Everything you need to know about bulgur

The aim of any healthy diet is to get three servings of whole grains a day. For chewy texture and a slightly nutty taste, try bulgur as a deliciously filling side dish or hot cereal. It can even be used to make stuffing. Best of all, it cooks quickly. Read on to learn more about the health benefits associated with bulgur and some smart ways to add bulgur to your diet.

• A typical serving size is 125 millilitres (1/2 cup), but you can have as much as 175 millilitres (3/4 cup) of cooked bulgur and the glycemic load (GL) will still be in the medium range.
• Bulgur ranks right up there with whole wheat bread, wheatberries and bran — all forms of the same nutritious wheat grain. That's right, bulgur isn't an individual type of grain. It's wheat grain that's been partially cooked by boiling or steaming, then dried and cracked.
• Eating more whole grains has been shown to cut diabetes risk by 35 percent in men and women and reduce heart disease risk by 25 percent in women and 18 percent in men.
• Just six weeks on a whole-grain diet can markedly improve insulin sensitivity, according to one study.
• You'll find bulgur in different textures. Coarse bulgur is used for pilaf and rice dishes, medium is used as breakfast cereal and fine is used for tabouli (a Middle Eastern salad made with bulgur, chopped parsley, cucumbers, tomatoes, olive oil and lemon juice). The finer the grain, the quicker bulgur cooks up.
• As with all whole grain foods, eating more translates into lower risk not only of diabetes and heart disease but also of certain cancers.
• In a Swedish study of more than 61,000 women, researchers found that those who ate at least 4 1/2 servings of whole grains a day had a 23 percent lower risk of developing colon cancer compared to women who ate fewer than 1 1/2 servings a day.
• The lignans in bulgur may also help protect against breast cancer.

Here are some easy ways to add bulgur to your diet.

• Try bulgur pilaf as a side dish. There are hundreds of different recipes, some including dried fruit and some with vegetables and/or herbs. Grab a good cookbook and take your pick. You can also enjoy bulgur in cold salads.
• Throw together some tabouli as an excellent, portable summertime lunch salad or side dish. Toss in chopped vegetables from your garden, such as tomatoes and cucumbers, and add some goat or feta cheese or chicken for extra protein.
• Cook up hot bulgur cereal in salted water as you would oatmeal. Top with fresh fruit or with chopped walnuts, dried cranberries, cinnamon and a drizzle of honey. Some manufacturers make bulgur cereals with ingredients, such as soy, which adds extra protein.
• Stuff zucchini with bulgur and extra-lean ground beef or pork.

• Instead of rice use cooked bulgur in stir-fries.
• Instead of oatmeal have bulgur as your hot cereal in the morning.

Bulgur is easy to cook and tastes great! Try adding it to your healthy diet and take advantage of the many benefits bulgur has to offer.