Arsenic in Rice: What can you do?

If you are on a Gluten Free diet, you probably eat a lot of rice. Even if you are not, it is very scary to hear that the FDA has found measurably high levels of arsenic in rice. Arsenic is a very dangerous chemical that can be used to poison people, so it is best to stay away from rice products, especially brown rice, until we have further information on the problem. Check out the movie Arsenic and Old Lace.

What can we eat instead of rice? If you are gluten free, you can make meals with oats and potatoes. If you are not on a gluten free diet, or you think you are allergic to oats, then you may want to try to make meals with barley instead of rice. Barley is a great rice substitute. Try looking for cans of soup that are made with barley instead of rice.

Here are some sites with recipes for barley:

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/glossary/g/barley.htm

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/recipe_slideshows/hearty_barley_recipes?slide=7#leaderboardad

http://www.barleyfoods.org/recipes.html

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