Couscous – the road to a balanced diet

Eating a varied, well-balanced diet starts with eating a variety of foods from each of the five food groups daily, in the recommended amounts. But how do you combine foods from all groups into one savoury and nutritional meal?

The answer is in Martino’s line of couscous products. Couscous is a simple yet versatile way to maintain a balanced diet, where you can combine the right fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and fibre in order to obtain all of the nutrients you need for good health.  By eating the correct combination, and not too much or too little of anything, you will give your body the right fuel to grow, replenish, repair and strengthen.

If you want to eat a healthy diet but tend to eat the same foods over and over, Martino’s couscous can be a good start to introduce some variety into your eating habits. With our specifically designed Conventionally Flavoured, Ready-to-Eat, Organic, Al naturale, Bio Flavoured and Prestige – you can experience all the benefits of a varied diet.

Eating a variety of foods ensures that you’re covering your bases, nutritionally. Vegetables, lean meat, fish, chicken broth, herbs and spices are all terrific sources of vitamins, minerals, fibres and protein. The different food groups tend to feature different nutrient profiles as well. Vegetables contain lots of antioxidants, nuts and seeds supply fat-soluble nutrients, grains and legumes supply minerals, and so on. And Martino’s couscous products provide the perfect base for a variety of dishes for a light lunch, filling dinner or sweet snack in between meals.

Choosing the Right Foods

When eating a balanced diet, it’s important to choose foods that will offer lots of good nutrition for the calories you take in. One cup of cooked Martino couscous contains 176 calories, 36 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fibre and 6 grams of protein with no sugar or fat. It also contains two-third the daily recommended selenium dose for adults. If you’re looking for more fibre, choose the durum wheat couscous variety; it has about five to six grams of fiber per serving and is available in many markets. In addition to corn, chickpea or rice couscous, Martino carries durum couscous as well – ideal for a healthy and light full meal.

Our plain couscous products can be seasoned with herbs and spices of your choice, cooked with chicken broth, a variety of meats and fish, steamed or roasted vegetables. This way you can ensure you’re eating foods from each main group to get all of the nutrients that you need. Including a mixture of whole foods from each of the major food groups, such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, proteins and dairy products is the easiest way to a balanced diet. These foods supply the three primary macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates and fat. They also give you vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber and essential fatty acids to help maintain your health. Martino’s plain couscous cooks quickly and tastes great with your choice of vegetables, nuts, legumes, meats, tofu or fish.

Of course, you can also go for our Conventional Flavoured range, which is just as nutritionally-rich and healthy, but comes in several pre-seasoned varieties. We’ve combined spices like curcuma, which is known to be a powerful antioxidant with dry fruits for a zesty taste and nutrient density as well as carry mushroom-flavoured, pesto, spicy, tomato and basil and Mediterranean options. All have been carefully developed to offer the maximum amount of nutritional benefit and superior taste.

Thanks to the high-quality ingredients we use as well as our manufacturing process, Martino couscous is also generally lower in calories and higher in fiber than most processed foods, helping you to feel full on fewer calories. As a result, a balanced diet with Martino’s products may prevent weight gain and obesity. If your unbalanced diet was deficient in calories, starting to eat a balanced diet can also help you put on pounds to achieve a normal body weight.

We are passionate about making different foods an integral part of people’s daily menu. Our range of couscous products is developed to help you maintain a healthy and interesting diet which provides a range of different nutrients to the body. Let us know how Martino’s variety of couscous products helps you stay in good health and reduce the risk of disease.