Tabouleh!!!

[alphabeta]

Hello, I find this salad called tabouleh to be kinda diabetic friendly as it is mostly vegetables and a bit of carbs. It is one of my country's famous dishes, so let me know if you guys like it or try it. Does it fit for low carb diabetics?

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/lebanese-tabbouleh-106589

 

[kitedoc]

Hi @alphabeta, It depends what type of grain you use in the recipe. Commercial taboulehs may use bourgal (? spelling varies) which is cracked wheat, or quinoa is used. Both have highish GI values. The former is not suitable for coeliacs, the latter with proper preparation is said to be.
Personally I make my own and use chia as the 'grain' since chia is almost zero carb. It is also suitable for coeliacs.
The lemon juice used in the recipe improves the fridge self life. I add olive oil to the portion to be eaten. as the parsley pieces tend to tickle the throat otherwise! Enjoy with salmon, soft cheese and/or hummous.

 

[alphabeta]

Hi @alphabeta, It depends what type of grain you use in the recipe. Commercial taboulehs may use bourgal (? spelling varies) which is cracked wheat, or quinoa is used. Both have highish GI values. The former is not suitable for coeliacs, the latter with proper preparation is said to be.
Personally I make my own and use chia as the 'grain' since chia is almost zero carb. It is also suitable for coeliacs.
The lemon juice used in the recipe improves the fridge self life. I add olive oil to the portion to be eaten. as the parsley pieces tend to tickle the throat otherwise! Enjoy with salmon, soft cheese and/or hummous.

Hmm regardless of high GI, it is more about of how much "bourgol" you add. So you can play along this. Olive oil is a must LOL

 

[kitedoc]

The bourgol influences the consistency of the mix, so the amount of experimentation with bourgol per mix does have limits. I find chia is more flexible in that regard though it does tend to stick to one's teeth more !!

 

[Sani Thomas]

Hello, I find this salad called tabouleh to be kinda diabetic friendly as it is mostly vegetables and a bit of carbs. It is one of my country's famous dishes, so let me know if you guys like it or try it. Does it fit for low carb diabetics?

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/lebanese-tabbouleh-106589View attachment 28158

Love tabouleh

 

[nashmaeva1]

yes i have eaten this before in lebanon,its tasty with the ingredients they use,olive oil which is a healthy oil, lemon etc.

 

[lessci]

I love tabouleh, but I've not had much success in making my own, it's one of the few carby things my system tolerates in a reasonable amount. I usually only indulge when I'm in France , you can buy it there reading made (like pasta salads etc)

 

[scotteric]

Hello, I find this salad called tabouleh to be kinda diabetic friendly as it is mostly vegetables and a bit of carbs. It is one of my country's famous dishes, so let me know if you guys like it or try it. Does it fit for low carb diabetics?

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/lebanese-tabbouleh-106589View attachment 28158

Yes, I love this stuff and find it has very little effect on BG

 

[Dr Snoddy]

Love it! I can tolerate a little bulgar wheat.

 

[alphabeta]

Yes, I love this stuff and find it has very little effect on BG

Same! That's why I consider it diabetic friendly

 

[DianaMC]

I like this salad and think it’s fine with less amount of bulgur in, too - though may test my BS levels now that I have a BG testing kit.

@kitedoc do you use the chia seeds raw or is there a way to cook them or soften them?

 

[derry60]

Hi @alphabeta, It depends what type of grain you use in the recipe. Commercial taboulehs may use bourgal (? spelling varies) which is cracked wheat, or quinoa is used. Both have highish GI values. The former is not suitable for coeliacs, the latter with proper preparation is said to be.
Personally I make my own and use chia as the 'grain' since chia is almost zero carb. It is also suitable for coeliacs.
The lemon juice used in the recipe improves the fridge self life. I add olive oil to the portion to be eaten. as the parsley pieces tend to tickle the throat otherwise! Enjoy with salmon, soft cheese and/or hummous.

I don't eat it, but I read that Quinoa has a low GI rating

 

[kitedoc]

I like this salad and think it’s fine with less amount of bulgur in, too - though may test my BS levels now that I have a BG testing kit.

@kitedoc do you use the chia seeds raw or is there a way to cook them or soften them?

Hi @DianaMC, I find that the lemon juice and residual water in the parsley soften the chia. They then appear like sago except with the black chia there is a black centre.

 

[kitedoc]

I don't eat it, but I read that Quinoa has a low GI rating

Thank you @derry60, yes, quinoa has GI of 53. My mistake. The other G-F grains are higher GI. Also the quinoa needs to be cooked, unlike the chia.

 

[DianaMC]

Hi @DianaMC, I find that the lemon juice and residual water in the parsley soften the chia. They then appear like sago except with the black chia there is a black centre.

Thanks, @kitedoc - that’s good to know. Chia look gritty in the raw state so I wasn’t sure how to use the little bag of them that I recently bought!

 

[derry60]

Thanks, @kitedoc - that’s good to know. Chia look gritty in the raw state so I wasn’t sure how to use the little bag of them that I recently bought!

I put some berries into plain yogurt with a little sweetner vanilla extract chopped walnuts and topped it with raw Chia seeds.. I really enjoyed it and very filling

 

[feniangirl]

Thanks, @kitedoc - that’s good to know. Chia look gritty in the raw state so I wasn’t sure how to use the little bag of them that I recently bought!

You can make pudding, there are many recipes on line. Chocolate peanut butter is my favorite. I use monk fruit sweetener, as there is no after taste. Also please note you can also grind chia seeds in a coffee grinder if the texture is not to your liking. it doesn't have any negative effect on them.

 

[DianaMC]

@derry60 and @feniangirl thanks for those ideas. I’m revisiting these threads, further down the line now, trying to stick with diabetes-sensible puddings! And ways to use chia seeds in snacks. So these are helpful inspirations.

I recently discovered Montezuma peanut butter and plain chocolate truffles - heavenly! And have bought a peanut butter-chocolate spread by PipnNut. I can definitely also vouch for this as a positive flavour combo