Chef Monsta: I cook, therefore I blog

We all know about how whole grains (brown rice, whole wheat bread) are “IN” and refined grains (white rice, white bread) are “OUT”. We simply believe that these whole grains are less fattening and healthier for us. This is true, but I decided to dig further- especially since white sushi rice and pasta are a major part of my diet and I can never cut back on those [obviously].

Wikipedia uncovered the truth about whole grains: They have a lower glycemic index (GI) than refined grains. This means that the carbohydrates in these foods break down slower during digestion. The slower they break down, the more slowly glucose (sugar) enters the bloodstream. Doesn’t that make so much more sense?

A food that has a higher glycemic index (like white bread) pushes glucose rapidly into the bloodstream and make you fatter! Oh no!

So each food containing carbs is assigned a number on the GI scale. If the number is 55 or less, it has a low GI- yay! Medium is 56-79, and High (naughty) is 70 and above.

Guess what foods have a GI of over 70: corn flakes, white bread, baked potatoes, watermelon, and croissants. THE TRUTH HURTS! So scary!

So I have decided to make a delish dish that has an uber low glycemic index so that you don’t go into diabetic shock, or get heart disease (other results of eating foods with high GI’s).

Here is the dish- TABBOULEH! This is a winner. Contains amazing vegetables and herbs, and the main ingredient, bulgur has a GI level of only 46! Without further ado, I present a photographic journey of the tabbouleh:

* Note: I omitted the garlic because the red onion gave enough flavor. So the garlic in this photo is just a pretty addition and was not used in this recipe.

Ingredients:
2 cups bulgur wheat
4 cups of boiled water (2:1 ration of water:bulgur)
2 heads of parsley, finely chopped
1 head of mint, finely chopped
5 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
lots of salt and pepper
the juice of 5 lemons

Boil 4 cups of water. Pour hot water over the bulgur wheat in a bowl and let it soak for about 30 minutes. The water should absorb completely. Washing the bulgur before soaking is unnecessary.

While the bulgur soaks, finely chop the tomatoes, onions, and herbs. Check out my cool tomato knife. It is serrated and it is awesome.

Here is the bulgur, water all absorbed and ready.

I combined all the ingredients, with a LOT of salt n peppa and the lemon juice.

Final product below. Such an colorful, healthy, and flavorful salad.

p.s. Refrigerate this bad boy for up to a weeks eating