A new way to make tabbouleh

Traditional tabbouleh, a middle eastern grain salad, is Core in and of itself. Made of bulgur wheat, parsley, tomato, scallion, with lemon juice and olive oil, the salad is perfectly Core. But from my experiences working with bulgur, it's kind of a pain to make. So when I found this recipe for Quinoa Tabbouleh, I was really into it. I had a box of quinoa that I found at Trader Joe's and was looking for a good recipe to use it in.

And this one is a good one. If you count the oil toward your 2 tsp a day and use ff feta it's probably less than a point if you use the raisins. I suggest using them, btw. I do count points for the feta and raisins, though, b/c I won't use ff cheese. Feta is one of those naturally lower in fat cheeses that if used in moderation really doesn't add many points to a dish.

And because it's already happy hour somewhere...

Sangría
From Cooking Light

3 tablespoons white rum
3 tablespoons Cointreau (orange-flavored liqueur)
3 tablespoons brandy
6 orange slices
6 lemon slices
1 peach, cut into 6 wedges
1 cinnamon stick
1 (750-milliliter) bottle Rioja or other fruity red wine (such as Beaujolais or Zinfandel)
1 cup sparkling water, chilled

Combine all the ingredients except sparkling water in a large pitcher. Chill for 8 hours. Stir in water immediately before serving. Yield: 6 servings

A leftover I can't wait to eat

Almost every day someone currently doing the Flex program posts on the Core plan board about how they are afraid of Core because they don't think they like any of the foods on the list, or they think it's too restrictive.

I couldn't disagree more. And I think people who have been on Core longer than I have would share my opinion. If anything, I've been eating more interesting meals since on Core. Maybe b/c I'm not bound by point values. I'm free to experiment with Core ingredients.

My dinner this week is a brand new recipe, and a new protein source altogether — Pan-Seared Scallops, Corn, and Tomato from Gourmet. I had to cut the amount of oil by a little, and if using center cut bacon, it's only about 1/2 a point per serving. And it's deliciousness on a plate. Orzo would have been a better side dish, though. I just couldn't find it in whole wheat.

Try not to drool.

Obsessed with polenta...and breakfast

Those who know me well, know that I heart breakfast. It's easily my favorite meal of the day, and I enjoy breakfast foods at every meal. Pancakes for dinner? Sure. A ham and cheese omelet as a midnight snack? Absolutely, in my pre-WW days at least.

Another obsession of mine is polenta. I love the stuff to death. So why not combine the two?

Brilliant. And thanks to the NY Times food section, I got the fantastic pairing of an egg fried in evoo on top of polenta. Served with fruit and a glass of milk, and this breakfast will last for hours. Yum!