Breakfast Bulgur

Plain oatmeal can take a hike because the new whole grain in town is bulgur wheat!  This highly nutritious grain has been eaten for over 8000 years and is rich in fiber and protein.  Its nutty flavor combined with simple ingredients you probably have in your cabinets creates a filling, hearty breakfast.  Feel free to experiment with the seasonings and other additions!

Breakfast Bulgur

2/3 cup bulgur

1 1/3 cups cold water

Dried fruit of choice, chopped

Nuts

Cinnamon or nutmeg, to taste

Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or other seeds, to taste

Brown rice syrup, pure maple syrup or honey

Add the bulgur to cold water.  Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer.  Simmer, covered, for 12 - 15 minutes.

After it is cooked thoroughly, add the dried fruit, seeds, nuts, spice(s) and syrup - as much as desired.

Serve hot!

Leftovers can be refrigerated, preferably without any syrup on top.  Eat the leftovers within a few days.

Serves 2 - 4

NOTE:  Since this is such a versatile recipe, you can tweak it any way you'd like.  My featured photo shows chopped fresh Fuji apple (I prefer fresh fruit over dried) and is seasoned with both cinnamon and nutmeg because I love both of those spices.  I didn't have any seeds or nuts on hand, so they were omitted.  I chose to use honey as my sweetener because it's what I had - I don't recommend using more than 1/2 - 1 tsp. of honey (or the other sweeteners) per bowl because it can turn into an overly sweet bowl of slop very quickly.

If you find that yours turns out a little bland, by all means, cook the bulgur with some added salt.  I don't miss the salt because I seasoned mine so heavily with the cinnamon and nutmeg!

**If you're having a hard time finding bulgur wheat, you can find it at Pick 'n Save stores and selected Sendik's locations (call to see if your particular store carries it) - the New Berlin location does NOT carry it, so don't even bother looking for it there.