Miracle Postpartum Tabbouleh Salad for Weight loss

This is the salad. The great Bambino (Sandlot anyone?!) of all salads for weight loss and milk supply. Like all postpartum mamas, two major issues on my mind are getting rid of the baby weight and keeping up a healthy supply. Now, parsley is a big player in this salad, and it’s been said it can lower your milk supply in large amounts. I have not experienced it, and Parsley is one of the healthiest foods you can eat, which is why I call this a miracle salad. Plus, this salad has way more Bulgur in it, which is a grain full of fiber and minerals that promote a healthy milk supply. Either way, I have a substitute for you in the recipe if you are concerned and don’t want to risk it! I have also have a gluten-free substitute for the Bulgur as well!

I go over the specific health benefits in this salad at the end of the post. Overall, you are getting a huge amount of nutrients and flavors for a very low calorie salad, which is key to weight loss all together, especially postpartum. It is so so important to feed your body the nutrients it needs!

Back to the full salad details. Its full of greens and flavor! The Bulgar gives a nice texture, so you aren’t feeling like a rabbit munching on lettuce, yet you get all the benefits of eating like a rabbit. The juices mix together with the seasonings, so you have a salad that is heavy, and each piece holds flavor. That’s key to me. Traditionally, if you like a lot of flavor on your salad, or you don’t like salad, so you cover it all in dressing, you are really being counterproductive. This salad pulls the natural flavors together, so you don’t need oil or dressing! This also includes  cheese…cause I’m a girl who loves cheese every day. Oh, and this recipe is huge!! The most important part is letting it sit out and get tastier and tastier. I have a big Tupperware of it in the fridge now, and every day it tastes better than before. So, you only have to do all the chopping and cutting once, and it lasts for a few days, unless you scarf it down like I do.

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Well, this salad is full of everything you need to give your body the nutrients it needs postpartum. I know, I sound too excited, but its because I’m not that great of a cook, but I can make a mean, lean and green salad.

I’ve been known to put some interesting salad combos together. Cheeseburger salads, spaghetti in my salad. I love a good mix of flavors, but this one isn’t that crazy.

This salad is a simple Tabbouleh really. The Tabbouleh that you can buy isn’t as healthy as it seams. Its loaded with wheat and drenched in oil, so you have to be careful. This salad is light, fresh, full of flavor and nutrients for you baby. I created this myself, and its a simplified version of Tabbouleh salad minus some ingredients like the olive oil. This salad is also more like a salad, rather than a grain…lots more green in each bite like a salad. That’s why I call it a salad.

I’ll give you some details on why its so wonderful for your postpartum self, but I know I always want to see a recipe first, and read more later. So here we go:

Box of Tabbouleh with seasoning mix

5 Tomatoes

1 Big Cucumber

2 Bunches Parsley (if you are concerned about milk supply, substitute for 1 bunch of Cilantro and 1/2 head of romaine lettuce)

1 Bunch Cilantro

1/4 Onion Chopped small

1 Box of Feta Cheese

Garlic Salt

Pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

First, prepare your Tabbouleh according to the box instructions. I got this box, so all it took was boiling a cup of water, then pouring the water into a bowl with the grain and seasonings. Then, you let it sit for a while, and the grain soaks up the water and starts to get softer.

Next, start chopping away! Chop all the veggies up as small as possible for the best texture. I’m not sure why, but everything blends and tastes better when things are chopped smaller.

I, on the other hand, don’t have time to chop much. I am constantly interrupted or holding a child, so my veggie chunks are always bigger than I’d like. If you can take a few extra minutes to really chop things up small, do it.

After the grain is done soaking (your box tells you how long to let it sit), throw in all your veggies.

Now, if you aren’t much of a cilantro fan, or parsley fan, you can get creative with this and take something out. You can replace it with spinach or lettuce to keep the texture and mix the same, but with less of a strong flavor.

Add about 1/4 tsp of garlic salt and pepper at a time, stir and taste. This is where you want to season according to your own liking. After you’ve tossed the seasonings around a bit, add your feta cheese.

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Now in this photo, I was out of feta cheese, so I sprinkled Parmesan cheese on top. I can pretty much eat any sort of cheese on anything, but this tasted great, is less traditional, but a fun way to change it up!

First, Parsley and Cilantro: These herbs are amazing for your body! Parsley is huge for medicinal purposes, and it is super high in Vitamin C, K and Iron. These are important for your body postpartum as you are healing from giving birth. The iron content is a major energy booster because many of us are low in iron, which we all need as much energy as possible postpartum.

Cilantro is also full of antioxidants and vitamins, as well as its said to help lower your anxiety and improve your sleep. Can’t go wrong there. We all know we need the best sleep possible, and anxiety is what often inhibits weight loss postpartum, so its going to help with that as well!

Bulgar is great for your milk supply. Its a grain high in maganese and fiber, which is similar to eating oatmeal or quinuao, all foods that will help increase your milk supply as well. Bulgar is also high in magnesium, which is super helpful to control sugar cravings. You need to read my post on sugar cravings and breastfeeding too. Its super important you understand why you are craving sugar, and this salad will help!

Overall, the salad is full of nutrients for your body. When you feed your body right, you feel better and have less cravings. You are serously getting a huge bang for your buck on this one because its low in calories and high in flavor and nutrients.

Remember to keep an eye on your milk supply, and let me know if the parsley affects it at all. It will be good for other readers to know if it does!