Rice Bowls

From sandwiches to salads, dishes with layered components are a regular fixture in most households. That’s why it’s time to embrace rice bowls. Start with a pile of nutty-tasting wholegrain rice as your meal anchor and then start devising the possible toppings to stack on. Rice bowls allow you to produce truly flavoursome and nutritious meals.

Rice bowls are also a perfect meal option for those living a gluten-free lifestyle. And for fitness enthusiasts, the combination of carbohydrates and protein makes them a near-perfect recovery meal to help recharge weary muscles. Break out your favourite bowls: these recipes are layered with forkfuls of goodness.

Recipes

• Maple Mushroom Rice Bowl
• Prawn Rice Bowl with Nut Sauce
• Chicken Fajita Rice Bowl
• Teriyaki Tofu Rice Bowl
• Egg Rice Bowl with Basil Oil

Rice is nice

The long and short of rice is that you want to choose carefully when it comes to the foundation of your rice bowls. Studies suggest that wholegrain brown rice has a significant leg up on its refined white counterpart. A recent European Journal of Epidemiology study found an inverse relationship between the intake of whole grains—including brown rice—and the risk for type 2 diabetes.

On the flip side, the researchers reported that higher intakes of white rice, which is stripped of most of its nutritional soul, can raise the risk for the disease. Brown rice contains a powerful bundle of fibre, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that may confer protection against diabetes.

However, there is no reason why you have to limit yourself to brown rice. Other wholegrain options such as black rice, Bhutanese red rice and wild rice blends can add interest and nutritional greatness to your rice bowls.