Alternative to black & red rice?

[marie83]

Any suggestions for alternatives to black and red rice please? I absolutely refuse to pay £40 plus shipping for less than a kg of rice. Trying to give Ollie a bit of variety in his grain but proving hard to do in this country

[Wolf]

The first thing that comes to mind is wild and brown rice but it really depends on what is in your mix.

[Pajarita]

WOW - are they that expensive there? You can find them here in the supermarkets but, of course, they are grown in California so they are much cheaper (about $6 for a kilo of organic and, of course, there is no shipping). If you are going to use brown rice, make sure it's from Indonesia or Pakistan (I don't think you would find the white brown rice from these places but you will find the aromatics, Jazmine and Basmati) because those are lowest in arsenic.

[liz]

Ordering grain is expensive and then they tack on shipping and handling. I even paid $12 for a 2 lb bag of Faro.
I found some in the grocery store but read it all before you buy.
I am now getting my grain from a health food store called Rutabagas. Organic grain is expensive no matter where you get it but I feel safer with the health food store. It is a little cheaper and I can weigh out the amount I want.

[Wolf]

I get my whole grains from the health food store as well but don't get there very often as it is a 75 mile round trip, one of the perks to living in a rural area in the mountains.

[marie83]

Thanks all. Already have wild rice in the mix. I wasn't sure about brown as I read about high arsenic levels in the past. Honestly it's a real struggle and I have to order most things online and even then it's bloody hard to come by certain things. It doesn't help that I only need tiny amounts as well so can't order in bulk as it wouldn't get used fast enough.

Our tesco is one of the biggest in the uk for example and only holds a tiny range, your looking at stuff like quinoa, rolled oats,red lentils, pearl barley and a small variety of beans. The health food stores aren't much better.

I've found this shop online which has the biggest variety of stuff I've found so far. https://www.buywholefoodsonline.co.uk/
but even if you do a specific search on Google such as "wheat berries uk" then very little comes up.

[thesilversakura]

I buy my grains from Holland and Barrett (noticed you were in the UK, Marie) and they stock Neal's Yard Wholefoods, who do pot (not pearl) barley, lentils, quinoa, whole oats, linseed, wheat germ and rice for about £1.50 - £3 a bag. They do a triple rice mixture with brown, red and wild rice, and plain black rice (I don't know if that's good for birds, I haven't tried it). I make up small amounts too, but since they're only 500g or 1kg bags, you shouldn't have a problem with keeping it. It's not the best I know, and you've probably already tried H&B, but I figured it might help if you're struggling.

[marie83]

I buy my grains from Holland and Barrett (noticed you were in the UK, Marie) and they stock Neal's Yard Wholefoods, who do pot (not pearl) barley, lentils, quinoa, whole oats, linseed, wheat germ and rice for about £1.50 - £3 a bag. They do a triple rice mixture with brown, red and wild rice, and plain black rice (I don't know if that's good for birds, I haven't tried it). I make up small amounts too, but since they're only 500g or 1kg bags, you shouldn't have a problem with keeping it. It's not the best I know, and you've probably already tried H&B, but I figured it might help if you're struggling.

Are these pre-mixed bags? I've failed to see anything in Holland and barrett before, our 2 stores mainly stock various vitamin & herb tablets and juices although I've managed to get a beautiful Christmas dinner meat substitute in there before!

[thesilversakura]

The only pre mixed bags I've seen are the soup mix, which has split peas, red and green lentils, pearl barley and barley flakes (I obviously didn't buy it for the barley, haha), and the rice mix (red, brown and wild). All the others are individual, such as the pot barley, black rice, jumbo oats etc. You could easily make up a pretty good grain mix with a few bags - I'm wondering if the black rice would be any good, but I don't know if it's any better or worse nutrition wise.

Our local Holland and Barrett isn't huge at all, but it does have a good sized ingredients section. If you can't find it in your local stores, there's free standard 4 day delivery on their website, no matter how little you spend. I myself had no idea, I might have to start building up loyalty points that way...it's the only place I can get my Slim Pasta!

[liz]

I get my whole grains from the health food store as well but don't get there very often as it is a 75 mile round trip, one of the perks to living in a rural area in the mountains.

My store is only 12 miles away. I paid $45 today for enough grain to feed my bunch for a month. I portion it out in snack bags for each day. That does not include the seeds and nuts or the produce I chop every morning. It comes to quite a bit. They are worth it. I can drink water instead of soda.