Starving on a Sunday Afternoon

Sometimes when I get really hungry, I get really mean and angry.  I have heard many people call this feeling "hangry." As a counselor, I am endorsing this feeling.  Sometimes you do get angry because you are just so, so hungry!  This emotion makes sense to me.

Yesterday after church I could feel "hangry" coming on in full force.  Maybe it was because of the time change but when we got home, I was ravenous.  As I sat in silence on the way home from church (I was trying to avoid letting the hangry out), I began planning what my lunch was going to look like.  I knew we had spinach (as always), some parmesan cheese, butter (praise Jesus!), and whole wheat Israeli couscous.  Although I knew it might take about 20 minutes to make, I decided to experiment with these ingredients in order to satisfy my desire for a hearty lunch.

Below is the end result of my experimenting.  It turned out to be a great success!  In case you care, this meal was 7 Weight Watcher points.  That is an ideal amount for one of my lunches.  It was also the perfect serving size.  Matt had eaten a late breakfast so he was not interested in my couscous concoction.  The serving size below is just right for one person.  Add a piece of fruit and you got yourself a meal!  If you try it, I hope you enjoy.

          ...............

Whole Wheat Couscous with Spinach and Parmesan
(makes a 1 cup serving for 1 person)

1/2 cup whole wheat Israeli couscous
1 cup chicken broth
3 big handfuls of spinach
1/2 tablespoon butter
shake of red pepper flakes
1 pinch of salt
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Bring chicken broth to a boil.  Add couscous, stir one time, and lower heat to a simmer.  Cook for approximately 15-20 minutes or until couscous is cooked through.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large pan.  Add spinach to pan.  Sprinkle spinach with the salt and red pepper flakes.  Cook until spinach is wilted, stirring occasionally.  Take off heat and set aside.

When couscous is cooked, add spinach and stir.  Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

          ...............