Is Couscous healthy?

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  • sophiercook
    sophiercook Posts: 46 Member
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    I eat it every week with chicken, mushrooms and feta and it never puts me over calories (standard dish comes in at 400 calls ish dependent on weight) I love the stuff!
  • lima013
    lima013 Posts: 80 Member
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    I would use quinoa instead. There are many recipes over the internet. Very nutritious.
  • cadaverousbones
    cadaverousbones Posts: 421 Member
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    I've heard that quinoa is better tasting than couscous but I havent tried it yet (going to soon). I would get the whole grain kind if you want to continue with couscous.. as well as whole grain pastas. White flour has really no nutritional value to it.
  • ktsimons
    ktsimons Posts: 294 Member
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    I'm thinking I"m just going to go to the natural food store when I want to buy these things because it will have a lot more options for me and I can see the different options they have.

    Keiko, I like your idea of it in stir fry...I LOVE stir fry :tongue:
    Jelefton, I want to use chicken broth, but I"m really trying to cut back on my sodium. IS the low sodium chicken broth still pretty low in sodium?

    Do you cook much? I haven't bought stock - chicken, Veg or beef in YEARS. Google recipes and make it at home from the scraps that you cut away from meat an veg that you eat during the week. I freeze odd chicken parts in gallon zipper bags, and the ends of carrots, onions, celery, peppers, cabbage and use these big bags of "mess" to make stock every six months or so. I then freeze the stock in 2 cup containers and shazam...free stock. For beef stock, I ask the butcher at the grocery store to save a few days worth of bones for me and he sells them to me for 20 cents per pound...bagged and frozen. I can get about 10 store bought containers of stock from about 2.00 worth of bones and the throw away parts of vegetables...easy to do!
  • TheVimFuego
    TheVimFuego Posts: 2,412 Member
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    It's healthier than starving to death because you don't have anything else to eat.

    Just eat the cous cous if you like it ...
  • Kymmu
    Kymmu Posts: 1,650 Member
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    http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/black-rice-beats-brown-when-it-comes-its-health-benefits1

    Have you considered Black rice?
  • EmmaOnTrack
    EmmaOnTrack Posts: 425 Member
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    Quinoa is the BOMB!! I chuck a cup of into whatever I've got going on in the crock pot (last night Moroccan lamb, previously curries, chicken casseroles etc) and let it do it's thing. Complete meal for the family, no fuss...and adds a really lovely nutty taste and nice texture.

    Wont ever go back to couscous after discovering quinoa. :love:
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,626 Member
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    Cous cous is fantastically convenient but essentially white pasta. I second the previous posters regarding quinoa, but also suggest barley if you've got the 20 minutes it needs to cook (same as quinoa). Barley risotto is pretty great. Just replace the rice in any risotto recipe.
  • garber6th
    garber6th Posts: 1,894 Member
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    I eat less couscous and more quinoa. I make the quinoa in my rice cooker and its super easy and turns out great.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    There's nothing "bad" about couscous. It's just a pasta. Are there more nutrient dense grains out there? Yeah, of course...but that doesn't make couscous "bad". There is nothing inherently evil about pasta...it's just a carb...and carbs aren't the devil. A little couscous isn't going to make or break your nutritional profile.
  • Mechanikitty
    Mechanikitty Posts: 90 Member
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    Couscous hasn't killed me yet but you never know.
  • fuzzieme
    fuzzieme Posts: 454 Member
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    I LOVE COUS COUS!!

    It's so cheap. Yeah the calories are big, but bulk it out with loads of veg. And corn! Or Chickpeas!

    Quinoa, I haven't tried, because it's expensive (here). If I was rich I'd get it aaaaaall the time
  • redladywitch
    redladywitch Posts: 799 Member
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    Of course it's healthy. I mix it with kale, other yummy veggies and meat. Then I use it to stuff peppers. Sometimes I eat it plain.


    Grains are awesome!
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
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    I think the whole wheat stuff is actually quite tasty. I make a dessert with it and almond milk, dried cherries, and almonds.
  • FitCanuckChick
    FitCanuckChick Posts: 240 Member
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    I LOVE COUS COUS!!

    It's so cheap. Yeah the calories are big, but bulk it out with loads of veg. And corn! Or Chickpeas!

    Quinoa, I haven't tried, because it's expensive (here). If I was rich I'd get it aaaaaall the time

    Is a 1/4 cup (one serving) dry whole wheat couscous not 150 -160 cals (is that considered high cal)? I just prepare it with organic veggie broth and a bit of seasoning salt. I think it is right in line with quinoia for cals - actually I think quinoia is slightly higher in cals for a single serving.
  • YuJen
    YuJen Posts: 1
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    I personally love whole wheat couscous. I buy mine from Trader Joe's and use ginger miso broth. I eat about a fist size serving. I love it and think it makes me feel fuller longer than quinoa. I was eating quinoa regularly as a rice substitute, but mine comes out a little too gritty (not from undercooking).

    If you want to try other substitutions, there is some really great brown rice and quinoa pasta at Trader Joe's.
  • ils_1231
    ils_1231 Posts: 249 Member
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    have you ever tried buckwheat/kasha?

    it takes like you are eating carbs but its actually a berry? grain? something like that. anyways, its delicious. jusssst saying.

    couscous is basically middle eastern pasta.

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