(X-post) Interesting news about reducing calories in rice, review of meat based protein bars

Found this super interesting article this week. I know carbs are the devil around here, but this is still quite interesting and I am really curious to see how other starches might be affected by this process:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/03/25/scientists-have-figured-out-a-simple-way-to-cook-rice-that-dramatically-cuts-the-calories/

In other news, I sometimes try "meat" based protein bars for snacks or a meal on the go. In case you have ever wondered about them, I thought I would give you a little bit of an opinion on the ones I've tried. If you aren't familiar with them, they are sort of like jerky but made more like pemmican, so the meat is dried and mixed with other things, like nuts and fruit and spices. They end up less tough than jerky, but they have more carbs due to the added fruits. These are the brands I've tried:

Kratos: http://www.kratosfoods.com/beef-bars/

These were my least favorite, although they are the lowest carb. It was hard to say if the flavor was really enjoyable because the TEXTURE was really off-putting for me. A bit of a pasty/mealy quality to it that I just didn't enjoy. Especially the Ginger & Wasabi flavor...I had really looked forward to that since I love that flavor combo, but it was a big disappointment.

Tanka: http://www.tankabar.com/cgi-bin/nanf/public/main.cvw

Tanka bars are made with buffalo, which is leaner and drier, but I like that about it. The texture is a little chewier and the Spicy Pepper one I tried was well seasoned and pretty spicy. I haven't tried the buffalo jerky the company makes, but given the bars, I'd like to.

Epic: http://www.epicbar.com/

Epic bars come in Bison, Turkey, Beef, and Lamb. I've tried all but the turkey one. Epic bars are bigger than the others, with larger calorie counts to match. They're softer than the Tanka bars but not mealy like the Kratos bars. I like the lamb and beef ones best, but likely that's just because I like things to have a lot of seasoning and those two have the most interesting ingredients. Even though the beef bar says it has habanero, it really isn't especially hot, just mildly spicy.

You can find most of these bars at Whole Foods, Fresh Market, or other grocery stores that carry a lot of organic products. I'd say it's a tie between Tanka and Epic, and just comes down to preference. I think I prefer the slightly chewier texture of the Tanka bars and since the spicy one is actually spicy enough to burn a bit, it makes me happy. I like it when my food bites back I guess.

Very interesting article, indeed. Will be interesting to see where this goes. Not sure I'd go through the trouble when I can only eat 1 or 2 TBS at at time when I chose to have any at all! But still interesting!

 

Interesting article!

I've had the Epic Bison bar and liked it, just thought it was a little pricey. I'll have to look for the Tanka bars.