FIVE WAYS TO PREPARE RICE

1. CHILL it if you’re weight-watching. A study in 2015 found refrigeration made starch less digestible, meaning we may absorb fewer calories from it, reported the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

2. MAKE a brown rice, spinach, tomato, red onion and halloumi salad. Brown rice is higher in fibre and B vitamins than white, but doesn’t contain much thiamin or any vitamin B12, which are provided by the cheese.

3. IF YOU eat rice often, boil in a lot of water (six parts water to one part rice) to reduce exposure to any arsenic it has absorbed while growing. A Food Standards Agency-funded study found this cut arsenic by 45 per cent. 4. USE ‘easy cook’. It is steamed prior to being hulled to make it less glutinous. The process also transfers vitamins from the husks, so it’s more nutritious than standard rice. 5. STIR fry boiled rice with garlic, ginger, red pepper, spring onions, broccoli and chicken or prawns. With a dash of soy sauce it’s much healthier than takeaway fried rice.