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She Says: Bulgur For Breakfast & Raw Opinions
Morning!
Yesterday I bought some Bulgur Wheat from the bulk bin at Whole Foods. I’ve never had it before, but wanted to try it in my breakfast. I searched my google reader and found that Meghann has eaten bulgur for breakfast, so I knew it would be good.
Curious about Bulgur? Here is what I learned at Recipe Zaar.
Bulgur is wheat kernels that have been steamed, dried and crushed. The outer layers of the bran are removed, and the grains are cracked. It is generally available in coarse, medium and fine grinds; and has a nutty taste. When rehydrated it has a tender, chewy texture. Bulgur wheat is often confused with cracked wheat, but it’s not exactly the same.
Ethnicity: Middle Eastern Ingredient
Season: available year-round
How to prepare: Used in salads such as tabbouleh and wheat pilafs.
Matches well with: lemon, mint, olive oil, onions, parsley
Substitutions: bulgur wheat = cracked wheat
1/4 Cup of Dry Bulgur contains: 120 calories, .5 g fat, 6.4 g fiber and 4.3 g protein.
Uncooked, the bulgur kind of tasted like uncooked brown rice. When cooked it added a nice crunch to my oats. To prepare my bowl this morning, I mixed 1/4 cup of wheat bulgur with 1/4 cup rolled oats and prepared it on the stove just as I would make oats. It was quite delicious and very voluminous and filling!
Raw Update
I’ve still been trying to read and learn about raw foods diets to prepare for our challenge of eating some raw foods this month. A couple people sent me a link to this article about raw foods. Thanks so much for thinking of me and sending it to me.
I want to present both sides of the the raw foods “debate,” and this article attempts to do that, but honestly, this is a less than a rave review of raw foods diets. Here is an excerpt.
[O]ne of the main problems with the raw food diet is that the philosophy behind it is scientifically flawed, and makes little sense biologically.
Here are some of the outlandish claims raw foodists make:
#1 Cooking food destroys its natural enzymes
While it is true to say that cooking can destroy some of the enzymes, most food enzymes are destroyed, or rendered inactive, by the acidity of the stomach anyway.So, not cooking food doesn’t save it from this fate.
Ultimately, the article recommends moderation over a true raw foods diet.
The article includes a link to 30 day raw experiment where he discusses some side effects of going 100% raw for 30 days. Mark and I will not be going 100% raw, so we do not anticipate having quite the same negative or positive side effects, but it was also interesting to read.
If you get a chance, please read the article. It does present both pros and cons of raw food diets. I would love to get your feedback!
P.S. Please check out Caitlin’s contest for a Road ID!
Yum! I have had bulgur for breakfast before and it’s good! I like to experiment with different grains =)
I have a fantastic beef (or turkey or boca crumble) and bulgur casserole recipe. Let me know if you’d like it!
Bulgur looks like fun! Way more fun than the ’side effects’ of a RAWng diet.
Bulgar is so chewy, perfect companion to oats.
I would have such a hard time on a raw diet! I love my food warm! Thanks for the suggestions!
I find that eating high-raw (70%-90%) works best for me – good luck with the 100% raw thing!!
Awesome! I am going to look for some bulgur next time I’m at WFs! They have so many binned options, I feel like I always stick to the same ones! This will help me branch out!
Everything in moderation, right? Just like eating veggies and nothing else is unhealthy, so too would be eating only raw foods. Our bodies aren’t made to handle it like that… am glad you’re showing both sides of the issue
Bulgur looks good!
Interesting article! Can’t wait to see what you 2 come up with for raw food meals!
I do have to agree with the point about the enzymes. The majority of them will not survive our digestive system to be available to our body to use as is. That’s the whole point of our digestive system – break our foods down into it’s simplest parts so that we can utilize those parts to build & fuel ourselves.
The bulgur looks yummy! Thanks fro the raw food links!
Bittman had a thing about whole grains for breakfast – beyond oatmeal, this morning. I thought it was interesting:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/dining/18mini.html?_r=1&8dpc
VeggieGirl: Oh no, Mark and I are definitely NOT doing 100% raw. I think that would be way too much, even if it is just for a month!
I’m glad I could be a Bulgar Wheat refrence. I had bought a box of a while a go and really enjoyed the texture and simplicity of it. I need to buy more, thanks for reminding me!
My advice about raw is to eat whatever it is your body wants, and don’t eat what it doesn’t. I was less successful eating raw when I made a big raw recipe, didn’t really like it, but forced myself to eat it anyway because I didn’t want to throw it out. I was much more successful when I made fewer recipes but had lots of different ingredients on hand to toss together on a plate. Maybe just avocados and tomatoes one night, maybe a salad with sprouted lentils tomorrow. Keeping it simple helped me to be flexible. I wrote quite a bit about going raw: http://doesabodygood.blogspot.com/search/label/raw%20foods
I love bulgur!
BULGAR? for breakfast? (taken and modified from reese’s puff’s commercial: REECES? for breakfast?!??)
sounds quite good, actually. what kind of peanut butter is that?
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I am actually really excited to look into those articles. i am putting together a cookbook for my college campus for national eating disorder awareness week next week and have been asked to incorporate info about healthy food diets. perfect timing!!
Have a good day heather!!
Thanks for the info on bulgar. I’ve never actually been sure what it was. I may just have to try it! Have a great day!
interesting…never tried it, but you make it sound good – although im not sure about the things it goes well with…maybe thats just because im in the mood for breakfast flavors…
Mmm, my favorite =)
The bulgar looks good! I’ll try it eventually. I do have some in my cabinet.
100% raw sounds rather crazy to me… Good thing you guys are staying sane
Lee: It’s Zinke Orchards Natural Creamy Almond Butter. I love it!!!
That bulgar looks really good! It looked a lot like pearled barley. I love grains and rice like that … so good!! My husband and I love making our own rice pilaf, so maybe we’ll have to add some bulgar next time.
I always find the whole raw topic interesting. I don’t think I could ever go completely raw, nor would I want to but I think being more “raw” is a good thing.
I haven’t tried that before – but the nutrition looks great!
I love bulgar pilaf stuffed peppers. It is a recipe that I have in a cookbook at home. It was my first bulgar experience a couple years ago and I love it.
http://www.eatdrinkandweighless.com/recipes.htm there is a link to the recipe on this page. So yummy!
Awesome! I have never tried bulgar before!
I actually just bought bulgur not too long ago with intentions of trying it for breakfast. I have yet to do that but I’m glad it now has your stamp of approval. I’m looking forward to a bulgury breakfast sometime in the near future.
I also can’t wait to hear more about your raw adventures. I could never (although ‘never say never’ right?) do a full raw diet but lately it’s really been intriguing me.
I like bulgur but haven’t tried it for brekkie yet. I keep meaning to do so.
too funny I have been reading Steve Pavlina for a long time and I followed him all through the raw phase. In the end he really goes generally raw because he believes he feels better and thinks clearer
I Love bulgar in Tabouleh!! I have yet to try it elsewhere though…but now I should!!
I think this raw thing is really interesting…I dont think I could do it though, esp in the winter…I love a nice warm meal when its cold out
Bulgar rhymes with Olga. I wrote a limerick for Olga for her birthday. That’s been my only experience with bulgar, and that may have been one too many times.
I was doing some similar “research” last night on the pros and cons of vegetarianism. I think you can find great arguments for and against just about anything, the key is to be open to trying new things and see if it works for you. Personally, I need warm foods in my tummy in the winter
Interesting article Heather…I was really surprised by the gains in strength. Also, over 500 grams of carbs a day? That is A LOT, and he still lost weight!
I think it would be really hard to go raw AND low fat. I could not live on fruit and raw veggies alone – I would need more avocados and nuts.
The article also reminded me of one of my favorite summer treats – spinach banana smoothies. They come out of my Vita-Mix so creamy and delicious. You should definitely make them part of your raw experiment! I’m getting excited for you guys. Bring on the avocados!
PS – I’ve been meaning to tell you that sprouted raw wheat berries mixed with date paste and dehydrated in the oven makes an amazing crunchy snack or cereal. If you want more details, I can email you. I just need to remember which one of my raw cookbooks contains the recipe.
I have been interested in trying bulgar for awhile after seeing it pop up on a few blogs….thanks for the info on it!
Hi Heather,
The raw food diet is definintely an interesting debate, I’m interested to see how you get on with adding a little bit more into your diet. It can definitely be very healthy in moderation, but it’s the extremes that get a bit dangerous.
Thanks for linking to my article
Very interesting article. I definitely agreed with him about the whole issue of spending too much time in the kitchen – I always associate eating raw with a lot of prep. I don’t know if it’s true or not. You’ll have to let me know
I also didn’t think about the “fruit or fat” aspect of it. Great information – thanks for sharing!