Suzy Eats

Looking for a healthy alternative to the traditional Western salad??? This is one of my all time favorite salads and YES I had it in Jerusalem 🙂 Unlike many western salads, traditional Mediterranean salad does not have lettuce. But, if you absolutely love lettuce, you can definitely add it to this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 4 tomatoes, diced
• 1 cucumber, diced
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 2 garlic cloved, minced
• 2 radishes, diced
• 1 lemon freshly squeezed
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup tahini paste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

How to:

1. Chop all of the vegetables and add them to the bowl.

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The THREE Mediterranean Snack Food Co. (http://www.mediterraneansnackfoods.com/)  baked lentil chips that we tested included cucumber dill, sea salt and sea salt & cracked pepper. For people on the go who are looking for healthy alternatives to traditional potato chips, these baked lentil chips are the answer. They will give you less fat, more fiber and a better taste. They are excellent for dipping, topping and snacking. I have to be honest when I first heard “lentil chips”, I was a little nervous but I can definitely say they taste amazing!!! and are healthy 🙂

Now what about the Olive Factor?

The Mediterranean Snack Food Co prides themself in old world tradition and value the nutritional balance of all their products. Why is this important? From a scientific perspective, lentils are much healthier than a traditional fried chip. They are all gluten free and provide an excellent amount of fiber. More fiber=less cancer and digestive problems. Baked lentil chips also have ~70% less fat than regular potato chips so choose wisely! 

If you compare lentil chips to your traditional brand of Cheetos….there are some major differences. Cheetos have more fat, a smaller serving size, more sodium and no fiber.

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Today’s guest blogger is Karen Peek from http://www.inspiredartofcooking.com/. If you haven’t been over to her blog, I highly suggest you do. She has some very interesting posts. She also recently published her very own cookbook.

Below is a recipe that she wrote for Suzy Eats:

Pita bread is one of the most common breads eaten across the Mediterranean region.  It is a round, pocket bread that is created by steam, which puffs up the dough. Once the bread cools, a pocket is created. Pita bread is a type of flatbread that has been around since ancient times. It is used to help scoop up various dips such as hummus or baba ghannoush. It is also used in sandwiches such as falafel or shawirma. I decided to bake whole wheat pitas today as I wanted a healthier alternative to the usual pita bread. Whole wheat pitas have a nuttier flavor and offer more vitamins  🙂 Below is the recipe.

Makes: 9-12 pitas

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons of dry yeast or 1 package of dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups water and 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• olive oil

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So…I am still trying to lose those last 5 pounds and am definitely having trouble. One of my biggest downfalls is RICE!!!! I have yet to believe that your health is not affected when you eat “no” carbs. As I was making my tabbouli the other day…it hit me …. Bulgur is an excellent substitute for rice.

I grew up eating tabbouli at least once a week. It was definitely a staple in our family diet, but I never took the time to really understand the health benefits of the dish. So this week….I decided to dissect it and specifically look at bulgur since it is one of the main ingredients in tabbouli. 

Bulgur is also known as bulghur or bulghurl. Bulgur is made from precooked wheat berries and is a natural whole grain food. There are no chemicals or additives used when processing bulgur. It can be cooked very quickly and is an excellent substitute for rice because it has more fiber, iron, vitamin Bs (i.e. folate), and protein; it is also low in fat AND calories.  Read the rest of this entry »