(If you are looking for the response to watching Fed Up, I've moved it to it's own page. Having that text with with recipe felt a bit off but I wanted to still keep my reaction on the site.)
I think the photos speak for this recipe but I'll tell you a little about it anyway. There are two things at play here and both are delicious: grilled, salty cheese and a lovely, simple tahini sauce. I've kept this recipe tucked away for some time now trying to figure out the perfect combination for the salty cheese. Plus, you can't go wrong with grilled vegetables.
Print*Halloumi is a rather salty cheese and I omit all salt from the recipe. However, this is a personal preference and you should add salt as you see fit.
*I'm trying to cut back on the amount of sweetener I use and I typically omit the honey all together. Taste the sauce and add if you want it to be a bit sweet.
*Marinade the vegetables up to a day before.
I've been wanting to see that movie. Thanks for sharing your story. I think it probably resonates with a lot of female readers 🙂
Ok I don't mean to be condescending and say that American people are all fat and eat shit and greasy burgers from fast foods and drink liters of coke as opposed to us French people who have the best food in the world and do not feed our beef with hormones because that's not true. Well, not totally. Because in France we also have fast foods, processed foods full of palm oil and salt and bad fats and we're starting to suffer from obesity as well. But really, I am amazed by all the Amrican food blogs who praise to eat "real" food (but don't get me wrong, I love these blogs because they are all so creative, even more than some food blogs we can have here in France which are really focused on traditional dished and meat, because French people are not really vegetarian or vegan friendly - come on, wer'e the country of cheese!), all those people who suddenly realise that cooking vegetables at home is much healthier than eating tacos at the takeaway nearby. It is just so obvious for me. And probably for many other French people. However, it has not always been, and for some people it still isn't.
As a child, my mom used to "cook" a lot of provessed food. She admits it herself : she has not been a good cook. She hated cooking every night, when she came back exhausted from work. So we had frozen pizza or lasagna or fried rice. We had dehydrated purée, canned ravioli sometimes, frozen fries or any other potato based product. A few of the dishes she really cooked are soups (and sometimes we had the canned stuff too), grilled cheese, quiche, stuffed vegetables, ratatouille and baked tomatoes. My father also cooked fish, omelettes and roasted chicken. I think my parents cooked a bit, but I really remember a lot of processed foods. But my grandmother has a huge garden filled with vegetables and she cooked them for us every week. Of course she made french fries too because children always love french fries, but as far as I remember I've always loved her peas and fava bean stew, her steamed green beans, her fresh tomatoes and her artichokes.
I was quite thin as a child, but I used to be a picky eater it seems. My brother however was fat and laughed at for that. So one day, my mother and him went to a nutritionist and they started a diet. We all started a diet, and my mother tried to cook more and more, to use less processed foods and more vegetables. I'm not saying we suddenly became the heathiest family around but it got better. When I was 18, I had to move out for my studies and went to a boarding school. The stress of the studies, doing no sport, the food of the school restaurant twice a day, snacking on biscuits when I was studying, having no place to cook during the weekends (and so eating at the takeaways almost every week) resulted in me gaining from 3 to 5kg. Two years later, I moved again, on my own this time, and I decided that I would eat vegetarian most of the time because I've been feeling inclined to for a few years. It was better for me, and better for our planet. I lost all the weight I had took, became really creative in cooking, discovered new ways to cook all the vegetables I love (and started eating some vegetables I used to dislike too!). It's been more than 3 years that I live this way and I'm so satisfied. My friends think I cook strange things, some of them don't understand why I cook vegetarian or vegan, but I don't care. My bf also has grandparents who taught his the taste of "real", garden-grown vegetables and since we started dating, he changed the way he eats too, going from classical student meals (pasta, pizza and other canned or frozen foods) to a more wholesome diet. He realised it's not hard and time consuming to cook something healthy. Of course we are no supermen and sometimes have a pizza delivered or go to Mc Donald's, but I'm happy that I have changed his way of eating. Now, when I have too much meat in the week, I don't feel well. I'm not used to this anymore. I've been on a business trip away from home during the last 3 weeks and eating "traditional" food at the hostel every night was hard for me. Too rich, too much meat (and not enough exotic flavours haha!), no sport, and I think I gained weight again. All I wanted to eat during the weekend was fruits! Same thing during my internship last year, when I ate every day at the company's restaurant. I have the chance to work from home now, and to be able to cook for myself everyday, and I can tell you that I don't feel more inspired than when my fridge is full of veggies. I hardly ever have processed foods now, I make the dough of my quiche and pizza, the buns of my burgers, it's much tastier and healthier!
I think that more and more people in France come to realise that real foods are the key. I see more and more people going to the farmer's market, to care about the origin of their products. Probably not all of them are vegetarian or flexitarian and eat organic whole grains, but I think it's a good start. However some people don't care about that at all and rely on the convenient processed foods (my flatmate is one of them, when I'm not home she doesn't touch a veg peeler!). I'm not sure we're entering an era of obesity due to a wider use of sh*t in our food, and that we are joining the US on this path, or if we are slowly getting out of it, as you are, and that we did not have as many processed and fast food as in the US.
I'm sorry this was veeery very long but I wanted to share my (confused) thought about this issue and my story too. The conclusion of this is that I'm totaly convinced that a mostly plant based diet, with fresh, seasonable products is the best. At least for me it is! Even though I've eaten a lot of processed foods as a child, I had the chance to develop a love for veggies and for cooking (maybe as a reject of all this sh*t?) and my brother too (though he's much more of a meat eater and cooks more traditional as I do). Today he is very thin, even though he hardly practises sport, so I think food is really the key! Of course, cooking with fresh vegetables requires more time and planning than opening a can, but it's so worth it! Sorry for the long comment and thanks for reading!
Oh Erin, I could have written this pretty much word for word. I love how honest you are with your struggles and how realistic and accessible you make those healthier choices. It's always so inspiring. Plus halloumi is one of my favourite all-time foods so this has got my name all over it.
Such a thoughtful post Erin, I eat too much sugar and bad food, and then "run it off". It's the absolute worst thing I could do...I justify eating terrible food by exercising, and it's definitely not helping me at all. Like you, I eat tons of healthy stuff too, but it's not enough! I know there isn't an actual perfect answer on how to look at food and connect to it, but its posts like this that are a nice reminder on the right track to be on. Thanks 🙂
I have a very similar perspective on food and am hoping that as I raise my family I can convey the love of ingredients vs. processed items in a very positive way. This is the perfect type of dish to show that! I love halloumi.
I honestly could not agree more. As a 17-year old living in the same situation you grew up in, I lived off of Kraft mac and cheese and frozen food for a while- not because nothing better was available, but because my parents were busy and I was a kid who wanted to stuff my face with junk. I realized soon enough that my metabolism was slowing and if I was fueling myself with bad food, I wouldn't feel great. I'm almost glad I had to make the healthy change on my own, because it helped me stay on track!
Anyways, these skewers look amazing! The sauce on its own is gorgeous. I know halloumi is all the rage now, but I've yet to try it. Yum!
It's sobering to think that our generation is the living proof of political food decisions, that decades of advertising have affected real lives, that food (and all the issues surrounding it) are complicated. It's also sobering to think how not-mainstream it still is, honestly, to talk about real food. Even to talk about it! While the unprocessed movement is always growing and while none of us are perfect at anything, there is still a huge population who thinks it doesn't matter at all. That what you eat isn't important. I forget that sometimes in my food-blogging bubble but anytime I step out of it (which in offline life is always) I see how many, many, many of us are still believing what we're being sold.
Oh the grilled vegetables really are the perfect pairing with halloumi. And this cilantro tahini sauce looks to die for! Perfect summer grill menu, Erin.
Hi Erin
I have recently discovered your blog and am eagerly awaiting the arrival of your book 🙂
I have to say that your post touched me today. My heart went out to you, I , like many have struggled with my weight for many years...becoming obsessed with each mouthful, not enjoying my food and then feeling guilty for eating it. This was until I met my natropath who told me to eat what I liked and not worry about it. Well, I am not one to do things by halves so I took up the challenge and over the next two years proceeded to put on 2.5 stone and in the process....and this is the important bit....I stopped obsessing about my food.
I realise now that the weight my body was holding on to was far more an emotional issue than one of not making the right choices. Yes, I knew I was eating way too much sugar, but eventually I recognised that I was stuffing my emotions down with every bite. Now that I have realised that I have been smothering my emotions and have faced all that was troubling me I am finally on the path to eating better. To taking care of myself, as you said, one healthy plate of food at a time. I still eat sugar and will never cut it out completely but I treat it as the treat it is meant to be rather than a part of my daily eating choices (not diet...never again will I call it my diet!).
We women beat ourselves up about so many things, food should not be one of them. We should love ourselves, embrace our curves and be amazing. Thank you for all you do to encourage and inspire your reader to eat healthily.
We just bought a BBQ for our balcony a couple weeks ago, and we finally got a propane tank yesterday, so it's time to start grilling! This sauce sounds like it would be good on anything...can't wait to throw it on my veggies this weekend!
Photos definitely speak a lot about this recipe! It looks just fantastic!
I also relate to the struggles you mention in your movie response. Can you imagine how different things would be in this country if kids were educated in schools about the truth of where their food came from and how it was processed? This dish looks healthy and yummy! I just noticed halloumi showing up at my local whole foods and I've wanted to try it. Congrats on your book as well!
Looks lovely, minus the cilantro for me (never really took a liking to that herb, sadly). Let summer begin!
First, I love the halloumi skewers... I can't wait to try them - they look divine. And oh, how I can relate to your post... as I'm off to they gym this morning to try to work off a good bit of blogging and entertaining excess over the weekend. How is it possible there are so many skinny food bloggers out there? I struggle with the temptation of eating too much of the lovely food I'm creating 🙂
This looks amazing! Love those grilled vegetables, they look so tasty!
Made this the other day. The skewers were great, but that tahini sauce.... so good. I'll be definitely be making it to pour over roast veggies. Thank you for being a culinary genius 🙂
This is a great recipe - how long do you think the cilantro sauce will keep in the fridge?
I'd say probably 3-4 days (maybe longer- it never last longer in my house though!)