Picnic with Smoothie and Couscous Salad

Submitted by Amanda on

PIcnic lunch with my feet up


Yesterday was such a nice day outside--finally warming up!--that I had to sit on the back porch for lunch with Baby Nora in my lap. I was also under orders from Paul to keep my feet up. So, I sent him this picture to prove I was obedient.

Ever since I talked with my aunt last week about Tabouleh, I've been wanting some. However our parsley looks sad, and I promised myself I would eat what we already had in the house this week instead of buying more groceries. So, I decided to make my own chilled couscous salad with dried parsley and vegetables. Maybe it isn't something that will make it on CNN iReport, but it was just what I wanted. I also wanted to eat up the peaches in the freezer and came up with a pretty simple recipe with help from Eat, Drink and Weigh Less.

Recipe for Couscous Salad

  • 1 cup cooked couscous
  • 1 Campari tomato, diced
  • 1/2 mini cucumber, diced
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Handful dried parsley, ground in hand
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon fresh crushed black pepper

Mix all ingredients and serve at room temperature.

Recipe for Peach Smoothie

In a blender add equal parts frozen peaches, yogurt, and orange juice. Last, add 1/2 Tablespoon honey. Blend until no longer chunky. Sip on the porch.

Eating Vegetarian: 

1 Comment

Fely emailed me an

Submitted by Amanda on

Fely emailed me an alternative Couscous recipe. With her permission, I've shared it below.

My easy couscous recipe is more than three ingredients, but since it's "mix all ingredients together" I make the exception. Measurements are all estimates except for what comes naturally measured--olives in the can, lemons.

* Cook couscous like box says (1 box)
* Chop celery (3/4 cup)
* Chop cilantro (1 cup)
* Cut grape or cherry tomatoes in half (1 cup)
* Drain can of small pitted black olives
* Juice of one or two lemons, depending on your taste
* Salt and pepper (I only add this because most recipes call for it, but I don't usually)
* Once in awhile, when I'm ambitious, I put a couple tablespoons of zesty italian dressing