Couscous: composition, benefit and harm, calorie

The topic of healthy eating has recently been noticed everywhere.People have become actively interested in new products that can be a useful substitute for high-calorie dishes. And if a few years ago nobody knew about couscous, now this cereal is one of the leaders in terms of popularity among those who follow weight.

Couscous is wheat cereal, which has been specially processed. Externally, it can be confused with millet. It is actively used for cooking in Arab countries. By the way, the Arabs themselves do not call couscous grits, but refer the product to pasta. Historically, it was mined from millet.

The process of couscous production until the moment when it will be edible, takes place in several stages.

1. First, small granules are formed from flour. For this, the raw materials are moistened.
2. Next, the granules are sieved to separate the smaller fractions. The remaining grains are dried.
3. Drying usually lasts 1-2 months. Historically, all the couscous production is done by women.

Previously, the product was created manually, but today the production process is mechanized, which facilitates the work.

Couscous is present in the diet of the inhabitants of Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya. Its counterpart is in Israel. As well as the fashion for this product picked up by the Italians and the French. This is not surprising, given the craze for healthy eating. 100 grams of cereal contains 376 kcal, which gives you satiety for a long time, saturating the body with slow carbohydrates.

If you analyze the nutritional composition, it is worth noting that couscous contains vitamins of group B. Therefore, the product is so popular among vegetarians and vegans who are deficient in this component.

In addition, cereals contain phosphorus, potassium, iron, copper, zinc. This is a great addition to any diet!

The advantages of couscous once again explain its popularity.

A portion weighing 200 grams contains 80% of the total consumption of selenium. Deficiency of this important mineral is often observed in people who live in big cities, eat irregularly and get nervous a lot. It is selenium that helps the body to recover from physical and nervous overloads, and also ensures the proper functioning of the thyroid gland. Any hormonal fluctuations can also be associated with a lack of selenium.

Today, more and more people get cancer. And the more important to know how to reduce the risk of disease. Couscous will help with this! Thanks to studies in which more than 350 thousand people took part, it was possible to prove that some types of cancer do not develop if a person regularly uses couscous. This is again due to the high selenium content. And the product works better than any vitamin supplements.

Particularly high results were obtained when examining patients who had a high risk of prostate cancer and lung cancer in smoking participants in the experiment. But the doctors also noted that the efficiency of the absorption of nutrients from cereals occurs when taking vitamins E and C together.

The use of couscous helps to reduce inflammation and increases immunity. This is due to oxidation in the body. But scientists say that couscous is not to be abused. Selenium in its composition in excess amounts may harm the immune system. In all the measure is important!

Our body is about 15-20% consists of protein. And its composition includes amino acids. They almost always participate in metabolism.Therefore, if the protein is not enough, the disease will become the faithful companions of man. If you eat a little food of animal origin, then you need to monitor the intake of plant protein in the body. Couscous is perfect for this, because it contains 8 grams of protein per 200 grams.

Now many vegetarians and vegans are fighting for quinoa and soy. But studies have shown that there is not enough protein in these products. And couscous will cover the proportion of protein that we need for building cells and fulfilling life.

Nutritionists often say that to lose weight you need to eat cereals. However, it is very easy to overdo them. Even oatmeal is very high in calories. If you eat it all the time with bowls, even if you refuse yourself sweets, the weight will not budge. And couscous has fewer calories and more protein, not carbohydrates. That is why it gives a rapid saturation and helps to fight extra pounds.

Cellulose and protein help food linger longer in the stomach, and a person does not suffer from bouts of hunger, and maybe for a few hours just forget about food. In addition, the body needs more strength to digest protein. Therefore, the metabolism will accelerate, and the calories will go away, and with them - fat.

Diabetes today has become a global scourge. Almost every product has sugar. A large amount of refined and artificial food makes a person addicted and willing to eat more. A lot of sugar is early diabetes, which is diagnosed even in children. The disease is unpleasant, imposes restrictions on lifestyle, and even leads to disability. It is important to control the level of sugar. Especially if you know that you have already upgraded it. And this will help products that reduce this figure. These include couscous. Thanks to fiber and vegetable protein, glucose levels do not rise too sharply - sugar rises gradually. It does not cause a wild feeling of hunger or nervous tension, which is characteristic when we eat something very sweet.

Couscous refers to products with a moderate glycemic index - 65. Compared with many products (for example, with the same bananas that fitness trainers often recommend), this cereal has a moderate effect on sugar. After eating, you will feel full and do not want to eat for a long time.

Speech on the prevention of constipation. This delicate problem is faced by many people who have to eat improperly or sit at the computer for a long time. Couscous contains fiber, which improves intestinal peristalsis and works like a brush, scrubbing everything in its path. Regular visits to the toilet will restore metabolism, improve the complexion and condition of the skin, and normalize weight.

If you are fed up with the same thing, experiment and include couscous in your diet. This is especially important for people who are limited in the choice of products.

We talked about the fact that couscous has a lot of advantages. But this product has contraindications:

• diabetics need to consult with their doctor before including this cereal in their diet, because the glycemic index of the product is moderate, but not the lowest;
• couscous is better to exclude with individual intolerance to wheat and cereals in order to avoid food allergies;
• if you are overweight, it is important to control the portions in order not to provoke an increase in body weight.

Usually, 150 grams of boiling water is taken for 150 grams of product. The container is covered with a lid and cooked over low heat. To disturb the cereal is not necessary.

But if you do not want to eat regular cereal, you can try to cook something special with it. Moreover, all the recipes are simple and do not take much time. And you can surprise them not only yourself, but also guests.

Ingredients:

• 200 grams of couscous;
• 2 green onion stalks;
• 4 eggplants;
• 1 clove garlic;
• 1 onion;
• 1 piece of yellow and red bell peppers;
• 100 grams of cheese;
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil;
• greens, salt and pepper.

Preparation includes several sequential steps.

• Cook the cereal (rules you already know). Leave to infuse for 5 minutes, and then mix with a fork. Groats may just be steamed.
• Eggplant cut into 2 pieces along, sprinkle with salt and leave for 30 minutes using a paper towel. So bitterness will go away. You can skip this step if this is not essential for you.
• Cut out the eggplant pulp and chop it finely.
• Grind peppers, garlic and onions. Mix with pulp and stew in a pan.
• Add couscous and fry for another 2 minutes.
• Add pepper and salt, sprinkle with herbs.
• The oven is heated to 200 degrees.
• In eggplant spread the mixture.
• We bake 30-40 minutes. 5 minutes before the end of cooking, sprinkle eggplant with grated cheese.

Ingredients:

• 150 grams of couscous;
• 200 grams of champignons;
• 1 squash;
• 1 eggplant.
• 1 onion;
• 10 cherry tomatoes;
• salt, pepper and turmeric.

Cooking:

1. chop onions, mushrooms, eggplants, zucchini and simmer in a pan;
2. simultaneously cook couscous;
3. In a vegetable mixture, add 1 cup of hot water to which turmeric is added;
4. season with salt, pepper and add chopped cherry;
5. remove everything from the stove and add to the couscous, or, conversely, you can put the cereal in the pan, mix and cook for another 1 minute - so the dish becomes more fragrant.

Ingredients:

• 120 grams of couscous;
• 2 sprigs of mint;
• 110 milliliters of white wine;
• 4 tablespoons chopped almonds;
• 3 pears;
• 3-4 oranges (preferably red);
• 2 tablespoons of lime juice;
• 2 tablespoons of sea buckthorn juice (if any);
• 2 tablespoons of honey;
• 1 tablespoon of oil (it is better to use walnut oil, but olive oil is also suitable).

Cooking:

1. boil couscous and cool, then mix with butter;
2. thinly chop the pears and stew in a pan, add honey, sea buckthorn and lime juice, pepper, white wine in the process;
3. we cut oranges and add them to pears;
4. leave everything for half an hour under the lid with the fire off, so that the fruit is saturated with aroma;
5. fry the almonds separately in a dry frying pan until nutty flavor appears;
6. fruit lay out on a sieve and leave for 5 minutes to remove moisture;
7. mix couscous, fruit, nuts and chopped mint, the remaining leaves can be used to decorate the dish.

The secrets of cooking couscous, see the following video.