Usually kids love to eat rice but as parent we limit their proportion of rice during schools in fear that they might fall to sleep. But rice is very important in their daily diet. Kids love rice because of it is very smooth to eat.
Rice is generally avoided in lunch box. But now we can include this in their lunch box and it definitely won’t fall them asleep during school hours. Plus, it will also not gain weight. So many benefits and that too in rice I am definitely sure it has left you spellbound. But let me tell it is true. Yes at the same time I am talking about rice which is brown. Brown rice is speeding prospering among the health conscious people.
Brown rice is one of the safest and reliable substitutes for white rice. It is undoubtedly healthy.
Brown rice also known as hulled rice is usually partly milled rice. It is a kind of complete, natural granule. Brown rice which has gentle nutty taste although requires more chewing but equivalently is more nourishing than white rice.
Every grain of rice consists of an external layer which is somewhat hard cover known as the hull or husk. These husks are always detached from the seed whether it white or brown rice. Well there is thin brownish layer under the cover which is known as ‘bran’. Now what happens is in white rice this brownish layer on the seed is scraped out through process called polish process but in contrast with brown rice, the brownish bran layer is left integral and only the top hard cover is extracted.
Brown rice is supposed to be more healthful if equated with white rice because there are important nutrients which are present in the brown layer are thrown off during the process of polishing.
Brown rice consist a wide variety of vitamins and nutrients like potassium, iron, magnesium and all B complex vitamins which are highly essential for the human health.
No doubt it takes huge amount of time to cook if compared with white rice. It takes almost twenty five to thirty minutes more to carry out the normal cooking process. Plus you need to soak the brown rice seeds before they are cooked. And overall it is also costly if compared with white rice. So don’t be in the assumption that as it is unprocessed it will be cheap.
When you cook brown rice, you would need to soak it in water for around 25 minutes to 30 minutes before doing the normal cooking process. If you thought that brown rice would be cheaper than white rice as it is only partially processed, you are wrong. You will find that in most shops and grocery stores, brown rice costs much more than white rice.
The health benefits of brown rice:
Guards against asthma:
If there is increase in consumption of whole grains it could reduce the risk of childhood asthma almost by fifty percent. The numerous anti-inflammatory compounds found in brown rice help in lessening of wheezing.
Controls blood pressure:
It is extensively considered that brown rice aids in controlling blood pressure which brings down the wide variation in the level of sugar in blood.
Keeps check on cholesterol:
Brown rice is amazingly rich source of fiber which has good effects on controlling cholesterol. And as the cholesterol is controlled it also keeps away the heart troubles that are faced due to the increase in cholesterol.
Good in digestion:
As kid’s digestive system is bit delicate you need to refrain them from the heavy food stuffs. As brown rice is easily digestible it is very good in kid’s diet.
Good source of Manganese:
Manganese is of the most vital element in children health. They contain antioxidant enzyme which defends against the harmful free radicals that are produced during when body generates energy.
Fights against obesity:
The children who suffer from obesity can have brown rice without the fear of gaining weight. As brown rice is rich is fiber content it provides body with all nutrition and also maintains body weight.
Brown rice is very good food for children. Usually fearing that the child may fall asleep during school hours after consuming rice you don’t need to worry about it now. You can even pack brown rice for their lunch.
Possessing crunchy flavor they are easily consumed by kids.
You can make some amazing delicacy with brown rice so that your kids relish it anytime.
Blend it with good variety of vegetables making it a kind if fried rice which will include all the nutrition from vegetables and additionally possess the benefits of brown rice.- Cook the rice with milk and if available soy milk as soy milk is amazing source of vitamin B12. heat it with adding cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins and honey and can be served as delicious rice pudding in the snack time.
- You can even prepare rice salad by adding some r aw vegetables, tofu, nuts, mushrooms, herb or spices.
- Rest rice and chopped vegetables in pita bread, cherish it is as lunch meal by adding any of desired salad dressing.
So be it school hours or any short picnic pack the delicious brown rice recipes to your kids lunch boxes without any fear of they gaining weight or falling asleep.
Precaution that has to be taken:
- Brown rice gets stale after six months.
- Make sure before cooking brown rice soak it in water for at least 25 to 30 minutes.
- Double the amount of water to the amount of brown rice which has ro be cooked.
- And if you have never tasted brown rice earlier in your life then after knowing the benefits please don’t completely adopt brown rice. Start consuming it slowly. During initial stages mix one portion of brown rice with one portion of white rice. And thus slowly get it involved in your daily diet.
