Avoiding the d-word

I just returned from vacation, where my family and I spent a week eating ice-creams as big as our heads and put away a truck-load of kettle chips, amongst other treats. I confess that two of us also drank more wine and beer than we pro...o...o...bably should have. Holidays for me are all about over-indulgence, so I count this one as a success.

See what I mean? As big as her head...

Trouble is, reality strikes when I get home, in the form of the dusty scale in my bathroom. It looks at me, all disappointed and disapproving, so I step on it in a fit of optimism, hoping to be able to crow about still having the metabolism of a twenty year old. Except that I never get to crow, chiefly because I'm not twenty, and neither is my metabolism. After reality strikes, guilt comes a-knocking, and I start the inevitable internal debate on whether I should go on a... you know... I can't say it.. aargh... diet. And there, friends, is for me the dreaded d-word. I have never managed to go on a diet, as the thought scares me. Food is my life.

In truth, there are only three ways I have ever lost weight in my life: giving birth, breastfeeding and having stomach flu. None of these feels like an attractive, attainable, or sensible option in my current predicament however, so I am forced to resort to my usual course of action. No, not a d-d-d-diet, but a period of cutting down. Cutting down sounds so much more acceptable, doesn't it? It makes it feel like an opportunity to try out all those healthy salad dishes I've been clipping out of magazines and salivating over during the summer months. If I can just steer clear of the 750 Best Muffin Recipes book....

Last night was the inaugural cutting down dinner, and it was a dish which I will be returning to, and not just post-vacation-binge, as it was rather yummy, if I do say so myself. I found the recipe in a recent issue of Cooking Light magazine. It is high in fiber and low in fat (in case you are doing a d-word, then it has just 296 calories per serving). It would make a delicious meal on its own, and is perfect for a lunch-box, but I served it alongside a simple spinach salad and some bread (so that the kids at least could have some more carbs for their warp-speed metabolisms to process, while their aging parents reluctantly passed on the focaccia).

Chicken and Feta Tabbouleh
Serves 4 (serving size 1 1/2 cups)

3/4 cup uncooked bulgur wheat
1 cup boiling water
2 cups chopped, skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast
1 cup chopped plum/roma tomato
1 cup chopped hothouse/English cucumber
3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup finely chopped green/spring onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 TBSP olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic (approx. 3 cloves)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1. Cook bulgur wheat according to directions, then drain any remaining liquid and rinse in cold water to cool slightly
2. Combine chicken and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add bulgur wheat and toss gently to combine.