a whole lot of antioxidants and fiber to gain.  Enjoy!

More and more people these days are eschewing gluten and turning to other grains like rice and quinoa as alternatives.  In the world of rice, new–and maybe better–choices seem to be popping up everywhere, but this week, we’re going to start with the two best-known varieties of rice: white and brown.  Which is better, healthier, tastier?  You may have your own opinions on the taste, but we’ll start with nutrition.

Most people accept that brown rice is healthier than white rice, but why?  Essentially, brown rice and white rice start off the same.  Before white rice is refined, it looks just like brown rice.  Through the process of refining, the hulls and bran are removed, as well as the germ layer and the aleurone layer, which contains essential fats (removing this layer helps to extend the shelf life of white rice because the fats are highly susceptible to oxidation once they’ve been exposed to air through the process of refining).  After this process, the rice becomes white, but along with its color, it has also been stripped of  proteins, thiamine, calcium, fiber, potassium and magnesium.  Brown rice has only had its hulls removed, therefore retaining its “wholeness,” and making it easier to digest (and faster to cook).

Need more reasons to go brown?  How about these:

1.  Brown rice has selenium which reduces the risk for certain cancers, heart disease and arthritis.

2.  Brown rice has 80% of your RDA of manganese which helps the body synthesize fats.

3.  Brown rice is a whole grain.  Whole grains help to reduce the risk of heart attacks by helping to reduce the build-up of arterial plaque.

4.  Brown rice is high in fiber, so it keeps the bowels moving and reduces the risk of colon cancer.  It makes digestion easier and promotes weight loss by making you feel full for longer.

5.  Bet you didn’t know that brown rice is rich in antioxidants, huh?  The amount of antioxidants contained in brown rice is right up there with its better know antioxidant brothers–strawberries, blueberries, apples, beans, etc.

6.  If you’re trying to lose weight or you’re diabetic, brown rice has a lower glycemic rate which helps keep blood-sugar levels more stable.

Now, you may have seen the word “enriched” on your package of white rice, so let us tell you a little about that.  The US government requires that white rice be enriched with vitamins B1, B3 and iron, but not only are you ingesting synthetic versions of these vitamins and minerals, you’re not getting the same amounts as you would before the refining process, AND you’re losing 11 nutrients that are not being replaced.  Even fortified, white rice doesn’t meet the minimum nutritional requirements for one serving of food (according to the FDA).  So, we ask you: What’s the point in eating it?

Brown Bag is all about getting the most nutrition out of delicious foods, so we love brown rice.  Brown rice has a slightly nutty flavor, while most would agree that white rice has very little flavor at all.  Cook up your brown rice with fresh herbs and spices, and perhaps, some organic chicken or vegetable broth, and you’re not just adding flavor, you’re adding nutrients.  Next week, we’ll tell you a little about some other popular rice varieties, like black and wild rice.  Are they even better for you than brown rice?   Check back and find out!

It’s getting hotter outside, and the need for more water will be ever increasing, especially if you spend a lot of time outdoors.  There’s a lot of talk about much water we should be drinking every day, and there are good reasons why.  From fatigue to headaches, there are a lot of everyday maladies that could be helped by just drinking more water.  Our bodies are mostly water, right?  So, it makes sense that when you don’t replenish the supply, you’re going to feel it.  The answer is simple and easy to do, but so many of us aren’t doing it.  Is it an issue of time?  A lack of knowledge about how much is enough?  Or is it the country’s extreme taste for sugary sodas and other drinks that can actually dehydrate our bodies?

Maybe we should start simple: How much water do you need to drink everyday?  According to Yuri Elkaim at U.S. News and World Report, this is easily calculated.  Just take your body weight, cut it in half, and that’s how many ounces you should be drinking every day.  For example: If you weigh 200 pounds, you should be drinking 100 ounces of water a day.  Easy, right?  The caveat: That only applies to a body at rest; you know, doing normal everyday things like working at a desk, chilling out with a book or even doing light household chores.  If you’re mountain climbing, taking a run or otherwise pushing your body, you need more.  And that makes perfect sense, right?  Water is released as sweat, so you need to put it back in.  Your body just uses up more water when it’s active, so it needs more to meets its basic needs.

So, how do you know if you need more water?  Listen to your body.  It’s not just when you’re feeling thirsty that you need to down a bottle of water; actually, when your mouth feels dry and you’re thirsty, your cells are already feeling the squeeze.  The best way to know if you need more water: look in the potty.  If your urine is running clear, you’re good, but if it’s yellow or orange, bottoms up!  We mentioned earlier that dehydration can cause headaches and fatigue, but you can also experience dizziness and lack of focus.  None of these are good.

If you want to track your water consumption but have busy days like the rest of us, there are apps for your phone that can do it for you.  One of the most popular seems to be Waterlogged (available for free for Android and iPhone).  With this app, you just enter your daily goal for water consumption and add in how much you drink throughout the day.  When you’ve reached your goal, a big “Congratulations” window will pop up on your phone.  It’s like a little party just for you!  And if you can’t get one other thing done that day, at least you can meet your water needs.:)  Another app is called Plant Nanny.  It’s cute, so it may not be for everyone.  It’s available for $0.99 for iPhone users only.  The basic concept is that you get a plant, and as the day goes on and you enter how much water you’re drinking, your plant either flourishes or withers and dies.  Cute but effective.

Like games that give you a sense of challenge and competition? Try iDrated.  It’s available for iPhones and is $0.99.  With this one, you get medals and you can beat your own scores.  It will also send you reminders throughout the day, and really, who couldn’t use a tap on the shoulder to remind you of something and a pat on the back for a job well done?

So, you’ve got an app and a goal?  How do you manage to actually get that water in throughout the day?  We recommend a refillable water bottle.  The city of San Francisco recently banned the sale of plastic water bottles on city property, and it’s not a bad idea.  How many plastic water bottles do you suppose end up in landfills every year?  They’re just not good for the environment long term.  A refillable water bottle (especially when you buy one that’s BPA-free), is a great solution.  You can fill it up for free at lots of different locations and haul it everywhere with you.  If you forget it, don’t worry; we’ve always got bottles of water for you at Brown Bag to wash down your healthy breakfasts and lunches.  Consider doing yourself and the planet a big favor though–drink more water and drink it from refillable bottles.