Rice is definitely one of the most popular food choices today, and considered a staple.
Rice is well known for being high in carbohydrates and therefore, rarely seen as a healthy source of food.
Are you familiar with brown rice? At the very least, brown rice is favored recipe by individuals who are trying to lose weight.
The good news… rice does not have to be so packed in calories. Studies show that when cooked properly, you can actually cut the calorie content of rice in half.
That’s right – HALF the amount of calories, allowing you to eat a full meal without having to run extra laps just to burn off that extra calories.
Traditional Way to Cook Rice
Countries in Asia cook rice through two different methods:
Rice Cook: Using a rice cooker, where the rice is washed and loaded in the cooker with water. The appliance is turned on and it takes care of the cooking process.
The cooker often keeping the rice warm until it is ready to be eaten. The ratio is typically 1 cup of water to 1 cup of rice.
Pot: For those who do not have a rice cooker, a pot is used. The mixture is the same but a heating source is utilized to boil the rice until it softens.
This could take 30 minutes to finish, depending on the size of the rice. Cooks usually wait for the water to dry out, before lowering the “heat” to prevent the bottom portion from becoming overcooked.
One white cooked cup of rice contains around 204 calories – which means that when halved, you will be getting only 102 calories in one cup serving. Other nutritional facts of white rice include:
- Total carbohydrates 44.5g
- Total fat 0.4g
- Protein 4.2g
New Way to Cook Rice
So how exactly do you cook rice to make it less calorie packed? Here is the secret to the cooking process:
- Start by boiling water and washing the rice separately in a container.
- Add coconut oil to the boiling water. According to the creators of this system, you will have to weigh how much rice you are cooking and add 3% of that weight in coconut oil.
- Place the white rice in the pot and let it cook as usual.
- Once you are done, place the cooked rice in the refrigerator for cooling about 12 hours before eating.
Seems simple right? It is – which is why there seems to be a lot of skeptics when it comes to the validity of this new cooking method.
Who Came Up With This?
Credit for the new way to cook rice goes to a student of the College of Chemical Sciences located in Sri Lanka together with his professor.
The two have been toying around with rice, contemplating the possibility of changing the type of starch associated with this type of food.
This is not a discovery that came out of pure luck. The fact is that the student together with his mentor really went through the chemical background of food and contemplated the possibility of starch changes.
They have tested different theories before coming up in cooking rice with coconut oil idea. Now the question is – how exactly does this work?
The Starchy Background
There are basically two types of starches today: the digestible and the resistant starches.
The traditional way of cooking rice gives birth to digestible starches.
This is something the body can easily digest, therefore speeding up the conversion of starch to glucose and then energy.
Unfortunately, if the energy is left unspent, the glucose turns into fat – stored in the body and added to your overall weight.
To make rice more weight loss friendly, the digestible starch is turned into resistant starch. This happens because of:
(1) the introduction of lipid in coconut oil
(2) the immediate cooling of the rice. According to the proponents of the discovery, the lipid interacts with the rice and turns the digestible starch into resistant starch. The immediate cooling then fortifies the production of resistant starch, therefore making each serving healthier.
How healthy?
Resistant starch is named such because the body has a hard time digesting it.
The slow burn means that the transition between carbohydrates to glucose to energy is slow, so there is a good chance you will be burning off all the energy as they are released in the body.
This is the most defining quality of the starch conversion process, making it possible for individuals to delay the release of calories.
Another plus of this is the fact that you will have a source of energy during the day. Since the resistant starch produces a slow burn, you will feel full and energetic during the day with possibly less chances of feeling hunger.
What This Means For the Future
Proponents are looking at more than just rice for this wonderful new discovery. The fact is that rice is not the only starch-rich food option available today.
What if the same principle can be applied to other staples like bread?
Through proper preparation, there is a good chance that food items can have more health benefits and more weight-loss friendly without having to spend thousands in the process.
Note though that more studies are being conducted by the proponents. Currently, they are focusing in the field of rice with the intent of trying out different varieties to see which one has the largest reduction in calories.
Coconut oil as a source of lipid is also not exclusive which means that other oil types might be used in the future.
Try It Out!
Considering the simplicity of the process, people are advised to try it out and see how the rice works for them.
The beauty here is that the new way of cooking rice recipe does not exactly ruin the quality or taste of the rice.
In fact, some individuals note that the addition of coconut oil improves the taste of the cooked rice with a more distinct smell.
See for yourself how this works out after a month of use – did you lose some weight?
Do you feel better during the day or did you notice any changes?
This many be a new way to cook rice and yet another plus for Coconut oil, which so many people use on a daily basis.
h/t: TipHero
Sources: Nutritiondata | Washington Post | Fine Cooking