What’s tabbouleh, you ask?
It’s a middle eastern salad, traditionally consisting of some combination of bulgar wheat, parsley and mint, usually onions and garlic, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt.
Taboulleh is awesome and simple to make. But since bulgar wheat does contain gluten, and I tend to veer away from gluten where possible, I have found quinoa is an excellent substitution.
Here is my little version of tabbouleh. I throw some cucumber in there, and omit the mint, onions and garlic (but feel free to add those in if you want!). It’s one of my favourite foods to make at home:
Quinoa Tabbouleh Love Vitamin Style:
Ingredients:
- 1 – 2 cups dry quinoa (soaked and rinsed preferably)
- 2 large tomatoes
- 1/2 cucumber
- 1 or 2 whole bunches parsley
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- Sea salt to taste
Instructions:
- Place quinoa in a saucepan and cover with filtered water. Turn to high with lid off. When it begins to boil, turn down to low and cover. Cook until water has evaporated and quinoa is soft. About 15 to 20 minutes.
- In the meantime, chop your tomatoes, cucumber, and parsley as fine as possible. If you have a food processor, it makes this step a breeze.
- When quinoa is done, wait for it to cool slightly and then combine it in a large bowl with your chopped ingredients. Add olive oil, spices, lemon juice, and salt, and mix it all up.
- Traditionally tabbouleh is a cold dish, so you can put it in the fridge for later, but being impatient, I’ve enjoyed many a warm tabbouleh salad.
Things that I have found go very well with tabbouleh, as they match the middle eastern theme: hummus, fried mushrooms, black beans, olives, feta cheese. See what combinations you can make!
Enjoy 🙂
Eliza says
May 16, 2012 at 2:04 pmAwesome, definitely going to try this.
Tracy,
1) will there be a candida cleanse at the start of July? I want to do it but I don’t have time at the moment (school), so summer will be muuuuch easier.
2) do you recommend doing the caveman regimen if I’m still suffering with acne? I followed all your suggestions, bought your e-book, etc, for at least 3 months, but then everything fell apart and my parents stopped buying certain foods and I am very off track.
Thanks 🙂
Tracy says
May 16, 2012 at 2:11 pmHi Eliza,
Yes, I usually do them every 6 weeks or so… the next one will probably be… I don’t know. Start mid July? Maybe end of June. I’m going to be camping at some festivals on a couple of weekends in there, so I need to choose dates when I will able to be on the computer.
The caveman – well, it’s really helped me a ton, and seems to have reduced the amount of inflamed acne I get significantly. The purpose of it is to reduce irritation so much that your skin won’t become inflamed, and also to have the oil and skin and sweat protect you from the bacteria. Some people don’t seem to respond well to it though, so I’m not entirely sure how you can know if it will help you or not. I am going to be doing a full update on my caveman thing on Friday, so make sure you watch that video.
amy says
May 16, 2012 at 2:05 pmcool, how many does this serve? two? seems yummy!!
Tracy says
May 16, 2012 at 2:07 pmHmm it makes quite a lot… at least two with some leftovers. It’s a really good leftover kind of recipe
jenna says
May 16, 2012 at 6:54 pmHey Tracy,
Mmmm! I make almost the same salad all the time – except I omit the tomatoes and cucumbers and add a few garlic cloves. It feels so cleansing to eat. Not necessarily a huge hit at (SAD diet) potlucks, but it’s always a huge hit in my belly!
Hope you’re feeling free with your new non-diet!
Jenna
Stephanie says
May 17, 2012 at 10:08 amHey Tracy! I I’ve “tagged” you to post all about your morning hygiene routine!! http://sgreenjuice.blogspot.com/2012/05/green-beauty-my-morninghygiene-routine.html I would love to see your full hygiene routine to promote health and clear skin! I think it would be super informative and interesting 🙂
Tracy says
May 17, 2012 at 9:36 pmHi Stephanie – lol… well… I don’t really have a morning routine. Doing nothing is my routine 🙂
Tamar says
May 17, 2012 at 11:55 amHey Tracy,
I just made some bone broth and I’m curious how you eat it. I know it can be made into soups and what not, but I honestly can’t stand the smell. Do you do shots of it or how do you ingest it?
Tracy says
May 17, 2012 at 9:35 pmHi Tamar – it’s funny, I’ve had several comments from people saying they think it smells and tastes awful… haha don’t get it, because I think it tastes so good – I eat it in soups, and also drink it like tea. I’m not really sure how to take it if you hate it. You can simmer it with the lid off until lots of the water has evaporated and then it will be really concentrated… and then…. I suppose you could take it as shot? To be honest, I don’t know as I can’t imagine disliking it haha.
Although, what kind of bones did you use? If it was beef or something, chicken might be more palatable. Do you like chicken noodle soup?
Tamar says
May 21, 2012 at 5:14 pmThe bones were from cows on a farm I work with–grass fed, no hormones, no antibiotics; the good stuff.
Guess I’ll try it as a shot. And, I’ll check out the discussion. Thanks 🙂
Tracy says
May 21, 2012 at 5:38 pmYeah, that’s probably it – beef broth is a bit more of an acquired taste – chicken would probably be more up your alley
Tracy says
May 17, 2012 at 9:39 pmoh, hey, this might discussion might help you out a bit:
http://paleohacks.com/questions/97457/bone-broth-gelatin-cant-stomach-it#axzz1vC0Pq7cJ
LJ says
May 17, 2012 at 4:24 pmThis
shuhan says
May 18, 2012 at 10:14 amlove this tracy! i do tabbouleh (or tabouli) with quinoa too! I like mine with mint added for extra freshness and cos it’s spring! (:
http://mummyicancook.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/quinoa-tabouli-and-going-over-to-dark.html
katie says
June 6, 2012 at 8:39 amDear Tracy,
I had a question about eating hand-made yeast free spelt bread . It says it is safe for people with candida to consume and is 100% yeast free. However it has gluten.
Thoughts??
Thanks,
love
Katie
Tracy says
June 7, 2012 at 9:22 amHmm I don’t know. It kind of just depends on how your body and the candida reacts to grains and gluten. On my cleanse, I wouldn’t recommend it, maybe it’s something you could add in after a couple of weeks on a stricter candida diet.