Brown Rice

X said he wouldn't touch seaweed or brown-rice sushi if his life depended on it. At the mere mention of steak and mushroom pie, Y began her rain-forest lecture. Z ("no sugar, no white flour") refused to taste the chocolate-coated Lamington. It was your usual you-say-to may to / I-say-to mah to night. Few are neutral when it comes to food "won'ts." The solution?

It's not all gloom and doom in Elizabeth and Tim McCreary's pantry, but registered dietitian Lisa Gibson found plenty of room for the couple to improve. What the McCrearys are doing right: Making home-cooked meals with ingredients such as skinless chicken and brown rice is a good start to eating more healthfully, but they need to be consistent and watch their portion sizes. Instead of nachos made with fried chips and gobs of cheese, Gibson recommends upping the nutritional value by using fresh corn tortillas, cutting way back on the cheese and adding nonfat refried beans, lean ground turkey cooked with salsa, plus lettuce and tomatoes.

There's nothing like the rich, nutty flavor of traditional brown rice. But the directions on most packages say to cook it 45 minutes to an hour. One day when I was in a hurry, I tried an experiment. I cooked brown basmati rice, which is available in most markets, for 25 to 30 minutes. I liked it better that way. It had a slight chewiness that was a nice contrast to the vegetables of this stew--which contains no meat, but you don't miss it--and it readily absorbed the vegetarian "gravy."

Marinated chicken stuffed with brown rice and grapes Total time: About 3 hours Servings: 4 to 6 Marinated chicken 1/4 cup unsweetened pomegranate molasses 1/4 cup honey 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon allspice 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 4 cloves garlic, crushed Salt 1 (4- to 5-pound)...

The most recent rice consumption statistics are impressive. Americans have been helping themselves to almost twice as much rice as they were a decade ago, a trend the Rice Council, a grower's advocacy group, attributes to an influx of immigrants from rice-eating countries and to new rice products. This run on rice seems to be confined to the white varieties. Despite its vitamin and fiber laden-bran layer, brown rice accounts for only 5% of the rice we eat.

This delicious zucchini casserole is enhanced with the addition of quick-cooking brown rice. It is laced with shredded Cheddar cheese. Combine 2 cups thinly sliced zucchini, 1/2 cup quick-cooking brown rice, 1/4 cup minced onion, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 1 clove garlic, minced, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 3/4 cup water in saucepan. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Combine 3 beaten eggs with 1/2 cup milk and 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese.

B vitamins are part of wholesome brown rice, When left unpolished, so simple, so nice. Chewy and nutty when ready to eat; Better than white, brown rice can't be beat! BOUNCIN' BROWN RICE PUDDING 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice 1 apple, cored and grated 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 to 1/2 cup cows milk or soymilk 2 tablespoons apple juice concentrate Mix all ingredients in a saucepan over low heat for approximately ten minutes. Add enough of the milk to reach desired consistency.

A television commercial produced by the South Korean government shows ancient warriors who eat brown rice are successful in their invasion of Peking, but once there, their captives feed them white rice and the weakened warriors are driven away. Promoter Tom Coyne of Little Rock, a proponent of brown rice, said he could use an advertisement like that to spread the word to American farmers and businessmen. Coyne, since founding Arkansas-based Devark Inc.

White rice is nice, but brown rice has a chewy texture and a richer, nuttier taste. Brown rice is a good source of vitamin E, fiber and carbohydrates. Combined with lentils, it makes a flavorful salad rich in vitamins and nutrients. I prefer steaming brown rice in my electric steamer to cooking it on the stove top. It may take a little longer, but it always produces perfect rice. Keep an eye on the lentils so they don't overcook and get mushy. They should retain their shape yet be tender.

Liz Story has come down from the mountain. The reason? To use the phone. The 34-year-old pianist, who plays solo Saturday at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano and Sunday at the Strand in Redondo Beach, lives in a geodesic dome she erected on 20 secluded acres in the hills above Prescott, Ariz. "Actually, I was going to build two," the pianist said recently in a phone interview from a friend's house, "but I've only finished one so far.

Bob Harper takes people from morbidly obese to fit and trim on NBC's "The Biggest Loser," and has helped countless others battle their weight as well. The trainer, author of "Are You Ready!: Take Charge, Lose Weight, Get in Shape, and Change Your Life Forever" and the host of numerous fitness DVDs, was the guest in a live Web chat this week about how to drop pounds, keep them off, and get into shape. Here's part of the chat, which is archived in its entirety (portions of this transcript have been edited for clarity)

The ladies clogging the canned food aisles at the Crenshaw-area Ralphs last week weren't trying to find the best deals for their pocketbooks, but the smartest choices for their bodies. The peaches intended for Sunday's cobbler? Those packed in "extra heavy" syrup come with twice the calories as the "extra light" variety. The chicken broth for a hearty soup? "Natural goodness" on the label means 400 fewer grams of sodium. Substitute brown rice for white, and you've got half the calories and twice the fiber.

The messages are all over the supermarket aisles: "Made with whole grain goodness," screams a bag of Tostitos tortilla chips. "With whole grain guaranteed," says a box of Chocolate Cheerios. "One serving of whole grain," declares a package of frosted strawberry Pop-Tarts. Whole grains have been the darlings of the food industry ever since the government's 2005 food pyramid recommended we eat more of them — at least 3 ounces per day. These days, you'll find them in a wide array of products, some expected, some not: breakfast cereals, crackers, frozen dinners and snack chips.

Recently, a kid named Sandy Pukel, whom I haven't seen since high school, tracked me down through Facebook. Turns out he is no longer a kid (surprise!); in fact, he is a health food guru, and he mentioned he was running his annual Holistic Holiday at Sea vegan cruise to the Caribbean. The idea tickled my funny bone, and pardon me if I mention the word "bone" in the context of vegan fare. The average cruiser is said to gain 7 to 10 pounds in a week by shoveling in food by the truckload; Sandy said that on his cruise, folks lose weight.

It always gives me great comfort to know that when I cannot think of what to make for dinner, I can always rely on rice and everything else will eventually fall into place. Many Japanese plan their daily menu this way -- around a bowl of rice. It is not a surprise that gohan, the Japanese word for "rice," also means "meal."

Every time I go to Viet Noodle Bar in Atwater Village, I order the same thing: a bowl of brown rice, laced with mung beans and tofu and fresh herbs. I know, it sounds too boring and, well, just too wholesome to be so addictive. But grain dishes can surprise you like that.

The ladies clogging the canned food aisles at the Crenshaw-area Ralphs last week weren't trying to find the best deals for their pocketbooks, but the smartest choices for their bodies. The peaches intended for Sunday's cobbler? Those packed in "extra heavy" syrup come with twice the calories as the "extra light" variety. The chicken broth for a hearty soup? "Natural goodness" on the label means 400 fewer grams of sodium. Substitute brown rice for white, and you've got half the calories and twice the fiber.

Bob Harper takes people from morbidly obese to fit and trim on NBC's "The Biggest Loser," and has helped countless others battle their weight as well. The trainer, author of "Are You Ready!: Take Charge, Lose Weight, Get in Shape, and Change Your Life Forever" and the host of numerous fitness DVDs, was the guest in a live Web chat this week about how to drop pounds, keep them off, and get into shape. Here's part of the chat, which is archived in its entirety (portions of this transcript have been edited for clarity)

FRESH IN THE BOX This Culver City organic sushi joint (13354 Washington Blvd.) offers friendly service, tasty sushi (with the option of brown rice) and a reasonable price. Everything Zen? Mm-hm! 'ALL THE SAD YOUNG LITERARY MEN' If you can get past the title, Keith Gessen's novel is a witty musing on failure and youthful entitlement. Then again, we are Gessen's precise target audience. WHAM-O TRACBALL It's sort of a cross between an egg toss and jai alai, with people winging a textured plastic ball back and forth, catching it in scooped plastic rackets lined with two ridged "tracks."

THE juxtaposition couldn't be more delicious: Around the corner from the perennially mobbed Pink's, where hot dogs come slathered in fluorescent chili, is a jewel box of a cafe serving macrobiotic food to the health-obsessed. Now, don't get scared. If the term "macrobiotic" conjures up visions of hemp-clothed hippies dining on bowls of tamari-soaked brown rice or loaves of bread heavy enough to break a tooth or a toe, stop right there. You are seriously out of date.