Lilveggiepatch » bulgur

Gym Class Heroes

lilveggiepatch — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:07:08 +0000

Good evening and happy Monday! I hope the start to your week- and your November- is going swimmingly. It’s strange to think that another year is almost over already, and I feel like I only just graduated! I have two bits of news… one I’ll share now, and one that’s going to wait until the end of the post.

As you know, I’ve been devoting most of my time recently to researching and applying for jobs. I recently applied to an entry level job at Wine Spectator, and the editor who looked over my application noted, after browsing through the blog and reading my cover letter, noted that while I have a clear and definite passion for food, my interest has not been directed towards wine. While I may not get this particular job, I’ve decided that I do want to take a more active pursuit towards learning about wine. Wine has always been important to my family, but with the exception of knowing that Malbec is from Argentina, Vouvray is from the Loire Valley and 2007 was a good year for white, I know next to nothing. So I’ve decided to take a proactive approach! I’m going to take advantage of the free tastings that go on every day around the city, and I’ll do my best to have some inkling about the wine I pluck off the $10-and-under shelf at the liquor store. In the next few days, I’ll add a special tab on the blog devoted purely to vino in order to chronicle my progress. I don’t know where this will take me, but since I have a little more time on my hands due to unemployment, I’m excited to learn a useful skill and pursue a new hobby!

Anyway… let’s jump back a bit.

Yesterday I was awakened quite early as Ari left for a morning meeting. Musicians keep very strange hours, I tell ya! Since I was already up, I decided to make a breakfast cookie to plop in the fridge while I went back to sleep for a few hours.

Jim was made of:

1/3 cup oats
1/2 banana
2 T skim milk
1/2 packet YouShake Vanilla Dream protein powder
1 t peanut butter
toppings: cinnamon, 2 prunes, 1 fig, 1 pecan

I also broke into my new McNulty’s Sumatra coffee to get my buzz on. And on and on.

Finally found a real solution to the Ester-C problem… POM Wonderful‘s Pomegranate Nectarine juice (which the company sent to me a few weeks ago) is sweet enough to completely mask the taste! I simply dissolved 1/3 teaspoon of Ester-C into 1/4 cup of juice and gulped it down as fast as possible. All I was left with was a pleasant fruity taste!

After I finished up breakfast, I looked at the time, packed my gym bag and hustled out the door to make a 12:15 60 minute Pilates class in the city. I got there five minutes early and went into the studio with my jacket, bag and shoes still on so that I could reserve a spot on the floor. Class had already started! I was a little annoyed- I didn’t want to disrupt the class, but it was early! It was also pretty warm and really stuffy, and I thought about asking the instructor to turn off the heat. After ten minutes, we still hadn’t moved to the mat to work on our cores and instead seemed to be moving through a Vinyasa flow. I turned to the girl next to me and whispered, “This isn’t Pilates, is it?” She shook her head and whispered, “Nope, it’s hot yoga!” Oops. I really love Bikram, but had I known I would be taking the class I would have hydrated, brought water with me, and not just had half a pot of coffee! Still, I’m glad I stayed for the full 90 minutes, and even more glad that I didn’t pass out from dehydration!

When class was over, I went home to have lunch and get some work done. I was surprised with festive snail mail from my girlies, which brightened up my day.

I hadn’t brought any food with me, so I rooted around in the freezer to check out the pickings. Not bad! I found bulgur pilaf with mixed vegetables, to which I added raisins and cilantro:

I also found sweet potato soup with navy beans from the Moosewood Cookbook, which I also added cilantro, peanuts and raisins to.

I washed it all down with Natural-flavored Zevia:

Not bad for an improvised lunch!

A little later, I snacked on a Jonagold apple while I did some work.

I’m pretty sure Ari had dinner while it was still light out, so I made a big orange salad with cilantro-chili vinaigrette for myself.

In the mix:

two handfuls of spinach
1 sweet potato, microwaved and diced
1 orange
1 Trader Joe’s Vegetable Masala Burger
shredded carrots

I made the cilantro-chili vinaigrette with:

1/2 T toasted sesame oil
1 T olive oil
2 Trice vinegar
1/2 t Sriracha sauce
1/2 T raw blue agave nectar
1 slice red onion
handful cilantro
1/2 t chili flakes

It was enjoyed with a bowl of leftover miso soup and Christina Yang.

For dessert, I had 1/2 each of a brownie and blondie Edgie.

We watched half of Good Bye Lenin! before tuckering out for the night. It’s been on my Netflix queue for years, but I’m really glad we finally saw it! Or, half of it at least

Onto the second bit of news! My dad called today with a proposition. He’ll be traveling to Russia in December for work and offered to take me with him. Let me think… yes!!! We’ll be in Moscow for four days, then we go to St. Petersburg for two. Not only do I get to spend some much-needed quality time with Daddy-O, but I’ll also get to see my Sarah!!! I can’t wait. Life is good!

"Follows Directions"- Needs Improvement

lilveggiepatch — Mon, 04 May 2009 02:56:15 +0000

Evening! Two Sundays left in Minnesota… but the last one will be spent packing and spending time with my family, so that doesn’t really count.

Instead of a SCM cookie this afternoon, I had the last half of this Clif Mojo Peanut Butter Pretzel bar. I love these!

Dinner was straight-up comfort food: sweet potato with butter and brown sugar, salted bulgur, spinach with rice vinegar and sesame seeds, and GC tofu (which tasted especially good tonight… I think it was because I cut it into cute little cubes).

I didn’t drink the spinach water today because the water was cloudy. I probably shouldn’t have eaten the spinach either, I know, but fate (read: clumsiness) intervened and I spilled half of it into the sink anyway.

Dessert was dried fruit, Justin’s Maple Almond Butter, and dark chocolate. I didn’t read the package directions and instead just cut 1/3 of it off instead of kneading it beforehand. The result was an oily mess and a really unsatisfying dessert… the AB had no flavor whatsoever and I probably should’ve just skipped it. Sad!

… I also had a Super-Charge Me cookie. Baking during my hardest week may not have been the wisest idea…

Off to study/read/Office! Hope your weekend was fabulous. Bonne nuit

25 things

lilveggiepatch — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 04:02:00 +0000

Good evening! I hope your Monday was just lovely. Mine was good… long, but not too bad.

Although I packed lunch today, I really needed to get out of the library so I decided to save my salad for dinner and have my “big meal” in the cafeteria.

I had some kind of eggplant/chickpea/potato curry with some cinnamon-scented bulgur. I topped both with coconut, cilantro, and chili sauce.

I also had a small bowl of vegetarian bean chili (which was good, but tasted like they’d mixed the above curry into a big pot of beans… not unlikely) topped with yogurt.

Took K‘s advice and got back on the java…

I couldn’t decide what I wanted for dessert, so I had half of a magic/7-layer/hello dolly bar and half of a chocolate chip peanut butter bar. They didn’t break very well, but they were worth the indulgence!

I’d planned on going to the gym and had all my stuff with me, but I wasn’t feeling too great so I went home instead, ate some dried fruit, and passed out for a couple hours.

Dinner was the salad I’d brought to school: romaine, tofu, apple, mushrooms, tomatoes, hummus, and feta, with Annie’s Lite Honey Mustard vinaigrette.

I also had a Morningstar Farms Ginger Teriyaki Veggie Cake.

I spotted Heather eating these; when I asked her about them, she said they reminded her of a rice ball. Pretty apt description: kind of like a Dr. Praeger’s burger with rice mixed in.

I just got home from my night class and had plain nonfat yogurt with pumpkin, 1/2 banana, cinnamon and honey. I’m still feeling a little snacky, but I’m going to shower and then see. I’m pretty tired, so sleep might take precedence.

Em tagged me to share 25 “random things” about myself, so here we go, in no particular order…

1. I went to my first cooking class before I was 10. I made a carrot-layer cake with cream cheese frosting and candied lavender.

2. I used to have six piercings but now I only have two.

3. I have two tattoos.

4. My mom promised to get the same tattoo in the same place if I get another one. Don’t worry, Mom, I won’t call your bluff.

5. Leonardo DiCaprio was my first love. It’s true. I got the special edition 16 Magazine after The Man In The Iron Mask came out and put up over 20 posters of him in my room. If that’s not devotion, I don’t know what is.

6. Heath Ledger was my second love. I wrote him letters in 8th grade about field hockey.

7. In 10th grade I became obsessed with all things grunge and wanted to move to Seattle. I still kind of do, although I’ve never been.

8. After my freshman year of college I went to the Bonnaroo music festival in Tennessee. I didn’t shower for three days.

9. When I studied abroad in Paris, I infrequently showered. It’s very French! I’m back to my must-shower-within-24-hours routine now.

10. I’ve been Lolita (twice), a bumblebee, and Raggedy Ann for Halloween over the last four years.

11. I failed my road test three times before I got my license. I’m a good driver now, I swear!

12. My poodle, Charley, is named after a John Steinbeck book. Neither I nor my parents actually finished this book.

13. I’ve seen Modest Mouse and Art Brut four times, The Hold Steady and Wilco three, Radiohead, the Beastie Boys and Liz Phair twice in concert… these numbers used to be a lot more important to me than they are now.

14. I have a cap on my front tooth that I chipped on my bed. It’s not going to be a pretty sight when it falls out.

15. In 9th grade, I decided after seeing chimps at the Bronx Zoo that I wanted to be a primatologist, like Jane Goodall. That dream has faded.

16. I’m a comic book geek.

17. Up until I went to college, I’d seen every single episode of 7th Heaven.

18. I’ve worn a size 10 shoe since 5th grade, when Hush Puppies were the shiznit

19. Movie nights at home are my favorite kind of date.

20. I am blind as a BAT. I can’t read a book without glasses, and used to have nightmares about being trapped in an amusement park without my contacts on.

21. I could eat sushi for dinner every night and be happy.

22. I have four names; my “middle” name is Alexandra.

23. I went more than five years without crying and now I tear up almost every time I watch Grey’s Anatomy.

24. The first “concert” I ever went to was seeing Britney Spears play on The View when she was 16 and wore gel body glitter. Barbara Walters asked if she’d ever been in love and Brit said no, but she hoped she would one day. I still love you BS.

25. On May 16, if all goes well, I’ll graduate with a BA in English! Have a job for me?

Whew… that felt more than a little narcissistic! I hate choosing people, so please fill this out on your blog if you want!

On the giveaway lookout? Check out Gina’s contest for a cool vegan cookbook AND her famous macaroons!

Get a good night’s sleep and have a great day tomorrow! Night

Wrap Me Up

lilveggiepatch — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:35:17 +0000

Afternoon! Hope everybody’s Wednesday is going fabulously. Mine’s been just fine… although I’ve only been up for three hours or so.

I didn’t really let my breakfast digest before lunch, but it was either eat now or wait until 4 and I didn’t want another day of tummy rumbling like yesterday.

The cabbage wraps pleased me so much yesterday that I decided to make some again! Today I stuffed two leaves with Lemon Pepper Bulgur Salad with Seitan, Grape Tomatoes & Mozzarella.

Lemon Pepper Bulgur Salad with Seitan, Grape Tomatoes & Mozzarella

1 cup pre-cooked bulgur
1/2 cup (ish) seitan
handful of grape tomatoes
1 slice mozzarella cheese
juice of 1/2 lemon
pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together until lemon and pepper are well-blended. Microwave on HIGH about 1 minute, or until cheese has started to melt. Spoon into lettuce leaves and enjoy!

There was some left in the fridge that I went back to finish off while watching part of Reservation Road. Has anyone seen this movie? It is so sad that I don’t think I could stand it for much more than 20 minutes or so at a time. Anywho, I think a common misconception I have, and maybe some of you do, too, is that when I’m eating CF or foods that have a stellar nutrition score, I think I need to eat a lot more of it than I would with “regular” food. I’m feeling a wee uncomfortable, in terms of fullness, so I wish I would have waited a few minutes to see if I really wanted seconds!

I based my “lunch dessert” off a snack Sarah made yesterday. She blended pumpkin and cottage cheese together until smooth; I’m lazy and still haven’t washed the blender from breakfast, so I just mushed ‘em all together. I also added agave and cinnamon.

This was SO good. It definitely felt very dessert-y and I might even bring it to class tonight! Speaking of which, tonight will be the true CFW test: I have the night class that my prof always brings cupcakes to. I have some tricks up my sleeve, though…

Enjoy the rest of your day!

You Can Stand Under My Um-b-rella

lilveggiepatch — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 02:04:54 +0000

Actually, yours truly forgot to bring hers today, but I’d let you if I had! That song has been in my head all night. Probably because it looks like this outside:

I checked the weather in New York, and it’s not going to be tropical like the climate you Texans and Floridians are enjoying, but it’s going to be in the 40s and 50s and that’s enough for me.

When I was packing my bag for class today, I found that Betty Ford had put his mousie in there to replace my gym headband (no matter where I hide them, he always finds one and drags it all around the house). Genius kitty! I had this tangerine at 4:30 right before Step.

I always have to leave Step early on Tuesdays, but I got a decent 40 minutes in today.

Total time: 39:34 minutes

Maximum heart rate: 184 (92%)

Average heart rate: 151 (76%)

Calories burned: 357

I got home at 7, and aside from my brunch oatmeal and that tangerine, I hadn’t eaten anything and I was so hungry! I whipped up a quick dinner: tuna salad cabbage wraps!

1 5 oz. can tuna
1/2 avocado
1 T mustard
cherry tomatoes

This was definitely a winner and I will be making it again soon! The cabbage held together quite nicely and I didn’t end up smelling like fish at all (to Betty’s dismay).

I had some bulgur to round out the meal:

And washed it down beautifully with some POM/club soda. Don’t mind the clutter in the background… I’m a student, not a housekeeper!

A little later I made my now go-to CFW dessert: yogurt (100-cal Old Home Pomegranate Pear) with fruit (navel orange), walnuts and almond butter.

Crap-Free Week Day 3- Recap:

Today’s oversleeping messed up my whole day, food and energy wise. Since I ate “breakfast” at noon, I never really had a formal lunch. I should have brought a heartier snack than a piece of fruit, but I learned. I’ve felt like a zombie almost all day and almost convinced myself not to go to Step Aerobics because I was too tired, but as usual it woke me up and I felt a lot better. I can’t blame CFW on being hungry or tired, though… just my fault for sleeping too late!

It’s only 9 o’clock, but I’m in my jammies and am about to get into bed and do some reading and maybe even sleep early, if I dare. Have a lovely night!

Dal-ing, I could just eat you right up!

lilveggiepatch — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 03:44:30 +0000

Good evening, Love Bugs! I hope your Monday has been fabulous. Mine was pretty good, thanks in part to a canceled class! Love when that happens, but it rarely does. I’m going to be evil and say that the one good thing about this crummy weather is that lots of people (um, profs) get sick! Of course, I hope they are feeling excellently and it’s nothing serious and just a little ole mental health day.

I grabbed an orange on the way out the door (before I knew class was annulé) :

When I got home this afternoon, I spent a little time making tonight’s dinner. I whipped up bulgur for a grain base…. It’s so quick and easy!

A Bulgur Lesson from Sunnylandmills.com.

Bulgur Wheat is a natural whole grain food in that no chemicals or additives are used in processing the product. Many of the wheat’s naturally occurring vitamins and minerals permeate the kernel during cooking thus maintaining more nutritive content than other forms of processed wheat products.

A staple of the traditional Mediterranean diet for thousands of years, bulgur wheat is becoming increasingly popular in modern health food and vegetarian diets. Rich in “B” vitamins, iron, phosphorous and manganese, it complements the protein profile of legumes such as pinto beans and its “B” vitamins complement the folate in vegetables such as spinach, asparagus, broccoli or brussels sprouts.

… a cup of bulgur has fewer calories, less fat, and more than twice the fiber of rice!

Here are some stats for one cup of cooked bulgur (from nutrientfacts.com):

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 Cup

Amount Per Serving

Calories 150

Calories from Fat 5

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 0g

Saturated Fat 0g

Cholesterol 0mg

Sodium 10mg

Total Carbohydrates 35g

11%

Dietary Fiber 8g

30%

Protein 6g

10%

Vitamin A 0%

Vitamin C 0%

Calcium 2%

Iron 10%

Zinc 8%

Thiamin 8%

Riboflavin 4%

Niacin 10%

Vitamin B-6 8%

Folate 8%

Vitamin B-12 0%

Phosphorus 8%

Magnesium 15%

Vitamin D 0%

*	Percent Daily values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs

To make bulgur on the stove, simply maintain a 2:1 water:grain ratio. For 1 cup of dried bulgur, use 2 cups of water and 1 tsp salt. Simmer on the stove until thick, about 20 minutes.

For the main event, I made Lentil Dal from the New York Times.

Lentils simmering with garlic and onion:

The onions have been discarded (or eaten!) and the lentils are now cooking with oil and spices.

Ta-da! I didn’t have any yogurt to serve it with, so I ran to the deli across the street. They only had 2% cottage cheese, but I got it anyway.

Lentil dal with bulgur and cottage cheese.

Mind you, I served it on a small plate, but it was SO much food. I had to eat at 5:30 because I had night class, but I was pretty full. Luckily it kept me satiated until I got home.

I also snacked a LOT during the cooking. I don’t know why, but I’ve always really enjoyed the taste of plain, salted grains (rice, pasta, etc.) so I just kept picking at it!

When I got home from class, I couldn’t decide what dessert-y snack I wanted, so I tested the waters with an almond-butter covered date.

Then I made a bowl of nonfat Old Home peach yogurt (100-cal pack) with a tangerine, two walnuts for texture, and a teaspoon of almond butter. Parfait!

Crap Free Week Day 2 -Recap:

Today went pretty well. I didn’t get too hungry between meals, and I got a wide variety of different foods. I’m starting to get a little canker sore on my tongue from too much sugar, though… strange! Must be all the fruit. I do have to plan my meals pretty carefully because I don’t want to run out of food before I go home, but I also don’t want things to go to waste. I’ll probably be doing a lot of cooking in the next three days, which is just fine with me!

I don’t know how much I can say about my energy level, yet… I had a big cup of black tea this morning but then took a 3-hour nap. I can do that with coffee, too, so I guess caffeine is mostly psychological for me. Tomorrow is going to be a challenge, though, since I have a 9:30 start.

Anywho, my eyes are a-droopin’ so it’s time for this Patch to hit the hay. Have lovely dreams!

"Intuitive" what?

lilveggiepatch — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:41:06 +0000

After reading so much about “intuitive eating” recently (see Kath’s post on it here), I’ve been trying to incorporate the theory into my daily life. So far, it has not been an overwhelming success,mostly because, when I am stressed or uncomfortable or anything along those lines, I eat. I know I’m not the only one to do it, but, to use some popular jargon, I’m trying to be more “mindful” about it.

I was genuinely hungry for my snack this morning, so I had an orange.

My concentration was just off all morning. I couldn’t seem to buckle down, even though I’d gotten myself out of the apartment and on to campus to do work. As a result, I’ll be handing in a paper late and probably won’t be as prepared for class as I could be. Blah.

In the cafeteria, I made myself a big mishmosh salad.

Romaine, shredded carrots, beets, tomatoes, chickpeas, cottage cheese, jalepeños, wasabi peas, and pickles with oil and vinegar.

I was actually very full after finishing the salad, but I’d already taken this soup so I didn’t want to waste it.

Spicy tomato and yogurt soup with bulgur.

I tried to slow down (there’s usually a lot of vacuum-action going on) and stopped after about half.

I was pretty full after that, but I had a coconut macaroon and a square of frosted banana cake, which I had also already taken.

The macaroon was really good, but the cake was pretty gross. So, I didn’t need that, but for some reason I just kept eating. WHY? I don’t feel like a pig, because my lunch was pretty wholesome and the desserts were pretty small, I just want to be able to take my time and enjoy my meal. It’s not like I’ll never eat again!

Anywho, sorry for this strange post, but if you’re trying to practice this yourself, what are you doing to eat more intuitively or mindfully?