Cookies and Milk, or Rice and Rice

Is there a better way to end the day than by tucking in your little one and then tearing into some rice cookies and rice milk with your spouse?

Pull up a chair! Guys, I need to work on my backgrounds.

Well, ok, I'm sure there are a few, like tucking the baby in, enjoying cookies and milk, and then winning a house in the house lottery. And then having your baby sleep through a whole night. And then finding out your baby can tolerate when you eat chocolate and tomatoes. I miss chocolate and tomatoes the most.

Anyway, what was I saying? Right, cookies and milk. I realized last night that I was effectively eating rice and washing it down with a glass of rice. I do love me some carbs.

Then I realized how much rice I eat: rice cereal with rice milk for breakfast, rice bread for a sandwich or toast, rice milk smoothie, rice protein bar, rice crackers, rice flour in anything I've baked, actual rice, rice pasta...and of course, rice cookies.

Yes, I'm definitely concerned about arsenic, a naturally occurring component of rice. Especially brown rice. Due to growing/harvesting practices, American rice typically has more than imported, and buying organic won't help you out here either; it's everywhere. However, there are things you can do to cut way back on the level you ingest:

1. Rinse uncooked rice well.
2. Cook it in more water than is called for. Consider even boiling it in a big pot like pasta.

Ok that's not as long a list as I thought it would be. Guess the numbers are overkill. But anyway, both steps are worth doing. Full disclosure: Yes, I am too lazy on occasion. Sometimes I don't want to wash a colander too, you know? So I only do it some of the time.

If I could, I'd try to eat less rice and fewer rice products, but that's just not an option for now. But if it's an option for you, please do consider looking into it. And for the rest of us, just eat! I recommend the rice cookies and rice milk.