Tag Archives: yumminess

Bulgur Revisited

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2 Bean Chili with Bulgur

When I looked up bulgur recipes online I found so many possibilities I wanted to try more than just a simple pilaf. Many of the bulgur recipes I found are from Mediterranean or Middle Eastern cuisines.

I made a Spicy Two-Bean Vegetarian Chili. It promised and delivered yumminess.

The recipe is a pretty standard vegetarian chili with black beans, kidney beans, tomatoes, bell pepper and jalepeño. The surprise was 1/2 cup of bulgur added for texture mostly.

Bulgur seems to play one of two roles in main dishes. It either adds texture and a little bulk, or it is a base like risotto. Either way it’s makes for an easy, healthful dish filled with yumminess.

Taste Test: Bulgur

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Total Rating for Bulgur = 4-1/2 plates*

  • Yumminess = 1-1/2
  • Goodness = 1
  • Easy to find & prepare = 1
  • Yummy to family = 1
*Read about my 5-plate Taste Test scale here.

Getting to Know Great Grains: Bulgur

This taste test is inspired by the article Get to Know 6 Great Grains in Diabetes Forecast.

Whole grains like bulgur (also spelled bulghur) are a really good for you. But is it good and yummy? I decided to test it out.

Source: Flickr (cc)diekatrin

Bulgur is whole wheat that’s been cleaned, cracked and cooked, then dried. This processing makes it quick to cook (soak in hot liquid for 20-25 minutes) and easy to store (in a sealed container on the pantry shelf or in the refrigerator). And most of the bran is left in place, so bulgur is still a whole grain.

You’ve probably eaten bulgur prepared as tabbouleh salad. The most common version of tabbouleh in the U.S. has cooked bulgur mixed with parsley, mint, tomatoes and cucumber, then dressed with olive oil and lemon juice.

Bulgur and tabbouleh are incredibly versatile. I found over 20 recipes called tabbouleh listed on a single website. Some added feta. Others beans. And still others added chicken. This grain can be easily prepared as a porridge, a side or the base for a main dish.

Bulgur is easy to find in the local supermarket. And it proved really easy to prepare. Continue reading →

Can a Flowchart Help You Make Better Food Choices?

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cc Ken Gilmour

Flowcharting eating choices can keep them healthy

Darya Pino at posted a flowchart for finding real food at the supermarket on her blog Summer Tomato yesterday. It’s an intriguing combination of guidance and humor.

Darya in answering the question “Was it [the item found in the grocery store] ever alive?” if you say “NO” the next box says “You’re probably in the home improvement aisle.” Clearly no yumminess to be found there. But if you say “YES” the next box says “Well done, you’re at the produce aisle or meat counter.”

Looking at Darya’s flowchart got me to thinking. If I could flowchart my decision points in eating I would have a really nifty thinking tool for keeping the yumminess on a healthy track. When I ran into new food or dish I would have a way to look at it and decide whether I wanted to eat it or not. Hmmmm… This is something I’ll have to explore further.

Can a flowchart help you make better food choices?

Good Idea: Make It Into a Salad

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cc yomi955

Having a salad makes for a simple, healthful, diabetic-friendly meal.

I know. I know. Salads are boring. Lettuce, tomato, vinaigrette. Lettuce, tomato, vinaigrette. Lettuce, tomato, vinaigrette. How many days can I eat such plain food?

Or the other complaint I hear is that salads are too fussy. To be interesting they have to be filled with exotic (and expensive) ingredients like dandelion. Somehow I don’t think I can just go out to the front lawn and harvest some of those.

A well made salad is filled with flavor, nutrients, and yumminess. Continue reading →