Below 7: Fried halloumi and tabouleh
In another life, I worked a few months in a Lebanese restaurant. The owner was a crazy cokehead who cheated on his wife with a nineteen-year-old waitress, but the food was good. Lockman the chef made the most brilliant dolma (rice-filled grape leaves) and sawar (bulgur with fresh vegetables in a tomato sauce). While diabetes puts many of these foods on the no-list, it struck me that the Lebanese kitchen has a lot to offer someone on a low-carb diet. The foundation is meze dishes, often based on grilled meat and cheese, with colorful salads like ezme and tabouleh.
I decided to make the latter one together with some fried halloumi for dinner. The original tabouleh contains crushed wheat, but I made a low-carb variant with chopped parsley, mint, tomatoes, and onions, seasoned with olive oil, salt, and lemon juice. It was a great accompaniment to the cheese, and the blood sugar behaved itself.
| Before Eating | Blood Glucose and Insulin |
|---|---|
| 20 minutes | 5.3 mmol/l (96 mg/dl) 3u NovoRapid pre-bolused by 20 minutes for the carbs, 3u of ActRapid after eating for the protein in 200g of halloumi cheese. |
| After Eating | Blood Glucose |
|---|---|
| 1 hour | 6.0 mmol/l (108 mg/dl) |
| 2 hours | 5.2 mmol/l (94 mg/dl) |
| 3 hours | 5.3 mmol/l (96 mg/dl) |
I ate the same meal the next day with similar results. Next up is lamb kefta and mhamara dip made from smoked peppers, aubergines, olive oil, paprika powder, and walnuts. It’s Lebanese autumn around here.