1)
Why were they healthier than the others?
1.
Ibn Ezra citing [Rav Sadya] Gaon: This was a great miracle. Malbim ? it was against nature that they were Beri'ei Basar (fat). Seeds do not fatten like meat and wine do!
2.
Ibn Ezra: We need not say that it was a miracle. They ate rice, which is very esteemed. It makes Tahor blood. People of India eat it; they do not have wheat. A small amount of it satiates. Or, it was peas. They are tasty; a food that one enjoys helps more than one that he does not like.
3.
Malbim (16): They ate with Simchah, due to their Kedushah and separation.
