Bulgur 101: Benefits and nutrition profile + recipe

By: Sabine Saoud Matli RDN, FAND

Bulgur is an ancient grain mostly used in turkey and the middle east. It is used in tabbouleh salad and kibbe. Bulgur is one of the highest fiber grain, which means it helps keeps us full longer. Bulgur is a whole wheat grain consisting of the cereal germ, most of the bran and endosperm. Before packaging bulgur is parboiled to make it quicker for you to cook at home and then cracked to different grades. You can pick it up in FINE(#1) , MEDIUM (#2), COARSE (#3), VERY COARSE (#4). #1 is mostly used for kibbe and tabbouleh. #2,#3 and #4 could be cooked like rice or EECH ( Armenian style salad based on bulgur. The coarseness used is based on preference. Different ways you can incorporate it into your diet. You can switch from rice to bulgur on some nights of the week to change it up. Its mostly kid approved in my house, both my kids love it! I usually serve it with a yogurt meat stew ( shekriyeh) I could post the recipe in a later blog. Let's look deeper into bulgur's nutrition profile:

Nutrition Facts

Bulgur, cooked Sources include: USDA Amount Per 1 cup (182 g)Calories 151

Total Fat 0.4 g

Saturated fat 0.1 g

Cholesterol 0 mg

Sodium 9 mg

Potassium 124 mg

Total Carbohydrate 34 g

Dietary fiber 8 g

Sugar 0.2 g

Protein 6 g

9%Iron

14%Magnesium

Recipe: Bulgur with vermicelli

Ingredients

2 cup Bulgur Coarse #3 ( it is a preference, you can use #2 or #4 as well)

4 cups water

1/2 cup Vermicelli

3 Tbsp. Olive oil

1 Tbsp Salt

In a pot on medium heat, add olive oil let it heat then add vermicelli. Toast until very light brown then add dry bulgur and toast until all wet from the oil. Keep mixing. Then add 4 cups water. Bring to a boil and cover.