Wild Rice
The original super food
Imagine a nutrient-dense, traditional food that is equal to pastured meats but is completely storable for many years without refrigeration or freezing required. It seems hard to believe, but this humble food known simply as wild rice is surprisingly not technically grain at all, but a traditional grass-based food native to both North America and Asia. This is news to people who might regularly consume white or brown rice and may not know about the healthier, wild alternative!
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Scientists categorize wild rice as a wetland growing grass known as Zizania aquatica and Zizania palustris. Native Americans relied upon it as a crucial staple food and for other purposes. The wild rice plant can grow across the United States, even as far south as the Carolinas. However, it generally only does well and produces sufficient seed in more northerly, cooler climates. It prefers shallow, small lakes and slow-flowing shallow streams where it serves as an important food source for both people and a wide variety of animals.
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Native Americans began cultivating wild rice thousands of years ago. Over time, the various tribes across the northern United States and Canada developed hundred of heirloom varieties. Given how nutritious wild rice is, it makes sense why ancestral North American cultures prized it so highly prized and cultivated it so carefully!
A 3.5-ounce (100-gram) serving of cooked wild rice provides.
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Calories: 101
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Carbs: 21 grams
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Protein: 4 grams
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Fiber: 2 grams
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Vitamin B6: 7% of the Daily Value (DV)
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Folate: 6% of the DV
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Magnesium: 8% of the DV
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Phosphorus: 8% of the DV
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Zinc: 9% of the DV
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Copper: 6% of the DV
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Manganese: 14% of the DV
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With 101 calories, 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of cooked wild rice provides slightly fewer calories than the same serving of brown or white rice, which offer 112 and 130 calories, respectively.
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Wild rice also contains small amounts of iron, potassium, and selenium.
The low calorie and high nutrient contents make wild rice a nutrient-dense food. It’s a very impressive source of minerals and a great plant-based protein source.
Nutritional Powerhouse
High in protein and fiber
Wild rice contains more protein than regular rice and many other grains.
A 3.5-ounce (100-gram) serving of wild rice provides 4 grams of protein, which is twice as much as regular brown or white rice.
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Though it’s not a rich protein source, wild rice is considered a complete protein, meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids.
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Meanwhile, the fiber content of wild rice is the same as brown rice, with each providing 1.8 grams of fiber per 3.5-ounce (100-gram) serving. On the other hand, white rice provides little to no fiber.
How to Cook Wild Rice
Wild rice is an easy food to add to your diet. Most people are familiar with wild rice from holiday pilafs and similar dishes where it adds additional color, texture, and flavor.
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The simplest method is to cook it and eat it alone after steaming or boiling. The process is similar to brown rice. Or, mix it into brown rice, other grains, soups, and stews. Some quality brands do the mixing for you to make it simple (sources).
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Even substituting just one-quarter or one-third of regular rice for wild in a dish will add color and significant nutrition! Just remember that if you substitute white rice with wild, you will need to adjust cooking times. Wild rice takes a similar amount of time to cook as many brown rices, but much longer than white rices.
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Once cooked, wild rice can be added to many other dishes, like smoothies. Wild rice can also be made into creamy and delicious rice milk.
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Before cooking, wild rice can be ground into a flour similar to many other grains and grass seeds. Once soaked to eliminate anti-nutrients, the soaked flour can be mixed with eggs, blended and cooked. This combination makes for delicious crepe-like pancakes. Alternatively, the mixture can be added to your own pancake or waffle batters for a nutritional boost. Native Americans used wild rice flour to make foods similar to pancakes, cookies, and even cereals.
