Brown rice: why not?

If white rice is your go-to, brown rice is an easy upgrade. It's a whole grain, which means it keeps the bran and germ that are milled away to make white rice. Those layers hold fiber, magnesium, B vitamins and other minerals. The extra fiber helps meals feel more satisfying and is linked with steadier blood sugar.

One note: rice can absorb small amounts of arsenic from soil and water, and brown rice tends to have more. Rinsing it and cooking it like pasta, in plenty of water and then draining, can lower that. It also helps to vary your grains with quinoa, millet and buckwheat.

Try this: cook a big pot on Sunday and use it all week in bowls, soups and stir-fries.