This little assortment often makes up a weekend, or even a workday, lunch for me, if I’ve been to the Whole Earth Center and stocked up on the various components. It’s tasty, but some compromise on my part is required.
Their lentil salad, sort of an “enhanced” tabbouleh, is on the upper left. To the right of that is their chickpea salad. Both of those are excellent and, to my way of thinking, healthful.
Then you see a few stuffed grape leaves at lower left (the label says “from Wakim’s foods”). Now, I am half Armenian, so I have my standards there, but they are not met in commercial versions, so I try to pretend I don’t mind. But, Wakim, whoever you are, I wish you would stop overcooking the rice. And I’d gladly pay more for a few currants and pine nuts…. No matter, I make do, adding a little of Trader Joe’s surprisingly good fat-free feta cheese (I hate fat-free “cheese,” but this I don’t mind), and a squeeze of lemon (and maybe a drizzle of fruity olive oil). A good meal, with plenty of fiber, and just moments to throw together.
