Couscous, what is that?!

Although it is often mistaken for a grain, like rice, couscous is actually a pasta. Couscous is a small, round, coarsely ground pasta made from semolina wheat.  It has a hearty texture and slightly nutty taste and can be quickly prepared.

Couscous is low in saturated fat, sodium and cholesterol, and contains B vitamins, fiber and protein. The ability to prepare it quickly makes couscous attractive to mamas looking for a fast meal and it’s great as leftovers.

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil (or butter)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup dry Couscous (regular couscous, not Israeli couscous)
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 large english cucumber, diced (about 1 ½ cups)
• 5 green onions (scallions), sliced thin (about ¾ cup)
• 1 (15oz) can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
• ½ to ¾ cup Italian dressing (more for moister couscous, less for drier couscous)
• salt/pepper to taste

In a medium sauce pan, combine 1 cup water, 2 Tbsp olive oil and ½ tsp salt.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat.  Pour 1 cup dry couscous into the saucepan, stir well.  Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and let cool.  Meanwhile, prepare remaining ingredients.  Once cooked couscous has cooled, toss with remaining ingredients to combine.  Can be served immediately or chill in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

Other Ingredient Options:

• Cheese: Monterey Jack, Feta, Mozzarella
• Marinated tofu
• Chicken
• Beans: kidney, black, black eyed peas
• Nuts: slivered almonds, cashews, pine nuts
• Sunflower seeds
• Radishes
• Cherry or grape tomatoes
• Shredded or julienned carrots
• Chopped raw spinach or arugula
• Fresh Herbs: parsley, mint, cilantro
• Olives
• Curry powder
• Raisins

So how do you like your couscous?  Share your comments below…

Excess lipase changes the taste of stored breast milk so it doesn’t necessarily taste as good as fresh breast milk but there is nothing wrong with the breast milk after the excess lipase changes the taste.

Some babies are okay with an excess of lipase in their milk, others are not.  There is no way of salvaging frozen breast milk for your baby that “tastes funky” due to excess lipase, but you can consider breast milk donation as an alternative to throwing your frozen milk stash in the trash!  Milk donated with excess lipase will be pooled with other mamas so the taste becomes diluted and the preemies receiving donor milk in most cases are fed through a feeding tube so taste is not a concern!

It’s not all bad news if you find that you are one of the few mamas who produce an excess of lipase, newly expressed milk can be stored by heating the milk to a scald to inactivate the lipase.

More information on excess lipase and how to scald milk can be found at: Kellymom

We are Alice and Keri. Identical twin sisters, best friends, business partners and the original Milkin’ Mamas. We are not professional writers or experts in anything.  We are just regular mamas with a passion for living life to the fullest.

In our blog, We Breastfeed!, we want to share ideas and information that will be interesting, uplifting and useful to breastfeeding mamas who choose to give their babies the Best Start Possible!

This blog is “by” us but for YOU. Please let us know what you would like to see on the blog and help us create a great resource for breastfeeding mamas everywhere.

All the best,

Alice & Keri