It's Never Too Late for Brown Rice

I read almost every weight-loss and nutrition headline that pops across the news. It's sort of a hobby for me. As a result, some good advice has been absorbed into our routine, like eating more fresh fruits and vegetables and not to eating the entire pint of Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream (29 pts. per pint).

One hot health habit that has never settled well with me is the push from pristine white rice to it's dirtier, rougher cousin brown rice. During the course of my childhood and adolescence I've consumed, by my estimation, 6 billion cups of cooked white rice. Some kids came home to beef and potatoes; in my household it was chicken and white rice. Old habits die hard.

You can't resist the brown rice cult forever, so we've made several attempts to revisit this puzzling whole grain alternative. I'll be the first to admit I suck at cooking brown rice, and I was one crunchy bite away from giving up on the whole business altogether.

In desperation, I turned to Alton. Yes I know, this is only the thousandth time I've turned to a recipe from Good Eats. Sue me. If a blogger can get a book deal by cooking a ton of Julia Child recipes, then I can indulge in a little GE mojo from time to time.

I should have started there at the beginning, because the Good Eats baked brown rice recipe is the last I'll ever need. Soft, fluffy and full of flavor - it's everything I've wanted brown rice to be. Best of all, it's only 5 points per cup.

Served up with a bit of marinated/braised/broiled chicken and veggies (patience grasshopper, I"m still working on the recipe), and it completes one heck of a dinner.