The Rice Racist

My husband Bill is a health nut.  He reads everything he can get his hands on about food.  Mostly he wants to know what the latest research says he should be eating.  Those “rules” change often, but the latest one is a doozy!

Bill had read an article stating that rice has high levels of arsenic.  However, rice from India, Thailand, and California did not have as much.  So the other night we had the server at our favorite Thai place check the origin of their rice.  Our faithful waitperson came back with the info.  He said they used a couple of types of rice.  One was from Thailand and, he proudly proclaimed, “the brown rice is from the good old US of A!”  I saw the look in Bill’s eyes and I knew what was coming.  “What state in the US?”

The server blinked, looked confused, and then headed back to the kitchen. He was back in a flash.  Before he even reached our table he announced for all to hear “Arkansas!”  I could see by the look on Bill’s face that he was sorely disappointed.  Being the healthy guy he is, brown rice was the only type he would ever eat.  To find out that his favorite rice was from one of the most arsenic-laden rice states was a blow.

We eat at that Thai restaurant frequently, which is probably why the server was willing to go on a rice fact-finding mission for us.  Now Bill needed to make some decisions regarding his starch choices there.  I knew it was a lost cause, but on the way home I tried to give some helpful suggestions:

Question:  Maybe noodles would be nice?   Answer:  No, they are made with processed flour!

Question:  What about rice noodles, they’re good!  Answer:  No, they use white rice for that and who knows where THAT rice came from?

Question:  What if you had them use the “safe” Thai rice and you could just eat a little of it?  Answer:  It’s white!!!

It must be terrible to be a rice racist.  Being married to one has its challenges, too.