Cous Cous and Quinoa Prawn Delight

This recipe is one that I have made before and is really delicious! You can just use quinoa only to make it totally gluten-free.

Cous Cous and Quinoa Prawn Delight

Makes: 4 portions
Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins 


 

Ingredients

200g wholewheat cous cous
100g wholegrain quinoa
300g prawns (you can use more if you like), peeled, leave tail on
3 carrots, cut into 2-3cm thin sticks
1 eggplant, cut into small cubes
1 red (Spanish) onion, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped finely
12-16 snow peas, cut julienne
4 tsp sesame seeds
4 tsp pine nuts
1 vegetable stock cube (use an organic one)
Olive oil
Fresh coriander leaves

Method

1. Finely chop the garlic and onions and to a pan with some olive oil.
2. Saute the garlic and onion at medium heat until they are transluscent.
3. In a pan, add 3 cups of water to the quinoa with a pinch of salt and a small amount of olive oil and boil until the quinoa opens a little (about 5-7 minutes) with the lid on, checking on the quinoa to see when it is finished.
4. Meanwhile, add 200g cous cous with about 2-3 teaspoons of olive oil, the stock cube and 300ml of boiling water and let simmer uncovered for about 1 minute, after which you need to turn off the heat and place a lid on the pan. After about 4-5 minutes of this, fluff the cous cous with a fork and set aside.
5. Add the carrots to the pan with the garlic and onion and saute for a few minutes.
6. Add the eggplant to the pan and sauted a little more. Add a little olive oil and/or water if there is not enough liquid to get the eggplant cooked properly.
7. Drain the quinoa and add it to the pan with the cous cous.
8. In a large serving bowl, add the quinoa/cous cous, then slowly add the vegetables and then the prawns and mix through thoroughly.
9. Serve immediately, topped with the snow peas, some chopped coriander, a sprinkle of sesame seeds and pine seeds.

Use organic ingredients as this will be much more tastier and healthier. This is a very filling, but nutritious recipe healthy for all the family and very quick to prepare. This recipe is high in fibre, low in sodium and high in iron.

Recipe was taken from: Cous Cous Quinoa Prawn Delight - Vital Health Zone

Healthy Foods to Help Reduce PMS/PMDD Symptoms

This evening I made quite a gourmet meal for myself and the family. The food was extremely filling and totally sumptuous (if I do say so myself).

I am following the diet strategies I have laid out on this site.

I made the following:

• Baked organic chicken with herbs
• Organic brown rice - boiled
• Chickpea, kidney bean, tomato and red onion salad (all organic) - with some olive oil, tiny bit of balsamic vinegar and sweet paprika as the dressing
• Organic garden salad - with cos lettuce, mignonette lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes (from our garden)
• Onion, okra and gourmet mushroom sauce - made with wholemeal spelt flour, water, oil, herbs and salt

Sounds like a lot of food, but when you eat just a little of each food, the meal is just perfect. I had a few pecans and a few small pieces of pineapple (both organic) about an hour later.

Now, first let me say that this meal was so unbelievably delicious. It's probably because I made it with organic ingredients, which always have more flavour and partly because I was absolutely starving by the time we ate. None of the above were from any recipe books - I came up with each item myself. Nothing was very difficult to make anyway.

The interesting thing to note, is that again my teeth felt whiter after the meal and I had a lot more energy after the meal. Even though it felt like a lot of food, I don't feel bloated and full after the meal. I shall try to incorporate more legumes into my meals, more times in the week and also mushrooms too, as they have a lot of essential nutrients and antioxidant properties. Very good to eat at any time.

In regards to PMS
I am officially in PMS mode at the moment, as my ability to not get so easily irritated is just a tiny bit compromised.

But, because I am eating much better (very little processed food, mostly natural food), exercising, massaging my legs and meditating, I have found that I feel okay. So this is quite nice.

On a side note, I am not even taking any herbs, vitamins or other supplements at the moment, so to feel okay without taking anything is pretty good. It's very indicative of what a good diet, exercise, fresh air and less stress can do for a person - makes PMS better.

Since this is working so well for me, I shall continue doing it for the foreseeable future.

Interesting effects of some foods

The day before yesterday I made a vegetarian meal for dinner, as I didn't feel like eating meat (and besides, I don't think there was any in the fridge). This is all part of the healthy eating plan I have devised, for my return to health and alleviation of all things relating to PMS.

I made a meal that was a complete protein, so it contained all the 9 essential amino acids, which means it is basically the same as eating meat in terms of amino acid components.

The meal I made had brown rice, red lentils, chickpeas and some vegetables. Not only was it delicious, but it was so good for me. It had wholegrains (the brown rice), legumes (chickpeas and lentils) and lots of vegetables which have proven antioxidant properties. I felt very sated after I finished eating a bowl of this natural food goodness!

Now the really interesting thing is, after eating a bowl of this food, my teeth become much white, as if I have just brushed them! Either there is a lot of calcium in those foods that my teeth are just loving or the fact that the grains/legumes are almost nutty in texture (that is, still whole and not mushy) maybe the very act of eating them caused an almost brushing like effect on my teeth.

I know this was not a weird one-off quirk, because every time I had a bowl of this vegetarian food my teeth would glisten afterwards! How amazing is that? Not only does this food do me much good health-wise, but it also is fantastic for my teeth.

I just had to post this, because it may help other women.