— Razi Lissy

I grew up in rice culture and, um, you know, growing up it was always white rice. That's all I knew. And I still like white rice. And, and arguably there are probably some preparations out there that, um, I will insist at least once in a while, preparing with white rice, because I really wanna experience that old flavor experience that, uh, that I grew up with, or that, that I, that I have when I visit Japan or, or wherever those places are. Okay? Um, when it comes to transitioning to brown rice for rice, people, I'll, I'll, I'll say, okay, culturally, right? Uh, people that grew up with rice as the staple food, um, it, it, uh, it takes a conscious effort and willingness up here, okay? And, um, I will, I will talk about right now the psychology okay. Of food. And that is that I believe, uh, that with so many things in life, that these sort of changes are 90% mental, okay? That 10% is just, is just doing the work. Uh, a lot of the, the blocks, the difficulties, right? The, the lack of motivation, uh, that we have around some something new, whether it's an exercise program in the new year or cooking brown rice, right, is, um, focusing on, uh, the change. And, and the change is often, often highlights what it is that, um, uh, like in the case of food is, it's, it's what we no longer have. It's a different flavor, right? We have this flavor, but not that one. But we, we focus on this one because of the nostalgia, um, because of the immediate past memories that we have, or maybe the distant past memories that we have. And if, if you can start to, to, to make this effort up here, to enjoy what you do have in the, the richer, deeper flavors, the, the, the nuttier flavors, the, uh, the, the, the greater mouthfeel of, of the chewiness of brown rice or any other whole grains, and find the enjoyment in that because there really is, uh, a lot of, uh, uh, extra flavor, uh, that can be, um, um, quickly discerned and, um, and, and, uh, hopefully enjoyed with these whole grains. Um, and, uh, and, and then go for it, right? We need to, to add those other things in there that, uh, create the dish, uh, herbs and spices and depending on what it is that you're making, sometimes there's some caramelization that might be, uh, involved. Uh, maybe we might finish something with a little splash of acidity through, you know, some, some vinegar to, to balance fattiness that we might add from some other ingredients. Um, I'm not saying it's easy, but, uh, there's a lot of goodness. Uh, again, as I mentioned in, in, um, the, the, the mouth feel as well as the deeper flavors that we get out of whole grains versus their more refined counterparts. Um, try to do this, you know, with those at the table. Um, but again, maybe it also means occasionally preparing that favorite dish, uh, in its in its white rice form. Uh, just to keep everybody, um, excited about this new path that you're taking 'em down.