Crunchy Couscous Salad

Portions:
6

Serving Size:
1/2 cup

    Diet Types:
  • CKD non-dialysis
  • Diabetes
  • Dialysis
  • Lower Protein
  • Vegetarian

Ingredients

  • 1 medium cucumber
  • 1/2 cup red bell pepper
  • 1/4 cup sweet onion
  • 2 tablespoon black olives
  • 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley
  • 1/2 cup couscous, uncooked
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons feta cheese crumbles
  • 1-1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 

Preparation

  1. Thinly slice and quarter cucumbers. Chop bell pepper, onion, olives and parsley.
  2. In a medium saucepan heat water to a boil and add couscous.  Return to boiling. Remove pan from heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and let cool while preparing vegetables.
  3. Add cucumber, bell pepper, onion, olives and parsley to couscous.
  4. Combine olive oil, wine or vinegar, feta cheese, basil, salt and pepper to make dressing. Mix with the couscous salad.
  5. Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Serve chilled.

Helpful hints

  • Add cooked chicken breast chunks or slices for a delicious light lunch or supper.

Nutrients per serving

Calories 121

Protein 3 g

Carbohydrates 14 g

Fat 6 g

Cholesterol 4 mg

Sodium 167 mg

Potassium 105 mg

Phosphorus 51 mg

Calcium 47 mg

Fiber 1.4 g

Added Sugar 0 g

Kidney and kidney diabetic food choices

  • 1 vegetable, low potassium
  • 1/2 starch
  • 1 fat 

Carbohydrate choices

1

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Comments(9)

nladkins

Mar. 01, 2022 7:28 AM

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I thought olives were not allowed for kidney disease. Just curious if anyone who made this left them out. Dietitian comment: That is a good question. Olives tend to have a high sodium content. You could rinse them to help remove some of the surface salt. However, the nutrients do take into account every ingredients. Because it is a smaller amount the sodium in the whole recipe and portion is considered low. However you could leave them out and it would not affect the final product in a negative way.

magic6385

Jun. 29, 2021 10:48 PM

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Please..I need recipes for (1) ONE person, maybe (2) two. I would like to see a few that I could try. Im sure there are other folks who would also enjoy getting something like this. Dietitian comment: You can use the search feature to see only recipes with 1-2 portions. Go to Diet & Nutrition-->Recipes. Click on "Browse All Recipes". On the left side of the page look for "Refine Results By" and select "Number of Servings" and check the box for 1-2. You can also download the Today's Kidney Diet Cooking for One or Two cookbook at https://www.davita.com/diet-nutrition/kidney-friendly-cookbooks.

FoodFixer

Jun. 13, 2021 1:17 PM

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This was easy and delicious. We didn't have couscous and substituted 1/2 cup uncooked Orzo which was toasted in 1 teaspoon Smart Balance and then cooked in water. Both of us really enjoyed the cool, crisp taste and the toasted Orzo added a nutty flavor. Thank you for a great recipe.

CharlieAnn

Nov. 10, 2017 11:38 AM

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Is there a way to lower sodium in frozen boneless skinless chicken breast.

Blackstone

Oct. 24, 2014 8:17 AM

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Leached all vegetables overnight using yellow pepper, omit olives, herbs,1/2 amount of salt, no pepper, used Quinoa instead of Coucoucus. Dietitian comment: Sounds great[INVALID]thanks for sharing. One note on the quinoa substitution[INVALID]it's quite a bit higher in potassium and phosphorus compared to couscous (194 mg potassium and 92 mg phosphorus per serving of the prepared recipe). For those limiting these 2 minerals stick with couscous or discuss with your dietitian.

Linda39

Jun. 11, 2014 9:36 AM

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Would this be good with Israeli couscous or will be make it too chewy? My husband doesn't much care for the small stuff. Also, it's hard to rate a recipe when I haven't tried it, but it looks like it would be very good.

1965bailey

Aug. 10, 2013 11:10 AM

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I made this with quinoa, and we really liked it. Quinoa gives more texture and is a protein, which my husband needs more of in his diet. Dietitian comment: Quinoa is much higher in potassium and phosphorus than couscous. If you are limiting these minerals I do not recommend this change.

teachwalking

Oct. 16, 2011 9:14 AM

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Will it make any difference if I add saffron when I am soaking my couscous before adding it to the couscousierre to steam? I guess I don't want to lose the flavor of saffron, but I don't know if saffron has problems for the CKD non-dialysis diet. Moderator comment: Saffron is acceptable for a kidney diet. 1 teaspoon contains only 12 mg potassium, 1 mg sodium and 2 mg phosphorus--very low!

ssculver

Aug. 09, 2011 2:01 PM

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Made this for my fiance & I. Could use less oil, as he thought it had too much. I found it to be better the 2nd day.