Bulgur wheat for days

Even before I began my vegan experiment, I used to eat couscous several nights a week. This week, I'm all about bulgur wheat. I also finally got back on the vegan horse (which still sounds weird to say; I picture a horse sculpted out of tofu) and worked out 3 out of the 4 days this week. I'm actually not too far from where I was at my weight loss apex (which also sounds like an oxymoron) so I'm hoping to drop another 10 lbs before I have to get into a bikini in LA.

I've been too busy to post lately, but I created an incredible recipe tonight that is sooooo worth sharing. I might, seriously, have another serving. But before I get to the recipe, let's talk about my bulgur bender.

I hosted a Pampered Chef party this past Saturday and was gifted with a ton of leftovers. Sadly, I succumbed to my mom's meatballs after the after party, which was my first taste of beef in 2014. Not so sadly, those leftovers included about a barrel of beer and wine.

On Sunday, I finally had time to cook so I made a few recipes I had shelved for a while - white bean, bulgur, and nectarine salad (I substituted peaches for nectarines and used my leftover party basil and cannellini beans) and green bean curry with peas and cashews (this does not involve bulgur and should totally be eaten as a side, not a meal, unless bulgur is added, of course). I also mixed together some bulgur with the leftover Texas caviar, which I have to say is A-MAZE-ING. It's also basically devoid of calories.

Being that today is Thursday, I'm pretty exhausted by all of the above; I've been eating solely those three things since Monday. Oh wait, that's a lie. Tuesday was taco night. Charlie (the human, not the cat) started preparing the (vegan) Spanish rice with butter so I insisted on making a new box with olive oil instead (Charlie the cat would know better).

Anyway, I have a ton of vegetables and stuff going bad in my fridge so I decided to whip up a new bulgur recipe. And this is what ensued:

I would love to show you the prep and the final product, but for whatever reason, Blogger does not want to upload my photos (another reason I've been neglecting this). Nevertheless, here's what I put together:

- 1 cup of organic yellow squash (about 3/4 of a squash), diced (look at me using words I don't even know the meaning of)

- 1 cup of organic broccoli (about 1 head...is broccoli a head?), chopped

- 1 cup of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

- 1 cup of grape tomatoes, each cut in half

- 1 cup of extra firm organic tofu, diced

I seasoned all of the above with black pepper and pink Himalayan salt. Then, I added 3 minced cloves of garlic to a preheated skillet, sprayed with Smart Balance cooking spray. and browned for about 2-3 minutes. I added the squash, broccoli, and beans, and sauteed for about 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Then I added the tomatoes and tofu and cooked for another 3-4 minutes, still stirring often. While this cooked, I sprinkled some turmeric, garlic powder (can't have enough garlic), and curry powder on the mixture.

Finally, I added 1/2 cup of Patak's mild curry simmer sauce and let everything cook together for about 5 more minutes, continually stirring. 

I put this lovely, mushy (well, the tofu, anyway) mixture on top of 1/2 cup of cooked bulgur wheat and it was fantastic at 243 calories, 35 carbs, and 4 grams of fat. The tofu cooks down as if it's scrambled eggs in an Indian version of pad thai. 

Look what decided to upload overnight!