I’m always looking for new products that are real foods. You know which ones that I mean. They’re the foods where you can pronounce all of the ingredients on label. There’s nothing strange there, just wholesome ingredients that taste great. A recent find was CedarLane’s Quinoa Tabouli. I discovered it at my local Costco warehouse.

Tabouli, a Mediterranean salad side dish, is usually made with bulgur, or sometimes couscous. Bulgur is a whole wheat product that is parboiled after it is cracked. It is quick cooking. Couscous is also made from hard wheat that that has been processed into semolina and formed into the small grains of couscous. Couscous is easy to prepare, too. Just pour boiling liquid over the couscous, cover, then steam it. Why would CedarLane substitute quinoa for bulgur or couscous?

Since bulgur and couscous are both wheat products, they contain gluten. In our modern society, people are gluten conscious. Quinoa does not contain gluten. A side-by-side comparison of bulgur and quinoa show their nutritional differences. For each serving of 100 grams, with bulgur the calorie count is 83 versus 120 calories for quinoa. Bulgur has no fat, while quinoa has 2 grams of fat. Bulgur’s total carb value is 19 grams with 4 grams of fiber, for a net carb value of 15 grams. Quinoa has a total carb value of 21 grams and a fiber value of 3 grams, for a net carb value of 18 grams. These look very much alike nutritionally. Where they diverge is the vitamin and mineral content. On Vitamin A, quinoa has more than twice what bulgur does. For B6, quinoa has 50 percent more than bulgur. Vitamin E in quinoa is 0.63 mg while bulgur has a negligible amount. Folate in quinoa is double what bulgur has. In fact, quinoa has more of all listed vitamins and minerals, except for Niacin, Choline, Betaine, and Pantothenic Acid.

As a side dish, quinoa tabouli is great with sandwiches. Along with the quinoa, this food includes tomatoes, parsley, celery, expeller pressed canola oil, onions, extra virgin olive oil, green onions, mint, sea salt, lemon juice, garlic powder, citric acid and black pepper. This product is vegetarian and will fit into a vegan food plan. It works with Mediterranean sandwiches, as well as chicken, pork, and vegetarian sandwiches. It has the added benefit of being easily incorporated into wraps and pita sandwiches. Below you will find combinations of ingredients that will work well as wraps or pitas.

*Quinoa tabouli, black beans, tomatoes, and alfalfa sprouts.
*Quinoa tabouli, spinach, tomatoes, onions, avocado slices, and cheese.
*Quinoa tabouli and hummus.
*Quinoa tabouli, falafel, and cucumbers.
*Quinoa tabouli, meat, shredded lettuce, and sliced tomatoes.

I enjoyed the CedarLane Quinoa Tabouli for its healthy nutrition, lovely texture and fresh taste. It is relatively low carb, and the parsley and mint give it a homemade flavor. I highly recommend it as a side dish for your sandwich meals or for an easy-to-use ingredient for creating a tasty pita or wrap sandwich. Enjoy your sandwich meals!


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