Southwestern Tabbouleh

I don’t know about you guys, but when I’m planning for a big event or vacation I tend to over-organize.  I usually have several lists going of things to do, things to buy, etc.  Vacation is about a week away, and I have a feeling the further I get into the week, the more and more things I’ll add to these to-do lists…  I think deep down I secretly like giving myself busywork.  What a weirdo I am 🙂

Since I was so pleased with the Shrimp Tabbouleh I made last week, I was pumped to see a recipe for Spicy Southwestern Tabbouleh in the July 2010 issue of Cooking Light!  I decided to make a double batch (in anticipation of (self-inflicted) limited free time later in the week).

I made some minor tweaks and further healthifications (not a word but I like it anyway 😉 ).

For two servings, I put 1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill Bulgur into a bowl, added 1 cup of boiling water, and covered the bulgur to soak it out.

Meanwhile, I got to choppin:

That’s:

• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 1/4 cup red onion
• 12 cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 cup green onion
• 1/2 yellow pepper
• 1/2 cucumber

In a small bowl, I mixed up the dressing which consisted of:

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1/2 jalapeno, diced
• 1/4 tsp oregano leaves
• 1/8 tsp S&P, cumin, red pepper flakes, paprika, & cayenne pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced

All the kids into the pool:

The Cooking Light recipe called for avocado, but I had some of my guacamole leftover from the weekend so I just put a tablespoon of that on top along with some Frank’s Red Hot.

I also roasted up some broccoli and cauliflower that I had seasoned with S&P and 1 tsp olive oil (roasted in oven at 425 for 15 minutes).

All together now:

I thought this was very yummy!  The lemon dressing was a little TOO lemony in my opinion so I’ll tweak that a little bit next time.  I loved the abundance of veggies in this meal!

ROASTED VEGGIES ROCK!!!

Stats on 1 serving of the Southwestern Tabbouleh + 1 tbsp guac:  226 calories, 45g carbs, 5g fat, 6g protein, 9g fiber

Stats on roasted veggies with olive oil:  68 calories, 6g carbs, 5g fat, 2g protein, 2g fiber

In the mood for a freebie?  Check out this For the Love of Health giveaway!