White rice, like any food that has had the fibre stripped out of it (along with all the nutrients bound to that fibre) is not much different to consuming refined sugar. To make the transition to brown (or even wild) rice, alternate every white rice meal with brown rice. Eventually, your taste buds shift and you stop craving mushy, bland foods and start to really enjoy the texture and flavour of whole foods like brown rice. The addition of animal protein to a white rice meal c ... an double the insulin spike, making the pancreas work twice as hard. I don't categorise potatoes in the same group as white rice and white pasta: they are far superior, because they have the fibre still intact. They are still a whole food. Potatoes aren't a problem: it's what we put on them and how we cook them that can make potatoes not so healthy! Put them in the oven with their jackets on, without any oil, and add healthy toppings like avocado or hommus or home-made vegan dips based on legumes, nuts or other whole foods. And remember to use organic potatoes because potatoes are one of the 'dirty dozen'. non traditional items to wear for the maid of the brides