Breaking out of the pasta-rice-potato cycle
First off, let me just say that there is nothing at all wrong with pasta, rice or potato! (Unless you have an allergy or intolerance to one of these of course.) But many people rotate their meals between these three, and on top of this many rely on white pasta and rice.
There are two main issues here:
Refined white rice and pasta have had the majority of their nutrition removed. By definition, the process of refining rice and the wheat used to make pasta removes many vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fibre, creating very nutrient deficient foods. For example, white rice has many B vitamins, and a lot of its manganese, magnesium, phosphorus and iron removed, and has only about a quarter of its original fibre remaining. Not only does this mean these are nutrient deficient foods, but the lack of fibre also means the carbohydrates are rapidly broken down to sugars and absorbed into your blood stream causing spikes in your blood sugar levels.
You are missing out on an amazing variety of other foods. There are many highly nutritious alternatives to pasta, rice and potato. But if you are in the pasta-rice-potato cycle you are missing out on other wonderful flavours, textures and most importantly nutrient dense foods.
I have written about adding more variety to your diet in previous posts, and I have focused on fruits and veggies, but there is no need to stop here! You can also add greater interest and a wider spectrum of nutrition to your diet by swapping out some of your white rice, white pasta and white potato meal staples for other alternatives.
Here are some things you might like to try :)
Swap to wholegrain
So let’s get the obvious one out of the way! Wholegrain versions of rice and pasta are much more nutrient dense and have more fibre than their highly refined counterparts, so swapping to these is a good choice.
Put away the deep fat fryer
White potatoes do have valuable nutrition, for example they are a really good source of vitamin C and potassium, but you might want to consider how you are cooking your potatoes. Boiling with skin on is best to retain nutrients as otherwise vitamins like vitamin C can leach out and other nutrients such as potassium are concentrated in the skin.
Remember sweet potatoes
Sweet potato is a great alternative to white potato. Sweet potatoes contain more fibre than white potatoes and they have a different balance of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, being particularly high in vitamins A, B6 and C. It is not really a case of ditching white potatoes and using sweet instead, but adding in sweet some of the time will broaden your nutrient intake.
Millet
Millet is a versatile alternative to rice and pasta. It is most like large Couscous, but I think tastier! Millet is a cereal grain that is gluten free and high in protein (it contains more essential amino acids than most other cereal grains), fibre, antioxidants, folate, iron, magnesium and phosphorus. Finger millet has the highest calcium content of all cereal grains.
I like to boil hulled millet to use similarly to Couscous, or (and I definitely recommend this!) I grind the hulled millet in a coffee grinder and use the powder to make porridge over the stove with a nut milk! OMG, topped with fresh fruit and cinnamon this is so delicious!! Recipe suggestion coming soon!
Quinoa
Quinoa has gained a lot of popularity as a gluten-free option that is also rich in protein and many other nutrients. For example, 1 cup (185g) quinoa contains over 8g protein (and all of the essential amino acids), 5g fibre, and nearly 3mg iron as well as good quantities of other nutrients such as manganese, vitamin E, folate and magnesium. The main varieties found in supermarkets are white, red and black. I like cooking a mix of the three as this makes for a very attractive meal base. Consider using quinoa wherever you might use rice. I particularly like making salads with quinoa as the base, or serving roasted veg on a bed of quinoa and a dollop of humous on the side! My stomach is rumbling at the thought of it!
Don’t forget legumes!
I want to finish off my suggestions with an ode to legumes - so beans, chickpeas, split peas and lentils. These lovelies are largely forgotten in many peoples diets, which is a huge shame as there are so many varieties to choose from, they are so delicious, and they pack a serious nutritional punch. Powerhouses for protein, at least one third of the calories in lentils are from protein and they are also rich in fibre, folate, potassium, iron, B1… and the story is very similar for the rest of the legumes. Eating legumes regularly is linked with lower weight, lower risk of cancer, lower risk of diabetes, lower risk of cardiovascular disease, need I go on? Eat more legumes!
Ideas for how to include more legumes in your diet are practically endless, as there are so many to choose from. Bean dips, humous, chilli beans, bean soup, bean stew, beans mixed in salad, lentil soup, split pea soup, chick pea curry, roasted chick peas, bean burgers, bean pancakes, bean burritos,…. the list goes on. With so many benefits to eating beans, getting them into as many meals as possible can give your health journey a real boost.
That brings be to the end of my suggestions for alternatives to rice, pasta and potato. Of course there are other options you can explore, but these are by faves :) I hope this gives you some inspiration to mix up your plate.
In wellness
Fabia x
