CousCous?

Lotsafish

I have being trying to cut down on rice and pasta/noodles. I was wondering if the same amount of coucous would be any better?

Methven

Think cous cous is similar. Why not try quinoa instead? Very like cous cous but less carbs and has protein. I find very little difference between the two taste wise.

Lotsafish

Ah good stuff - I get my couscous in Lidl's any idea where I should look for the quinoa?

Gauge

Tesco usually stock it in their 'Whole Foods' section, failing that a health food shop would have it.

hardCopy

Lotsafish wrote: »

Ah good stuff - I get my couscous in Lidl's any idea where I should look for the quinoa?

Tesco usually have it beside the lentils and stuff

rubadub

Methven wrote: »

Think cous cous is similar.

Yeah, cous cous is basically just small tiny bits of pasta.

I used to bulk out curries & chilli with red kidney beans, or sprinkle mince over shredded iceberg lettuce, or use the leaves as wraps.

Methven

Lotsafish wrote: »

Ah good stuff - I get my couscous in Lidl's any idea where I should look for the quinoa?

Yeah - I usually shop in Lidl and Dunnes and have never been able to get quinoa there. I get it in Tesco or in health shops. Make sure to get the grains rather than the flakes. The first time I bought it I bought the flakes and ended up with porridge for dinner!!

Here are a couple of links to the health benefits of quinoa:

http://www.quinoabenefits.net/

http://www.wholewellness.net/superfood-for-weight-loss-quinoa.html

esperanza1

Couscous is not pasta, but actually semolina sprinkled with water and rolled with the hands to form small pellets, sprinkled with dry flour to keep them separate, and then sieved.

See here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couscous

esperanza1

drchuck72 wrote: »

I find very little difference between the two taste wise.

I find quinoa has no taste at all. That's why I add some cayenne pepper or other spices when preparing a dish with it.

esperanza1

Methven wrote: »

Yeah - I usually shop in Lidl and Dunnes and have never been able to get quinoa there. I get it in Tesco or in health shops. Make sure to get the grains rather than the flakes. The first time I bought it I bought the flakes and ended up with porridge for dinner!!

Here are a couple of links to the health benefits of quinoa:

http://www.quinoabenefits.net/

http://www.wholewellness.net/superfood-for-weight-loss-quinoa.html

I can get in my Dunnes, it's in the health food section iirc.

Lotsafish

sounds good, I'm looking forward to getting some and trying it out. I'm having a hard time trying to cut out rice and pasta as it usually forms the base of all my meals.

esperanza1

Lotsafish wrote: »

sounds good, I'm looking forward to getting some and trying it out. I'm having a hard time trying to cut out rice and pasta as it usually forms the base of all my meals.

I know how you feel. But note that quinoa may not be the best replacement for another carb as it's more of a protein food. I usually eat quinoa with brown rice.

As for the couscous, I'm not sure if this is the best alternative to rice or pasta, as it's quite fattening - that's been my experience anyway.

Nothing wrong with good auld spuds - without the butter, of course. ;-)