Israeli Couscous with pomegranate, mint and feta

I made this salad for Christmas, and was pleasantly surprised at how Christmasy it looked. I had just kind of thought it up based on the combination of flavours and not really thought about the colors, so that was a bonus.

This salad could also easily be made with quinoa or even rice as a gluten-free salad, and as with all my salad ideas every other ingredient is as flexible as you want it to be. 🙂 But this is what I did and it was tasty sweet.

1 1/2 cups Israeli couscous cooked with a little salt
1 pomegranate
1/2-1 red onion – finely sliced
big handful of fresh mint – roughly chopped
big handful of fresh italian parsley – roughly chopped
2 oranges – segmented and white pith removed
1 block of feta – diced
1/2 cups slivered almonds
salt and pepper
1 lemon
extra virgin olive oil

Cook the Israeli couscous, just like pasta in salted water until tender. Drain through a sieve and rinse with cold water.
Pull apart the pomegranate and put all the little gems into a big bowl, add all the other ingredients and lastly the couscous. Squeeze over the juice of the lemon, drizzle over a few good tablespoons of olive oil and stir it all up. Season to taste with salt and pepper and more lemon juice as needed.

YUM YUM YUM!!!

Dark Chocolate covered Ginger Spice Bites

Had a go at capturing some healthy Christmas cheer today and I think I may have succeeded 🙂
They are dairy-free, nearly gluten-free, and the only added sugar is in the chocolate coating (which if you use dark chocolate is not a lot)…. but they are rather tasty and easy as to make.

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup almond meal
1 cup coconut flour
1 tsp natural vanilla essence
1 big tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1 Big TBSP coconut oil
pinch of salt
3 cups of soaked dates
1 block dark chocolate (I use whittikers for dairy-free)

Combine all the dry ingredients, and spices in the food processor then add the dates and coconut oil and blend to a dough like consistency.

Roll into balls and allow a little time to set then dip into melted chocolate to coat. Sprinkle with edible glitter for some extra flair 😉

You could try using whole almonds instead of almond meal for a more chunky texture, but the almond meal makes it more “cookie-dough” like.

Yum Yum the perfect after-dinner treat, with a hot tea or coffee. And the bonus is that the ginger and spices will help to settle you tummy and speed up digestion after big festive meals.