Brown pasta and rice

[Mandalore15]

Are these really necessary? I think they both have the texture of grit and can't stand them! I love seeded brown bread - only kind of bread I eat - but will it really kill my gains if I stick to the plain old white pasta and basmati?

[astrostu]

I'm sure people will disagree with me, but I say no, they're not necessary. I think people like them here because they are "slower" carbs, not as simple, and have more fiber. I'm on a cut and use white rice in about 1/3 of my recipes and I'm still doing fine. Might it be a little faster if I used brown rice? Perhaps. But if you're not going to like to eat the food, you're going to dislike your cut/bulk even less in terms of a "restrictive" diet.

[Mandalore15]

I'm sure people will disagree with me, but I say no, they're not necessary. I think people like them here because they are "slower" carbs, not as simple, and have more fiber. I'm on a cut and use white rice in about 1/3 of my recipes and I'm still doing fine. Might it be a little faster if I used brown rice? Perhaps. But if you're not going to like to eat the food, you're going to dislike your cut/bulk even less in terms of a "restrictive" diet.

Thanks for the reply! Yeah, that all seems pretty fair. I think I could just about get by eating brown rice, but wholewheat pasta is just nasty to me. I might give them another go at some point in the future but it's good to know that it's not going to undo all my work if I can't stick to it. =)

[feinburgrl]

Brown rice and pasta has the texture of grit? I never heard that before and never thought it would have grit texture and I hate grits. Brown rice has fiber and a lot of nutrition value for people and ever more for people lifting weights. I eat it because people because of the fiber and people on this forum eat it.

[astrostu]

Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of brown rice, and the different cooking time is a pain in the @$$. I do a chicken fried rice dish (MUCH healthier than it sounds) that just does NOT work with brown rice, and I also do a curried chicken with rice that requires just the 15 minute cooking time of white ... cook it for an hour for brown and it's just all soggy. I am trying a beef-salsa dish on Saturday that I'm going to put over a little brown rice to see how it turns out, but I'm not expecting any miracles.

As I said, I think it really boils (haha!) down to if you're going to eat it and like it. For example, I'm going on a field camp to Meteor Crater in October. I'm an "advanced hobbyist" / "semi-pro" photographer and have been there with my SLRs and taken some great photos, but this field camp may offer me the opportunity to go places the public NEVER gets to go, like into the crater. Do I bring my SLR or get a decent P&S? If I bring the SLR, I'll get great shots but I won't have it with me 'cause it's too bulky. If I bring the P&S, I'll be able to document everything, have the chance of getting some great shots, and I'll have it with me 'cause it'll weigh less than my water bottle and fit in my pocket.

So while regular pasta and white rice may not be as good as brown rice and whole wheat pasta for weight loss due to their high glycemic index, if it means the difference between you being happy with your meals versus struggling to get 'em down, then just go for it.

[wygdwicfy]

my understanding is that

1) White rice is bleached or sumthing, therefore not good foor you

2) brown rice and wheat pasta's have more fiber

3) brown rice and wheat pasta's carbs are less refined, so they are less likely to be converted to sugar.

can stand brown rice, so when i do eat rice, its usually white, but all my pastas and breads are wheat.

[Mandalore15]

Brown rice and pasta has the texture of grit? I never heard that before and never thought it would have grit texture and I hate grits. Brown rice has fiber and a lot of nutrition value for people and ever more for people lifting weights. I eat it because people because of the fiber and people on this forum eat it.

Sorry mate, I think a bit of a culture-clash has happened here. I know in America "grits" is some kind of food (no idea what though), but here in the UK when we refer to "grit" it means the mixture of salt, stones and dirt that you put on the road to melt the ice on it in winter! If something kind of crunches like salt crystals in your mouth and is rough to chew you say it has a "gritty texture".

[Ryanmckd]

Luckily for me

Brown Rice tastes WAY better then white

White processed bread? Err no ty, i love my wholewheat bread

but i do prefer Normal pasta compared to wholewheat.

[astrostu]

I eat it because people ... people on this forum eat it.

Okay, well that's a formal logical fallacy, argument from authority.

As to the higher fiber content, I gotta be honest, I was surprised how little extra fiber there is, and it depends SIGNIFICANTLY on what kind you get. Going off of NutritionData.com, per 100 gms:

Medium-Grain White Rice, Unenriched: 0 gm fiber
Medium-Grain White Rice, Enriched: 1.4 gm fiber
Long-Grain White Rice, Enriched: 2.2 gm fiber

Medium-Grain Brown Rice, Enriched: 3.4 gm fiber
Long-Grain Brown Rice: 3.5 gm fiber

So yeah ... not much difference there. Maybe 50% more, numbers-wise, but 1 gm more fiber per 100 gm rice (~1/2 cup)? Not much of a difference.

my understanding is that

1) White rice is bleached or sumthing, therefore not good foor you.

This is a complete myth. You may be thinking flour.

[wygdwicfy]

Okay, well that's a formal logical fallacy, argument from authority.

As to the higher fiber content, I gotta be honest, I was surprised how little extra fiber there is, and it depends SIGNIFICANTLY on what kind you get. Going off of NutritionData.com, per 100 gms:

Medium-Grain White Rice, Unenriched: 0 gm fiber
Medium-Grain White Rice, Enriched: 1.4 gm fiber
Long-Grain White Rice, Enriched: 2.2 gm fiber

Medium-Grain Brown Rice, Enriched: 3.4 gm fiber
Long-Grain Brown Rice: 3.5 gm fiber

So yeah ... not much difference there. Maybe 50% more, numbers-wise, but 1 gm more fiber per 100 gm rice (~1/2 cup)? Not much of a difference.





This is a complete myth. You may be thinking flour.

ah, i must have been thinking flour.