Review: Uncle Ben's Rice & Grains

Uncle Ben's have launched a range of easy to prepare Rice & Grains mixes. There are five varieties in the range: Wholegrain & Quinoa, Wholegrain & Quinoa Tomato & Basil, 5 Wholegrains, Rice Medley, and Pearl Wheat, Quinoa & Wholegrain. Each pack is microwaveable in 2 minutes and contains no artificial flavours, preservatives or colours. 

5 Whole Grains: Even though I usually make rice myself, I do like keeping a few of these ready-made pouches for quick and healthy midweek meals. The addition of quinoa and wholegrains makes the whole range even more appealing and I was keen to try the Uncle Ben's Rice & Grains 5 Whole Grains, which is a combination of Wholegrain Rice, Wild Rice, Barley, Millet and Red Quinoa. 

I was sent several different recipes for using the Uncle Beans Rice & Grains, and this Mixed Bean and 5 Wholegrain salad looked especially appealing. It's a super easy and delicious recipe which creates a lovely summery meal. The different grains give the rice a gorgeous flavour whilst still keeping a light and fluffy texture.

Mixed Bean and 5 Wholegrain Salad

1 pouch 5 Wholegrains

200g mixed beans

1 small red onion, sliced

1 red pepper, sliced

100g French Beans

• Bring a pot of water to the boil and plunge the French beans in the boiling water for 1 minute before cooling under a running cold tap.
• Microwave  5 Wholegrains pouch according to instructions.
• Bring 5 Wholegrains together with the cooled French beans, mixed beans, red onion and red pepper. Spoon onto plate to serve.

Rice Medley: The Wholegrain Rice Medley is a mix of steamed wholegrain rice, steamed red rice and steamed wild rice. It's lightly flavoured with black pepper and bouillon.

Stir-fried Chicken, Red Pepper, Onion and Wholegrain Rice Medley

1 pouch Wholegrain Rice Medley

300g Chicken

1 Red Pepper

1 onion

Broccoli Florets (2 x handful)

Some olive oil

Some Lemon Juice, Ginger and Honey to season

• Cut the chicken, pepper, and onion into thin strips. Stir fry in a little olive oil until the chicken strips are brown and the pepper and onion softer.
• Add the rice, stir through for 2 minutes.
• Add the lemon juice, ginger and honey at the end to garnish.
• Gently steam the broccoli florets. Add to the plate together with the stir fried rice, chicken and vegetables.

Wholegrain & Quinoa: This is a combination of gently steamed wholegrain rice (85%) and red quinoa (12%) with a hint of garlic. I really enjoyed all the Uncle Ben's Rice & Quinoa combinations - the texture is so light and fluffy and I love the flavour of the wholegrain rice.

Grilled Chicken with vegetables, Wholegrain & Quinoa

1 pouch Wholegrain & Quinoa

2 Chicken Breasts

1 Courgette sliced

100g mange tout

1 small red chilli, finely sliced

• Brush the chicken with olive oil and grill for 20 minutes, turning halfway. (Ensure chicken is thoroughly cooked.
• Meanwhile steam the courgette sliced and the mangetout lightly.
• Microwave the Wholegrain & Quinoa pouch according to instructions on pack.
• Arrange rice on plate, place grilled chicken on top and courgette and mange tout on the side. Garnish with red chilli slices.

Wholegrain & Quinoa Tomato & Basil: This was my favourite of all the five varieties - I'm a big fan of tomato rice and the flavours of tomato, basil and garlic work together really well here. 

Pan-fried salmon with tomato, pak choi and Wholegrain & Quinoa Tomato & Basil.

1 pouch Wholegrain & Quinoa Tomato & Basil

2 Salmon darnes

25g butter & 15g for pak choi

100g cherry tomatoes

1 pak choi

1 red onion, sliced

1 lemon sliced for juice/garnish

Salt and pepper to taste.

• Melt butter in frying pan. Season the salmon with freshly ground salt and pepper then add to hot pan and squeeze a little lemon on top. Fry the salmon for 2-3 minutes on one side, then 1-2 minutes on the other.
• Meanwhile, blanch the pak choi in salted water for 2-3 minutes before sauteing it in butter for 3 minutes.
• Microwave Wholegrain & Quinoa Tomato & Basil pouch according to pack instructions.
• Arrange rice, pak choi, cherry tomatoes and onion on plate and place salmon to top. Garnish with lemon slices.

Pearl Wheat Quinoa & Wholegrain: This is a tasty combination of steamed wholegrain rice (73%), steamed pearl wheat (12%) and steamed red quinoa (11%). 

Grilled Halloumi, Red Pepper and Rocket with Wholegrain, Pearl Wheat & Quinoa

1 pouch Wholegrain, Pearl Wheat & Quinoa

A bag of rocket salad.

Half a pack of Halloumi Cheese

1 Red Pepper

Some Olive Oil

Some Pine Nuts

• Heat a non-stick frying pan or griddle pan. Cut halloumi into 6-8 slices and cook quickly on each side for 2 mins until lightly browned.
• Microwave Wholegrain, Pearl What & Quinoa pouch according to pack instructions.
• Arrange rice, halloumi and salad on plate. Garnish with slices of red pepper and a few pine nuts.

Overall, I would highly recommend the Uncle Ben's Rice & Grains range. They were all very tasty and are a useful store cupboard ingredient for creating quick and healthy meals.

I enjoyed all the varieties but my favourite was the Wholegrain & Quinoa Tomato & Basil. Above is my super quick dinner with half a pack of the tomato flavoured rice, with two veggie sausages and a simple salad. Delicious!

PR Samples.