Couscous Confetti Salad

It's going to be a long day! After subbing for Spec. Ed. at the Elementary School all day, I head over this evening to the Culinary Center to help Chef Matt with his Knife Skills Class. He is a great cook and I am wondering what tempatations I will be forced to contend with. Afterall they will be using those knives on something to practice! Hopefully just vegetables! haha not with my luck!

Note to self- if all of a sudden you decide to eat vegan-- purchase and prepare ahead of time- items you can eat for lunch when you are not at home. I did make a Couscous Confetti Salad yesterday that was quite good. I will take some of that today for lunch. And my husband made a salsa the other day with all veggies and black beans so that will give a little protein.

Goal today- to program my new digital pedometer today so I can be sure I am getting a minimum of 10,000 steps per day and to drink at least 4 bottles of water. I am always really bad about drinking the water I need.

Have a great day... won't get a chance to post those other pizza and chicken finger recipes I made til tomorrow.

Couscous Confetti Salad- off the 21daykickstart.org meal plan- looks like they got it from Healthy Eating for Life to Prevent and Treat Diabetes by Patricia Bertron R.D., recipe by Jennifer Raymond, M.S., R.D.
Makes about 8 1-cup servings

Couscous is pasta from northern Africa that cooks almost instantly and makes a beautiful and flavorful salad. Whole-wheat couscous is sold in natural food stores and some supermarkets.

1 1/2 cups dry whole-wheat couscous
2 cups boiling water
3 - 4 green onions, finely chopped, including tops
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 carrot, grated
1 - 2 cup finely shredded red cabbage
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup golden raisins or chopped dried apricots
1 juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt


In a large bowl, combine couscous and boiling water. Stir to mix, then cover and let stand until all the water has been absorbed, 5 to 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Add green onions, bell pepper, carrot, cabbage, parsley, and raisins or apricots.

In a small bowl mix lemon juice, vinegar, oil, curry powder, and salt. Add to salad and toss to mix. Serve at room temperature or chilled.


Per 1-cup serving


■Calories: 194
■Fat: 2.1 g
■Saturated Fat: 0.3 g
■Calories from Fat: 9.8%
■Cholesterol: 0 mg
■Protein: 5.2 g
■Carbohydrates: 40.2 g
■Sugar: 10 g
■Fiber: 4.2 g
■Sodium: 283 mg
■Calcium: 33 mg
■Iron: 1.1 mg
■Vitamin C: 40.9 mg
■Beta Carotene: 1157 mcg
■Vitamin E: 0.7 mg

MY COOKS TIPS: I forgot I used the red pepper in something else the other day so didn't add that to this recipe. I used my awesome cuisinart to make this very quickly. It was hard for me to find the wheat couscous, most stores have the golden- I am sure Whole Foods has it, hopefully in bulk so it is a little cheaper. I found a small box at The Hen House for a little over $3.00.

FAMILY CRITIQUE Scott loved it and said it was great! I really enjoyed it myself, very tasty! I am sure it will even have more flavor today after sitting in fridge all night. The kids wouldn't touch it. Ewww gross... that's pretty much what they said when they looked in the fridge. Too healthy for 'em I guess!