One of my favorite ways to unwind is grocery shop.  It’s a mundane and sometimes painful experience for some people, but I love it.  I’ve grown fond of anything food related and can’t wait to take my time to find the next popular item on the shelves, preferably healthy, organic, or raw.  Anything to liven up a dish. 

I realized my diet has been very plain. The grains I usually stuck with were rice, bread, or your typical pasta.  Nothing exciting there.  After a week of detoxing from the traditional holiday binge, I opted for a lighter grain.  My half day off was a great motivator for me to go search for something new to make at home! And what better store to offer those options but Trader Joe’s?  They had a shelf full of different grains.  I eyed couscous, quinoa, and Israeli couscous.  I was planning to make salmon today and figured regular couscous would do.  I’ll use the latter in a salad or something next time.

Curious, I had no idea what couscous was.  I just read the label and it said 230 calories for 1/3 cup of dry couscous, but only a gram of fat! Whaaaaaaaat? It’s made with semolina, the same type of ingredient they use in pastas you might be more familiar with (e.g. spaghetti, fettuccine, etc.).  It barely needed 3 steps to prepare it so I went for it.  A cup of uncooked couscous was able to make 4 servings!  The box wasn’t even that big to begin with but it made a lot. 

It was delicious!  It was a great choice instead of making wild rice or mashed potatoes.  You will feel full after a serving and won’t feel like it was too heavy.  I don’t have pictures here but I can tell you that it’s super easy to make and it’s a great substitute for rice, potatoes, or pasta.  Here are a few recipes that you guys might like to try to pair with couscous:

Dinner du Jour: Moroccan Chicken Tangine with Lemon and Mint Couscous

Lucullian Delights: Eggs and Tomatoes with Olives and Capers on Couscous

Smitten Kitchen: Couscous and Feta-Stuffed Peppers

I’m so tempted to wake up early to make another batch of couscous for breakfast and share it with my family.  It’s going to be one of my new favorite foods for a while.