Day 55: Champion Chow -- Couscous!

You may not be too familiar with this Mediterranean side dish, but I think once you try it, it's bound to become a staple in your pantry.

Couscous is a dish comprised of tiny wheat granules. It almost looks like sand. It's similar in function to a rice or pasta. You can serve it under beef stew or stir fry, or enjoy it as its own side dish.

The whole wheat variety of couscous only contains about 3 points for an entire cup, compared to 4 points for the same amount of brown rice.

I think my favorite feature of the couscous, though, is the texture. Do you ever get bored with eating rice or potatoes with your dinner? Couscous is a nice way to liven things up in your kitchen and add some variety to your routine.

You can find instant whole wheat couscous at Kroger. It's a little more difficult to find the whole wheat stuff at Wal-Mart, in my experience. The box I buy looks similar to this one. I think I almost always get Hodgson Mill brand, not because I'm particularly loyal to it, but that's just what I always see at Kroger. The couscous can be found where you find the instant rice and pasta dishes. Or, in Wal-Mart, it's found with the ethnic foods, typically mixed in with the Arabic or Indian section.

Instant couscous is prepared exactly like you would prepare instant rice. You boil liquid, then add the couscous, remove it from the heat and fluff it with a fork.

The instructions on the box call for you to add the couscous to boiling water, but I prefer to use fat free chicken broth because it adds so much flavor to the dish. I boil my chicken broth and add some seasonings to it. Maybe some garlic or onion powder, curry powder, cumin, or whatever I'm in the mood for that particular evening. Once the seasoned stock is boiling, I pour in my couscous and let it sit for a few minutes. Then it expands and voila! My favorite grainy side dish is ready for me.

I know today isn't the day when I normally share recipes, but I thought I would provide a little bonus. I made this Weight Watchers shrimp dish the other night and topped my couscous with it. It was absolutely delicious. I hope you enjoy it!

Coconut Curry Shrimp (makes 4 servings)
Ingredients:
2 Sprays cooking spray
2 tsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 medium scallops, chopped, green and white parts separated and reserved
1/2c. light coconut milk
1lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 c. cooked couscous (prepared with chicken broth)

Directions:
Coat a skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium. Add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the curry powder and salt, stirring constantly, until the curry powder becomes fragrant. Add the white parts of the scallions and cook about 2 minutes. Blend in coconut milk, and add shrimp. Cook shrimp until slightly pink (4-5 minutes). Sprinkle with green parts of scallions.

Serve 5-6 shrimp with 1-2 Tbsp. of sauce over 3/4 cup of couscous for each person.

Points Value: 6 (the recipe originally called for brown rice and had 7 points, but I made the adjustment to couscous, which dropped the recipe by 1 point).

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!