If you haven't already tried cous cous for your kids...

My girls absolutely love cous cous. It takes between 8-10 min from the time you start cooking till you can put it in their mouths. It's super healthy, comes in many flavors and is simply delicious! (Dh and I eat it as well). It has 220 calories per serving with only 2 grams of fat (none of it saturated), 2g fiber, 1g sugar, 570mg sodium (that one is a bit high but only 24% of daily value) and 8 grams of protein!!! The other great thing about it is that I can put practically any vegitable or meat mixed in with it (though usually I just add chicken but recently added finely chopped chicken nuggets into it) and they will gobble it up.

Just wanted to share if anyone hasn't tried it.

 

My kids have always loved cous cous. We get it without any added flavoring so it doesn't have the high sodium content. I just cook it in chicken stock and shake a little salt over it and it tastes great. We also use the whole wheat cous cous which tastes exactly the same (unlike the blechy whole wheat spaghetti), takes an extra 2 minutes to cook, and has about 5g of fiber per serving. I will say the stuff tends to get everywhere while they're eating it but once the mess dries, it just sweeps right up.

 

what is cous cous??? sounds like something we need to try!!!!

 

Definitely use half or less of the flavoring packet and use olive oil to cook with. Canned chicken broth/stock can have a ton of sodium in it, so be a aware of the contents. Even bullion cubes have a lot of sodium. Seems like there are few food preparations, outside of "from scratch" in your own kitchen, that manage their sodium content well.

The kids flip flop. One day they'll eat a ton of cous cous, and the next day won't touch it. We've even served it cold with diced tomatoes and olives with extra olive oil for a quick tabouli (sp?) like salad. DH and I love it. The whole grain rice/cous cous varieties out there are great also.

 

how do you make them I have never made them and they sound like they would be something worth tring does anyone know how to make them....
Thanks in advance.

 

We make this about twice a month. You can buy couscous in bulk from most health food stores, or at the grocery store in a pre-packaged box with a spice packet (look near the Asian/Indian food section).

Basically you boil water with a tablespoon or two of oil and your desired spices, add the couscous, put on the lid and remove from heat. 5 minutes later you fluff it up with a fork, and any goodies, and you're done.

Our favorite is with LOTS of tomatoes and feta cheese but we also like mushroom, green peppers, whatever's around.

 

QUOTE(AlphaBeta @ Jan 18 2008, 01:02 PM) [snapback]578329[/snapback]
Canned chicken broth/stock can have a ton of sodium in it, so be a aware of the contents.

I always use the low sodium stock (70mg/cup).

Cous cous is pasta, but it's been chopped into tiny pieces, about the size of coarse sand. Because the pieces are so small, it pretty much cooks instantly as soon as you pour boiling water over it. You can usually find it at the store in the same place as the flavored rice mixes (rice-a-roni, etc). It's yummy stuff and nutritionally, it's the same as any other pasta. The OP is right that it's pretty easy to mix a little meat and veggie into it and the kids don't (always) notice it. Lately, I have been mixing finely chopped cauliflower (white=invisible) into it when I cook it and Adam doesn't seem to notice. Ben, on the other hand, has veggie radar and won't eat it

 

Thanks for the tips!! I will try it with the girls this weekend.

 

Thanks for the reminder!

I didn't even think about cous cous for the girls!

Course, I don't eat as much of it as I used to either, DH is a little leary of it...it's 'different' you know!

 

My kids like couscous too, but OMG, the mess! Did yours eat it with their fingers or with utensils? Did you stick it together with cheese or something? When A&S eat it, they lose as much onto the floor as goes into their mouths.

 

QUOTE(Heathermomof5 @ Jan 18 2008, 10:39 AM) [snapback]578281[/snapback]
what is cous cous??? sounds like something we need to try!!!!

Cous cous is really small pasta, it looks like rice. It should be in the rice/pasta section of your supermarket.

We are cous cous lovers from way back. Rice does horrible things to Dave's digestive tract and cous cous is a perfect replacement.

I prepare it by boiling the liquid I need in the microwave then pour it over my cous cous and cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it until dinner is ready.