This black rice and cranberry salad is not only great for satisfying your hunger but also for feeding your gut microbes. Polyphenols in the black rice, cranberries and almonds all have the ability to influence the growth of beneficial gut microbes helping to support good gut and immune health.
This salad works really well alongside a serve of protein for a macronutrient balanced meal. This could be a palm sized portion of lean red meat, chicken or salmon, or two palm sized portions of a plant-based protein like tempeh or tofu. With such versatility in pairing alongside a variety of proteins, this salad is a great addition for taking along to BBQs or social gatherings.
Dietary Suitability of Black Rice and Cranberry Salad
Black Rice and Cranberry Salad Food As Medicine
✓ Polyphenols from black rice, cranberries and almonds
Black rice, cranberries and almonds are all good sources of polyphenols. Polyphenols are natural compounds that come from plants and have been shown to be beneficial for human health. The best part is that polyphenols are found in a variety of delicious plant-based foods, most notably berries, grapes, plums, apples, flaxseeds, hazelnuts, olives, dried herbs, tea, coffee, cocoa and dark chocolate – because we all needed some evidence to support our dark chocolate consumption! (1)
Polyphenols have antioxidant properties where they can limit free radical damage associated with ageing and chronic diseases. They do this by donating an electron to the free radical to make it less reactive and prevent oxidative damage. (1)
Polyphenols are also good at feeding your gut microbes. The majority of polyphenols resist digestion in the small intestine and travel to the colon where our beneficial gut microbes turn the polyphenols into beneficial metabolites. Beneficial bacteria like Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus ferment the polyphenols to create short chain fatty acids that can reduce inflammation, regulate appetite, maintain our intestinal barrier and support glucose balance. (2, 3)
✓ Rotating rice varieties
Rice is a staple in most households and we can often get comfortable with using the same rice variety each week. Although a simple and easy way to help diversify your gut microbes is through diversifying your grains. We want diverse gut microbes to help keep our gut microbiome resilient and able to perform essential functions to help keep us healthy. So rotating through black rice like used in this recipe, alongside red rice, brown rice and small portions of cooked and cooled white rice can help support a diverse microbiome.
White rice is known for being a high glycemic index (GI) food that can spike blood sugars when eaten. Although if you are looking to reduce its impact on blood sugars, the key is to cook in in advance so it can be cooled and then eaten cold as sushi, part of a salad or reheated. It is this cooking and cooling process of white rice that increases the resistant starch. Cooking and cooling the white rice can also decrease the glucose response compared to freshly cooked white rice. The same goes for potato and pasta.
Choosing coloured rices such as black and red rice can provide greater nutritional benefits compared to white rice thanks to their phenolic and anthocyanin content. (4) Anthocyanins are a class of polyphenols that come from the skin of the plant and is what gives the rice its red or black colour. Anthocyanins have antioxidant properties and can benefit health through reducing oxidative damage and inflammation. (4, 5)
Rather than looking for the best rice to eat, I think it is less about finding one rice variety to eat and more about rotating rice varieties such as black, red and brown rice.
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Black Rice and Cranberry Salad
Description
This black rice and cranberry salad is not only great for satisfying your hunger but also for feeding your gut microbes. Polyphenols from the black rice, cranberries and almonds have the ability to influence the growth of beneficial gut microbes helping to support good gut and immune health.
Ingredients
Scale
Salad
- 1 cup of black rice
- 8 cups of rocket
- 3/4 a cup of flat leaf/Italian parsley
- 1/2 a cup of cranberries
- 3/4 a cup of roasted almonds
- 1 cucumber, finely diced
Simple Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
- Juice from 1/2 a lemon, about 3 tbs lemon juice
- 2 tbs honey
- 3 tsp dijon mustard
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
- Place one cup of black rice into a pot of two cups of boiling water. Cook for 30 minutes before turning off the heat and covering with a lid for 10 minutes. Leave aside to cool.
- Place the almonds on a tray lined with baking paper. Bake in the over for seven to ten minutes or until they turn a golden brown. Set aside to cool.
- Make the simple vinaigrette by placing all of the ingredients in a lidded jar and then shake well to combine. Store the vinaigrette in the fridge until you are ready to serve the salad.
- Finely dice the cucumber and place in a large salad bowl with the rocket and parsley.
- Top with the cooled rice, toasted almonds and cranberries.
- Drizzle the dressing on top of the salad or serve alongside to be added just before eating.