Tabbouleh with Feta and Shrimp

I don’t know why, but I always get the words bulgur and barley mixed up!  I know the difference between each of the grains, and I can easily identify them, but my brain just jumbles up the names sometimes!

Case in point:  I found this recipe for Tabbouleh with Feta and Shrimp a while back and decided over the weekend that I would make it sometime for dinner this week.  All week, I’ve been thinking to myself “why do they call it tabbouleh when it’s got bulgur in it?  Don’t they know tabbouleh is made with barley??”

After 5 days of contemplating this, it JUST NOW dawned on me that the recipe did, in fact, call for bulgur which is, in fact, what tabbouleh is made out of.  Hahahha… geesh.  Suddenly, this recipe made a lot more sense to me 🙂

First, I cooked up 1/4 cup of bulgur (AKA not barley) per the package instructions and 3 ounces of shrimp.  Then put it all in the fridge to cool off.

In a bowl, I mixed together:

  • 1 tbsp parsley, chopped (the smaller, the better)
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/8 tsp each salt, pepper, ground cumin

 Then I tossed the bulgur (I swear to you, I just typed BARLEY… wow) with:

For you visually challenged that is:

  • 1/2 large cucumber, diced
  • 1/4 cup parsley, chopped (the smaller, the better)
  • 1 roma tomato, diced
  • 1/4 cup chopped green onion
  • 2 tbsp  crumbled reduced fat feta

 Topped it off with the dressing, and put everything back in the fridge so the flavors could mary merry 😉

Come clooooooossssseerrrrrr:

T-A-S-T-Y.  Just like the tabbouleh I’ve had at my favorite middle eastern restaurants… well not JUST like it, but still tasty in its own right.  Next time, I wont be so lazy and I’ll chop everything into smaller pieces 🙂

Stats on the tabbouleh:  360 calories, 50g carbs, 3g fat, 28g protein, 10g fiber

 

I’m off to mow the yard!  WOOHOOOOOOO!

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(good) Case of the Monday’s

It’s Monday, and I am surprisingly cheery today!  Even despite the gray and dreary weather we’ve got going on outside. 

nice and gray outside

 

Maybe my good mood is due to the delicious Trader Joe’s coffee I had this morning on the way to work…  That Trader Joe… Sure knows how to put a smile on my face 🙂 

Almond butter sounded good this morning, so I went with a toasted Pepperidge Farm Deli Flat  (that I had leftover from the turkey burgers) with Trader Joe’s crunchy almond butter and a little smear of Smucker’s Blackberry preserves (my favorite!  love the seeds!). 

PB & J? Strike that. AB & P!

 

Motivational poster I drew for the BF:  

 

For breakfast #2 I went with a barley breakfast bowl again, which consisted of Stoneyfield Farms Greek Yogurt, Barley, and Red Raspberries: 

 

I still have some leftover barley, so I think I’ll try and incorporate that into dinner somehow…  

Today for lunch I had a very special treat 😀  

Jarrod made me a GINORMOUS salad with romaine, grilled chicken, black beans, tomato, onion, cucumber, and carrots: 

 

He has an uncanny ability for chopping things into perfect shapes 😉 

As I’m eating my lovely salad, I realize that I haven’t really planned anything out for lunches this week.  Do you ever fall into sack-lunch-doldrums?  I know I do.  I’ll have to do some brainstorming and see if I can spice things up this week.

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Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

Whenever I think of the word “Sunday” in my head, I automatically hear “Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY!” (think football/race announcer guy Jan Gabriel).
 
 
When I woke up this Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY! 😉  my body was begging for three things:  Coffee.  Eggs.  Ham.

So after throwing some coffee on, I got to work on a 4 egg white scramble with leftover deli ham from the jewelry party I had last week.   

4 egg whites, splash o' skim, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes

 

I also had some potatoes on the side.  That’s one of the best things about being at the BF’s — he keeps a GIANT container of pre-baked potatoes in his fridge.  😀   

Glorious!

 

Once the eggs were pretty much done scrambling,  I threw the ham and potatoes into the pan to heat up.  And breakfast was served!   

Sunday morning breakfast

 

After breakfast, I hunkered down and finally posted the clothes I’ve been wanting to sell on ebay.  I’m really glad to have that done with!  All that ebaying made me hungry, so I decided to give the barley breakfast bowl a go.   

My barley bowl consisted of 1/2 a serving of barley (cooked up last night and stuck in the fridge), 1 Chobani vanilla greek yogurt, and some blackberries and raspberries.   

Barley Breakfast Bowl

 

I loved the barley in the yogurt!  It was pretty filling too.    

I must be honest though, and this may be blasphemy, but I actually prefer dannon’s vanilla greek yogurt to Chobani!  I took a minute to compare the stats:   

Chobani has less carbs, more protein, and less sugar — so I’m hoping it grows on me!   

On the agenda today:   

  • Hit up the elliptical (Friday went well)
  • Finish light tent
  • Dinner with friends 😀
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I got eggs on the brain

TGIF!  :mrgreen:        

It’s Friday, and I’ve got eggs on the brain!  I think my body was upset with me for not taking the time to make eggs yesterday–so I decided to have them for breakfast AND lunch to make it up to myself!        

This morning, I took a look in the fridge to see what I could throw into an omelet.  I decided to go with 1 egg, 3 egg whites, splash o’ skim milk, chopped up red and yellow peppers, black beans, salsa, and spinach.  Kind of an odd combo… but throw some hott sauce on there and you’ve got a Mexicomelet!        

peppers and beans

 

mexicomolet

 

  This was very yummy and very filling.  I should have topped it off with salsa, green onion, and a small dollop of sour cream (duh!) but that didnt dawn on me until I was half through devouring it.  Next time!        

B#1 Stats:  206 calories, 20g carbs, 6g fat, 23g protein, 9g fiber        

         

For breakfast #2 I SLAMMED a Dannon Blueberry Greek Yogurt with some blackberries and 1/2 a 100 cal pack of  Emerald’s cocoa roast almonds crushed on top.        

        

        

     

 Greek yogurt is just amazing.  How did I live without it??  This was my first time trying the cocoa roast almonds–and I’m a big fan.  Went perfectly in the yogurt.        

B#1 Stats:  175 calories, 17g carbs, 4g fat, 18g protein, 3g fiber        

         

Today’s lunch menu:  EGGS.        

When I was young, my mom used to take me to a restaurant called the Sandwich Board.  Their egg salad sandwich had about 13 eggs and 2 pounds of bean sprouts on it, and I absolutely loved it!  So today for lunch I decided to make my own egg salad sandwich.          

I had light mayo in the fridge, but I really wasn’t feeling it.  So, I decided to try and make a healthified egg salad consisting of 1 egg, 3 egg whites, 1 tbsp fat free sour cream, 1 tbsp mustard, green onion, salt, pepper, and dill weed served up with sprouts, tomato, and red onion in 1/2 a Joseph’s Low Carb Pita.         

        

         

This was a quite tasty first stab at healthy egg salad.  Note for next time:  double up on the seasonings, less sour cream, more mustard (as if it wasn’t yellow enough already).        

Egg Salad Pita Stats:  225 calories, 20g carbs, 6g fat, 23g protein, 5g fiber        

On the side I had a dill pickle spear and some cucumber salad (cucumber, red onion, dill weed, and white vinegar).        

On the agenda this weekend are the following:        

  • Give the elliptical a go (and hope my knee holds up)
  • Flat bread pizza using Joseph’s lavash bread
  • Make a breakfast cookie (been dying to try these — it’s like a food blogger phenomena)
  • Make a lightbox
  • Post a bunch of clothes I don’t wear on ebay and hope for high bidders 😉
  • Make a barley breakfast bowl
  • Finish watching season #1 of Will & Grace, start on season #2 😀
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