If you have been a reader for a while, you are well aware that I am easily amused and sometimes feel the need to break out into a happy dance when I find new gluten-free products & such. We have had a crazy busy week and I have not been feeling well due to a sinus infection, so meals have been pieced together. I ran out to Chipotle on Thursday night to pick up dinner and was inspired to break out into a happy dance when I found a new offering:
Brown rice!!
I will always choose brown rice over white, when available, so this new discovery made my heart grow just a little bigger the other day. As if I didn’t already have a Chipotle problem!
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If you haven’t had a chance to give Chipotle a try, you really must do so. Not only do they have locations across the US, but they do a great job of taking care of those with special diet needs.
I know some people worry about the risk of cross contamination with Chipotle due to the flour tortillas. While that is a valid concern, I do want to share that we eat at Chipotle more than we should and have yet to encounter an issue. I don’t recommend calling, faxing or ordering from the Chipotle iPhone app, as it is best to be there in person watching over your order.
The brown rice was every bit as good as the white rice. It had also been made with cilantro and tasted like the white version, but heartier! I would have snapped a picture, but I was cranky & hungry, so it was more important to get the food into my belly at that point in time.
Check out the benefits of brown rice over white:
Why Brown–But Not White–Rice is One of the World’s Healthiest Foods
The difference between brown rice and white rice is not just color! A whole grain of rice has several layers. Only the outermost layer, the hull, is removed to produce what we call brown rice. This process is the least damaging to the nutritional value of the rice and avoids the unnecessary loss of nutrients that occurs with further processing. If brown rice is further milled to remove the bran and most of the germ layer, the result is a whiter rice, but also a rice that has lost many more nutrients. At this point, however, the rice is still unpolished, and it takes polishing to produce the white rice we are used to seeing. Polishing removes the aleurone layer of the grain–a layer filled with health-supportive, essential fats. Because these fats, once exposed to air by the refining process, are highly susceptible to oxidation, this layer is removed to extend the shelf life of the product. The resulting white rice is simply a refined starch that is largely bereft of its original nutrients.
Our food ranking system qualified brown rice as an excellent source of manganese, and a good source of the mineralsselenium and magnesium. The complete milling and polishing that converts brown rice into white rice destroys 67% of the vitamin B3, 80% of the vitamin B1, 90% of the vitamin B6, half of the manganese, half of the phosphorus, 60% of the iron, and all of the dietary fiber and essential fatty acids. By law in the United States, fully milled and polished white rice must be "enriched" with vitamins B1, B3, and iron. But the form of these nutrients when added back into the processed rice is not the same as in the original unprocessed version, and at least 11 lost nutrients are not replaced in any form even with rice "enrichment."
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Have you tried the brown rice at Chipotle yet? I may have to go back again this weekend to make sure I gave you guys an accurate report of the new rice.
