Low calorie rice? (vegetables, carbs, proteins, calories)

[stephenMM]

I'd stopped eating rice because of its high carbs and relatively high calories, but I found this rice below at Walmart w/ a lot fewer calories. Not sure how they did it but I like the taste. It works well w/ the Mission Zero Net Carb Sun Dried Basil tortillas that are only 25 calories each. The orange package contains 380 calories per package while the blue package has only 230 calories. Both have exactly the same net weight.

[steiconi]

Water is the first ingredient lusted for each; perhaps the GV has MORE water than the other, which would result in fewer calories per gram.
The carbs listed support this possibility.

Yikes, the sodium!

[Malloric]

Regular rice.

It's "low calorie" because it's cooked. Normally nutrition data is given for uncooked rice. 1 Cup of uncooked short grain white rice, ~700 calories yields about 3 cups of cooked rice as you put a cup of rice in two cups of water. The water goes into the rice and makes it 3 cups. Wild rice has more fiber in it than white rice, lower calories.

Basically you're just eating 1/3rd of a cup of rice instead of 1 cup of rice which naturally has lower calories. Can't really see the ingredients for the seasoning mix. Probably not great. Cheaper and healthier to do your own seasoning. Rice freezes well. But if you like the convenience of the pouches, by all means.

[guidoLaMoto]

--like the package I saw on the store shelf-- Sugarless Sugar Cookies. ..??? WUWT?

BTW-- if you like rice, eat it. Just eat less.

[Ghaati]

The Uncle Ben's rice contains more than 1/3 of your total daily sodium. That's a LOT of sodium for half a cup of a side dish. Add whatever sodium is in the protein, the actual vegetable, whatever you have for breakfast and a third meal or snack...

[TimAZ]

There are quite a few “rice” (orzo) pastas made with plant proteins that have much lower carb counts than regular rice. Look for brands like Fiber Gourmet or Proto-Pasta. Other low calorie/carb alternatives are riced cauliflower and riced palm hearts.

[springfieldva]

I've used Konjac rice with some chicken flavored Better than Bullion and then topped it with stir fry vegetables. It tasted like a total cheat meal and the calories were minimal. The sodium was HIGH but as an occasional thing it is fine in my book. Lots of good nutrients.

I can see coming up with something similar using a carb zero wrap.

I like to brown ground chicken, season with taco seasoning (you can do a homemade one), top with shredded cheese, hot sauce and bake in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes.

[OutdoorLover]

Brown rice and wild rice have better fiber and nutrition than white rice. Wild rice is a little pricey but brown rice is still very reasonable, especially if you buy it in a 5lb or larger bag.

You could also consider rice alternatives like quinoa, barley, bulgur or farro, which excel in fiber and nutrition, even some decent protein. And these days there is also available "riced" cauliflower, which isn't a grain at all, but is again a healthier alternative to white rice, and is very low in calories.

None of these alternatives will have the taste or texture of white rice, but in my experience, they are still pleasant, still mildly flavored and so pair well with lots of dishes, and I soon stop worrying about whether they imitate white rice well and appreciate them instead on their own merits.

P.S. Trader Joe's has "10 minute" farro, barley and bulgur, which is attractively priced and since it's already par-cooked, it boils up in 10 minutes.