I’m rolling along, gaining some momentum with cooking. Tonight, I tried wheat couscous in water and vegetable broth and added some fresh lump crab meat, perhaps my favorite food.

I also added some backed chickpeas and chopped kale. It was pretty great if I do say so myself, Maria agreed.

We toasted each other with some Japanese saki, which I am liking these days every once in a while since I rarely drink regular alcohol and haven’t warmed up to wine.

The wheat couscous is delicious, but I find it needs a broth to bring out the flavor. We alternate between barley, couscous, lentils, and oats.

Although couscous looks like a grain, it’s technically pasta – it’s made with semolina flour from durum wheat, mixed with water. There are three different types of couscous: Moroccan, which is the smallest; Israeli or pearl couscous, about the size of peppercorns; and Lebanese, the largest of the three.

Regular couscous is high in carbs and may not be the healthiest choice too often for people like me with blood sugar issues. It also contains fewer essential nutrients than healthy grains.

But the wheat couscous, which I cook with, is much healthier. In fact, our meal tonight was one of the healthiest so far.

Whole-grain couscous is a great source of fiber, which is good for me in a number of ways.

It can stop my blood sugar from spiking and can keep me full longer. Another benefit is that it helps lower cholesterol, which is good for the heart.

Once or twice a year, I treat myself to a can of lump crab meat, rarely available in the United States anymore, the crab breeding sites have mostly been harvested to extinction.

It’s expensive, the can I just got the other day cost $62, but we get three or four meals out of it. It’s still cheaper than going out every night, which we used to do.

But fewer foods are healthier or better for me and for Maria. Crabmeat is packed with protein, which is important for building and maintaining muscle.

Crab also contains high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, and selenium. These are nutrients that doctors say, are especially healthy.

This is an especially healthy meal, as well as delicious. Chickpeas are one of the healthiest foods I could eat.

Chickpeas are a rich source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, they also are credited with a variety of benefits –  helping weight management, and improving digestion. They are a legume, not a vegetable, and high in protein. They are becoming healthy replacements for meat in our new diet.

My new relationship with food is deepening as I branch out, experiment, and broaden the range of meals and my knowledge of food health.

I thank the Mayo Clinic Health And Diet Plan for getting me started.

What I am learning is that I need to experience these things myself for them to stick. They are sticking.