CAPITAL GRAINS.Every night it's the same what to make along your chicken and broccoli broccoli (brŏk`əlē) [Ital.,=sprouts], variety of cabbage grown for the edible immature flower panicles. It is the same variety (Brassica oleracea botrytis) as the cauliflower and is similarly cultivated. ? If your entire side-dish repertoire consists of white rice, noodles noo·dle 1n. A narrow, ribbonlike strip of dried dough, usually made of flour, eggs, and water. [German Nudel. , and potatoes, you may be pushing your cart through the rice-and-grains aisle too quickly. Uncle Ben and Rice-A-Roni now share shelf space with a whole new world of mixes. And what a world--healthy ingredients like black beans black bean see castanospermum australe, erythrophleumchlorostachys. and lentils, bulgur bul·gur also bul·ghur n. Cracked wheat grains, often used in Middle Eastern dishes. Also called bulgur wheat. [Ottoman Turkish bul and brown rice, dressed up to supply authentic flavors from Texas and Louisiana to the Caribbean and India. Most cook up in less than 30 minutes and don't even need the tablespoon ta·ble·spoon n. Abbr. T, tbsp. A measure of about 3 teaspoons or 15 milliliters. tablespoon a household unit of volume or capacity; equivalent to three teaspoons or approximately 15 milliliters; in metric or so of oil, margarine, or butter that the box may ask for. But exotic flavors (not to mention everyday ones) can come with a price. If you're not careful, that cup of Knorr's Mushroom Italian Rices Noun 1. Italian rice - rice cooked with broth and sprinkled with grated cheese risotto dish - a particular item of prepared food; "she prepared a special dish for dinner" Risotto ri·sot·to n. pl. ri·sot·tos A dish of rice cooked in broth, usually with saffron, and served with grated cheese. [Italian, from riso, rice, from Old Italian; see rice. , Rice-A-Roni Fried Rice, or Whatever can use up half your day's sodium quota. Solution 1. Cook your grains from scratch. It'll save you a bundle and you can load up on vegetables and cut the salt. (For recipes, see p. 12.) Solution 2. Take this little guide to the store with you. We've checked out every brand from Arrowhead arrowhead, any plant of the genus Sagittaria, widely distributed marsh or aquatic herbs of the primitive family Alismataceae (water-plantain family). The name derives from the arrowhead-shaped leaves of many species. Mills to Zatarain's. Our goal: to find the mixes with the most flavor and fiber and the least sodium. Our Best Bites manage to squeeze at least four grams of fiber into every cup while keeping the sodium down to 480 milligrams or less. That much fiber means whole grains or rice plus beans or lentils. And that means extra vitamins and minerals and phytochemicals that may cut the risk of cancer and heart disease. We gave Honorable Mentions to mixes with less than four grams of fiber, as long as they kept the sodium to no more than 480 mg. In a category dominated for generations by salty salt·y adj. salt·i·er, salt·i·est 1. Of, containing, or seasoned with salt. 2. Suggestive of the sea or sailing life. 3. Witty; pungent; earthy: salty humor. Rice-A-Roni, that's some feat. Best of the Best Fantastic (formerly Fantastic Foods) lives up to its name with its sweet and spicy Jamaican Rice and Beans Rice and beans, "arroz y habas" or "arroz con habichuelas" "arroz con frijoles" or similar in Spanish, "arroz e feijão" or "feijão com arroz", in Brazilian Portuguese, "du riz a pois/haricots" in French, and "diri ak pwa . Plumped up chunks of dehydrated de·hy·drate v. de·hy·drat·ed, de·hy·drat·ing, de·hy·drates v.tr. 1. To remove water from; make anhydrous. 2. To preserve by removing water from (vegetables, for example). pineapple and tamarind tamarind (tăm`ərĭnd), tropical ornamental evergreen tree (Tamarindus indica) of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), native to Africa and probably to Asia, but now widely grown in the tropics. add a tangy sweetness to the brown rice and black beans. And thanks to the blend of onions, garlic, and jalapeno peppers, you won't miss the sodium. Chef Mark Miller of the Coyote Cafe in Santa Fe Santa Fe, city, Argentina Santa Fe, city (1991 pop. 341,000), capital of Santa Fe prov., NE Argentina, a river port near the Paraná, with which it is connected by canal. uses an interesting mix of chilies and cilantro to perk up perk 1 v. perked, perk·ing, perks v.intr. 1. To stick up or jut out: dogs' ears that perk. 2. To carry oneself in a lively and jaunty manner. the Texmati rice and black beans in Rice Select Chef's Originals Smokey Cowboy Beans Cowboy beans is a bean dish popular in the United States. The dish consists of beans and ground beef in a sweet and tangy sauce. The flavor is similar to baked beans but with a southwestern twist. and Rice. (You can safely disregard the "Hot" symbol on the package. We felt only a simmer.) Lipton surprised us with its flavorful flavorful - flavour Cajun Style with Beans, Rice & Sauce. Though we followed the "less fat" directions (translation: no margarine), we still ended up with a wonderful mildly spicy dish. On the lentil lentil, leguminous Old World annual plant (Lens culinaris) with whitish or pale blue flowers. Its pods contain two greenish-brown or dark-colored seeds, also called lentils, which when fully ripe are ground into meal or used in soups and stews. front, Lundberg's three One-Step Brown Rice and Lentil mixes (Chili (language) CHILI - D.L. Abt. A language for systems programming, based on ALGOL 60 with extensions for structures and type declarations. ["CHILI, An Algorithmic Language for Systems Programming", CHI-1014, Chi Corp, Sep 1975] , Curry, and Garlic Basil) take nearly an hour to cook, but they're worth the wait. Each combines brown rice and fiber-packed lentils with a rich-tasting spice blend. The Curry is mild and a little on the sweet side, the Garlic Basil is Basil I (Basil the Macedonian) (băz`əl, bā`zəl), c.813–886, Byzantine emperor (867–86). His ancestors probably were Armenians or Slavs who settled in Macedonia. He became (c.856) the favorite of Emperor Michael III. reminiscent of pesto sauce, and the Chili might be perfect for those who like just a hint of the hot stuff. Gourmet Guru's Indian Lentil Pilaf was a bit bland, as was Casbah's Wheat Pilaf (the only Best Bite made of bulgur), but both might work well with a spicy stir-fry. We didn't try Arrowhead Mills Wild Rice & Herbs and Vegetable Herb Quick Brown Rice. MYOB "Mind your own business." See digispeak. (chat) MYOB - mind your own business. Ten Best Bites aren't many, especially when some mean a trip to the health food store. What to do? Turn to saltier mixes that have at least four grams of fiber in each cup. As long as the entire box has no more than 960 mg of sodium and the seasoning comes in a separate pouch--Goya, Zatarain's, Lipton Rice & Sauce, and a handful of other mixes don't--you can MYOB (Make Your Own Best Bite) by using only half the spices. Most of the MYOBs we tried tasted plenty flavorful with half their seasoning, especially Near East's Creative Grains line, which includes delightful combinations of barley, brown rice, bulgur, and pearled pearled a method of processing grain feeds to increase digestibility; the grain is hulled and broken into small, smooth, pearl-like pieces. A process more suited to human nutrition where the appearance of the grain is more important. (refined) wheat. The Roasted Pecan pecan: see hickory. pecan Nut and tree (Carya illinoinensis) of the walnut family, native to temperate North America. Occasionally reaching a height of about 160 ft (50 m), the tree has deeply furrowed bark and feather-shaped leaves. & Garlic, the Roasted Garlic, and the Chicken & Herbs didn't miss a beat when we cut the spice packet in half (using three-quarters of the packet would still have made a Best Bite out Verb 1. bite out - utter; "She bit out a curse" let loose, let out, utter, emit - express audibly; utter sounds (not necessarily words); "She let out a big heavy sigh"; "He uttered strange sounds that nobody could understand" of either of the Garlic flavors). Other MYOB stars included Lundberg's entire line of organic Quick Brown Rice. Three of the four flavors deliver five grams of fiber, and all are ready in under 20 minutes--warp speed for brown rice. And while Near East's Barley Pilaf, Lentil Pilaf, and Wheat Pilaf also lacked oomph, any of them would make an excellent partner for a spicy curry dish. Even Uncle Ben made a respectable showing with two flavors from his Chef's Recipe line. His Traditional Red Beans Red bean can mean:
Fantastic's New Orleans New Orleans (ôr`lēənz –lənz, ôrlēnz`), city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water from the river mouth; founded Rice and Beans didn't register many "oohs" and "aahs" either, though it did have an intensely smoky taste. We didn't try Near East Mediterranean Black (or Red) Beans & Rice Pilaf, Success Red Beans and Rice Red beans and rice is an emblematic dish of Louisiana Creole cuisine (not originally of Cajun cuisine), traditionally made on Mondays with red beans, vegetables (onion and celery), spices (thyme, cayenne pepper, and bay leaf), and pork bones left over from Sunday dinner, cooked , or Uncle Ben's
Uncle Ben’s is a brand name for parboiled (“converted”) rice and related food products. Owned by Mars, Inc. in the U.S. Chef's Recipe Spicy Cajun Beans & Rice. BYOV BYOV Bring Your Own Venue BYOV Bring Your Own Vibrator BYOV Bring You Own Vegetable No matter how delicious your "rice-and" mix is, dinner-in-a-box it's not. Take Chicken& Broccoli Rice-A-Roni. If the "Now Even More Broccoli" emblazoned on the package is true, we'd hate to see what it looked like before. There was barely a tablespoon of dehydrated broccoli in the whole box, despite the beautiful florets pictured on the front. And the lovely drawings on the box of Lundberg's Wild & Mushroom Quick Brown Rice must be what natural mushroom flavor looks like, because that's as close as the ingredient list gets to mushrooms. What to do? BYOV (Bring Your Own Vegetables). Cut up some fresh vegetables and toss them in your pilaf, or steam or saute sau·té tr.v. sau·téed, sau·té·ing, sau·tés To fry lightly in fat in a shallow open pan. n. A dish of food so prepared. some asparagus asparagus, perennial garden vegetable (Asparagus officinalis) of the family Liliaceae (lily family), native to the E Mediterranean area and now naturalized over much of the world. , broccoli, snap peas snap pea n. A variety of snow pea cultivated for its plump crisp edible pod. Noun 1. snap pea - variety of pea plant producing peas having crisp rounded edible pods sugar snap pea , spinach, or whatever to go alongside. That's the only way you'll end up with a meaningful amount of vegetables in your mix. RELATED ARTICLE: GOING WITH THE GRAIN Best Bites (##) have at least four grams of fiber and no more than 480 mg of sodium in a one-cup serving. That's about 60 grams of most mixes, before cooking. (For mixes that list a serving size smaller than 45 grams, we increased the serving to 60 grams.) Make Your Own Best Bites (*) have at least four grams of fiber, a separate spice packet, and no more than 960 mg of sodium (that way, they'll have no more than 480 mg if you use half the packet). Honorable Mentions (#) have no fiber minimum, as long as they have no more than 480 mg of sodium. All the numbers in the chart are for the mixes prepared with no added margarine, oil, or butter, even if the instructions call for them. Mixes are ranked from most to least fiber, then least to most sodium.
Grain Mix (1 cup, cooked)
Fiber Sodium
4 or more grams of fiber Calories (grams) (mg)
(*) Fantastic New Orleans Rice
and Beans 200 9 510
Zatarain's Red Beans & Rice 210 9 1,050
(##) Fantastic Jamaican Rice
and Beans 210 8 450
(*) Success Red Beans & Rice 240 8 920
(##) Lipton Cajun Style with
Beans, Rice & Sauce 260 7 460
(*) Near East Chicken & Herbs
Creative Grains 240 6 760
Mahatma Red Beans & Rice 190 6 790
(*) Near East Mediterranean
Black Bean & Rice Pilaf 260 6 820
(##) Gourmet Guru Indian Lentil
Pilaf 170 5 220
(##) Arrowhead Mills Vegetable
Herb Quick Brown Rice 230 5 240
(##) Arrowhead Mills Wild Rice
& Herbs Quick Brown Rice 220 5 350
(##) Lundberg One-Step Curry
Brown Rice and Lentils 160 5 400
(##) Lundberg One-Step Chili
Brown Rice and Lentils 180 5 420
(##) Lundberg One-Step Garlic
Basil Brown Rice and
Lentils 160 5 480
(*) Near East Roasted Garlic
Creative Grains 190 5 560
(*) Near East Barley Pilaf 180 5 580
(*) Near East Lentil Pilaf 170 5 610
(*) Near East Wheat Pilaf 180 5 650
(*) Lundberg Picante Spanish
Fiesta Quick Brown Rice 260 5 670
(*) Near East Red Beans & Rice
Pilaf 220 5 710
(*) Lundberg Roasted Garlic
Pesto Quick Brown Rice 260 5 830
(*) Lundberg Savory Vegetarian
Chicken Quick Brown Rice 260 5 910
Mahatma Black Beans & Rice 200 5 930
Uncle Ben's Chef's Recipe
Zesty Southwestern Pinto
Beans & Rice 220 5 990
Rice-A-Roni Red Beans & Rice 240 5 1,120
(##) Rice Select Chef's Originals
Smokey Cowboy Beans and
Rice 180 4 340
(##) Casbah Wheat Pilaf 240 4 460
(*) Near East Roasted Pecan &
Garlic Creative Grains 210 4 530
Fantastic Polenta 260 4 550
(*) Uncle Ben's Chef's Recipe
Traditional Red Beans &
Rice 210 4 740
(*) Lundberg Exotic Wild &
Mushroom Quick Brown Rice 260 4 800
Goya Rice & Blackeye Peas 170 4 860
(*) Uncle Ben's Chef's Recipe
Caribbean Black Beans &
Rice 210 4 880
(*) Uncle Ben's Chef's Recipe
Spicy Cajun Beans & Rice 210 4 890
Zatarain's Black Beans &
Rice 200 4 1,040
less than 4 grams of fiber
(#) Casbah Couscous (except
Couscous Pilaf)(1) 230 3 420
(#) Near East Herbed Chicken
Couscous 190 3 440
(#) Near East Broccoli Couscous 190 3 460
(#) Near East Mediterranean
Curry Couscous 190 3 460
Near East Tomato Lentil
Couscous 190 3 600
Uncle Ben's Chef's Recipe
Chicken & Harvest Vegetable
Pilaf 190 3 620
Near East Creamy Parmesan
Creative Grains 240 3 770
Wolff's Kasha Classics Savory
Chicken 260 3 980
(#) Casbah Lentil Pilaf 240 2 400
(#) Near East Toasted Pine Nut
Couscous 200 2 450
(#) Fantastic Couscous(1) 200 2 460
(#) Fantastic Rice Pilaf(1) 160 2 480
(#) Near East Roasted Garlic &
Olive Oil Couscous 200 2 480
Near East Parmesan Couscous 200 2 510
Near East Brown Rice Pilaf 190 2 670
Rice-A-Roni 1/3 Less Salt(1) 240 2 680
Goya Rice & Pinto Beans 160 2 700
Near East Long Grain & Wild
Rice Pilaf 190 2 770
Near East Toasted Almond
Pilaf 200 2 780
Lundberg Risotto(1) 190 2 800
Near East Mediterranean
Chicken & Wild Rice Pilaf 210 2 860
Near East Spanish Rice Pilaf 190 2 890
Rice-A-Roni (except 1/3 Less
Salt anD Red Beans & Rice 240 2 990
Beans & Rice)(1) 210 2 1,000
(#) Marrakesh Express Couscous(1) 190 1 300
(#) Gourmet Guru Pilaf (except
Indian Lentil Pilaf)(1) 170 1 320
(#) Rice Select Chef's Originals
(except Smokey Cowboy
Beans and Rice)(1) 170 1 370
(#) Casbah Rice Pilaf 200 1 390
(#) Casbah Saffroned Jasmine Rice 200 1 390
(#) Thai Kitchen Pilaf(1) 210 1 390
(#) A Taste of Thai Rice(1) 180 1 400
(#) Goya Rice Primavera 160 1 410
(#) Casbah Spanish Pilaf 200 1 430
(#) Marrakesh Express European
Wild Mushroom Risotto 210 1 450
(#) Casbah Couscous Pilaf 220 1 480
Casbah Nutted Pilaf 190 1 500
Uncle Ben's Chef's Recipe
Curried Almond Rice 200 1 610
Near East Curry Rice Pilaf 190 1 620
Uncle Ben's Long Grain
& Wild Rice(1) 190 1 640
Uncle Ben's Natural Select(1) 200 1 680
Uncle Ben's (except Chef's
Recipe, Long Grain & Wild,
and Natural Select)(1) 200 1 730
Uncle Ben's Chef's Recipe
Broccoli Rice au Gratin
Supreme 200 1 790
Lipton Seasoned Rice(1) 220 1 800
Near East Rice Pilaf 190 1 820
Lipton Rice & Sauce (except
Cajun Style with Beans)(1) 220 1 850
Near East Chicken Rice Pilaf 190 1 900
Knorr Italian Rices
Risotto(1) 280 1 1,140
(#) Goya Mexican Style Rice 160 0 330
(#) Thai Kitchen Green or Red
Curry Rice(1) 230 0 350
(#) Marrakesh Express Three
Cheese Risotto 200 0 410
(#) Uncle Ben's Chef's Recipe
Fine Herb Risotto 200 0 470
Marrakesh Express Milanese
with Saffron Risotto 220 0 590
Fantastic Risotto(1) 210 0 630
Knorr Pilaf Rices(1) 230 0 900
Zatarain's Dirty Rice 210 0 1,070
(##) Best Bite. (#) Honorable Mention. (*) Make Your Own Best Bite (nutrition information is for mix prepared with the entire spice packet). (1) Average (doesn't include unseasoned products--i.e., Uncle Ben's plain Converted Rice con·vert·ed rice n. A white rice prepared from brown rice that has been soaked, steamed under pressure to force water-soluble nutrients into the starchy endosperm, and then dried and milled. ). The use of information from this article for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited without written permission from CSPI CSPI Center for Science in the Public Interest CSPI Corporate Service Price Index CSPI Cumulative Schedule Performance Index . Source: Manufacturers.3 |
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