Tabouli Salad

Proportion, proportion, proportion!! No, it’s not home decorating or clothing trends I am talking about today, but food proportions! One of my husband’s favorite foods of all time is tabouli.

“Wait,” you might say, “Isn’t that mostly wheat grain?”

For some versions perhaps, but for us, increasing the proportion of vegetables to the bulgur wheat pushes this into a category that is acceptable for his Type 2 diabetes.

So we increase the amount of fresh juicy cucumbers, tomatoes, and onion so that they make up at least 50% of the tabouli salad. It doesn’t change the flavor much but makes this dish one that he can eat a larger portion of and still be within his daily guidelines of total carbohydrates.

I do use a ready-made mix of the dried bulgur wheat, that includes dried parsley and onions, and some citric acid for lemon flavor. It is in-and-out of stock at my local Walmart, so when it’s in-stock, I buy a few packages to have on hand. If you can’t find tabouli mix in your area, you can look for dried bulgur wheat and then add your own parsley and onion when you prepare it. On the recipe below, I have measurements for the separate ingredients so you can easily prepare it without a mix.

I always add LOTS of lemon juice (because we like it really sour!) along with my fresh veggies. It’s one of those dishes that you can customize by adding hard-boiled eggs, chopped deli meat, green peppers, etc., according to your taste. And experimenting is one of the fun parts of cooking, so don’t feel that you always must follow someone else’s recipe to the letter!

Use it as a starting point and make a salad like tabouli your own!