Stags Eating Healthy

We have had a new wave of healthy eating in our household lately. We started implementing little changes a couple of years ago:

• cooking at home more
• encouraging Lucas to "just try" something new
  
• eating less meat (not applicable to Lucas)
• making veggies a larger percent on the plate
• keeping "healthier" snacks at home
• drinking less soda (John hardly drinks it now!)
  

The most painless and least noticable change was converting from white rice to brown rice. When John and I ate brown rice for the first time, we just kind of looked at each other with scrunched-up expressions on our faces as if we just put saw dust into our mouths. Brown rice is really quite good. Plus, the health benefits made it worth a try. White rice causes a rapid spike in blood sugar. Also, when brown rice is milled and polished to make white rice, a lot of the magnesium and the cholesterol-lowering LDL fats in the bran are also removed. That leaves only the white fluffy grain we all know and love!

But switching overnight from fluffy, creamy, slightly sweet white rice to the hearty, nutty- tasting, fiber-rich texture of brown rice was probably a bad idea. Ian seemed open to it right away, but not Lucas!

So we started by combining the two rices and cooking them together (1/4 brown to 3/4 white). It was a bit noticeable but not enough to bother me. Time went by and we ate the odd rice combo with little interruption. Lucas was on board. After a few weeks, we make the proportions 50/50 brown to white. That stayed that way for a few months because the holidays were upon us and neither John nor I thought about the rice for a while.

Last week, we make the transition to 80% brown rice.... no complaints from anyone! Now adobo and stir-fry doesn't taste any different to us with brown rice. I look forward to buying just brown rice soon... it's a pain keeping both kinds in my small, small pantry. As a mom, I feel good making this change in my family's diet, especially with picky eaters (ahem, John is one of them).