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I have to admit that I am a little bit obssessed with bulgar wheat at the moment, which is probably why you're getting a second recipe using it here in two weeks. I have already raved about it's health benifits, but have I mentioned it is so easy to make, and goes with practically everything? Well maybe not everything, but it still is one of my favourite ingredients! Have you tried it yet?

Mediterranean Roast Vegetables with Bulgar Wheat
Roast vegetables are delicious enough to be eaten on their own with just a little sea salt, but pair them up with some bulgar wheat and you have the makings a really delicious meal. You can use any roast veg here really, stuff like carrots, beetroot, or asparagus all work, but I really love the combination of aubergine, courgettes, red onion, and red pepper.

Serves 4-5 generous portions.
200g of bulgar wheat.
1 teaspoon of vegetable bouillon powder.
1 aubergine chopped into bitesize chunks.
2 courgettes chopped into bitesize chunks.
2 red onions chopped into bitesize chunks.
1 red pepper chopped into bitesize chunks.
2 tablespoons of olive oil.
A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper.

Place the bulgar wheat in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Stir through the vegetable bouillon powder, cover with a cloth or cling film and allow to sit for about 30 minutes or until all the water is soaked up. Preheat the oven to 200oC. Add all the prepared vegetables to a large bowl and toss with the oil, sea salt and black pepper. Arrange the vegetables on a large non-stick low sided roasting tray, making sure not to overcrowd it, as this will make the vegetable pieces become soft. Place the roasting tray in the oven for approximately 40 minutes or until the vegetables become slightly scorched on the edges. Remove the tray from the oven and allow to cool. Add the roast vegetable pieces to the bulgar wheat and stir gently to combine. You may want to season with a little extra sea salt and black pepper at this point. Serve the bulgar wheat as tasty side dish or a super lunch box filler.

Originally a middle eastern ingredient bulgar wheat is made from cracked wheat kernels. It's an excellent store cupboard ingredient which is highly nutritious and can be stored for long periods of time. This wholegrain product is packed with fiber and protein, but is low in calories, plus it's so easy to make. If you have never tried it before I would describe it as mix between couscous and brown rice.

Bulgarwheat Chicken Rocket and Parsley Salad
This sort of recipe is perfect for entertaining, it can easily be made the night before and stored in the fridge.

Serves 4-6 people.
200g bulgar wheat.
1 teaspoon of vegetable bouillon powder.
3 chicken breasts.
A large handful of parsley, roughly chopped.
A large handful of rocket, roughly chopped.
400g tin of chickpeas, drained and roughly chopped.
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper.

Place the bulgar wheat in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Stir through the vegetable bouillon powder, cover with cloth or a cling film and allow to sit for about 30 minutes or until all the water is soaked up. Brush the chicken breasts with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Heat a griddle pan over a high heat and just before it begins smoking add the chicken breasts. Reduce the heat slightly and cook on both sides for approximately 6-7 minutes either side depending on the size of the chicken breasts. Remove the chicken from the pan and roughly chop into bitesize pieces. Add the chicken, parsley and rocket to the bulgar wheat and stir through to combine. Season with a good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper and stir through the remaining olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy!

Well with the new year well in swing, and the days becoming brighter, I am already starting to get excited about the whole new season of ingredients to play with in the kitchen. I love really light and bright salads and getting back into the garden means being flooded with lots of fresh and tasty veg to make my way through!

There are so many options when it comes to salads, and you can make them as healthy or different as you want. For me it just depends what sort of mood I'm in, but when I'm in a really healthy buzz, I absolutely love using as many fantastic healthy ingredients I can get my hands on.

I don't know if you have come across a brilliant little food company called Good4U foods in the supermarket, but they produce a load of really healthy ingredients that are so easy to incorporate into salads. I originally thought the company was UK based because of their web address, but last year I got an email from the lovely Laura Butler who started the company with her mum Bernie in Limerick. I was thrilled to hear they were Irish based which gives me even more reason to rave about them. Their full range of products include, alfalfa shoots, brocco shoots, sunflower shoots, and a whole host of seeds which are all perfect for sprinkling over salads! Stay tuned to the blog this week as I have a fab competition coming up from the Good4U folks!

Rocket Power Chicken Superfood Salad
As the winter months are thankfully coming to end, I am already starting to look towards more fresh and healthy dishes. Thankfully the days are becoming longer and brighter, now don't get me wrong, I'm all about comfort food, but as we start to look towards the spring nothing beats a really fresh and zingy salad. This Rocket Power Chicken Superfood Salad ticks all the boxes for me, it's perfect for a healthy lunch box, just save the dressing until the last minute. I absolutely love Brocco shoots and Lentil and Bean Shoots from Irish owned health food company Good4U, and they can be found in most supermarkets, perfect for boosting healthy salads! The Good4U range has a whole host of healthy ingredients which include, alfalfa shoots,

Serves 2
100g bulgar wheat
170ml boiling water
A drizzle of olive oil
2 chicken breasts
A little black pepper
25g brocco shoots
60g lentil and bean shoots
150g soy beans
30g spinach leaves
30g rocket leaves

For the dressing:
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of natural yoghurt
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of English dried mustard
A good pinch of sea salt and black pepper

Place the bulgar wheat in a bowl with the boiling water and cover with cling film. The bulgar wheat will cook in the water while you can get on with the rest of the salad.
Season the chicken breasts with a little black pepper, brush a griddle pan with a little olive oil and cook over a medium high heat for 4-5 minutes either side or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken and slice thinly.
While the chicken is cooking, cook the soy beans according to the packet, drain and rinse in cold water, set aside.
Whisk all the ingredients for the dressing together in a small bowl.
In a large bowl toss the spinach, rocket, brocco shoots, lentil and bean shoots and soy beans with the dressing.
Assemble the salad with a layer of bulgar wheat on each plate, top with the salad leaves and shoots and finally place the chicken slices on top and serve!

I regularly use bulgur wheat in a lot of my recipes and it's a fantastic storecupboard ingredient to have. It bulks up salads, goes great with barbequed meat, it's a perfect lunch box filler, all that and it's so cheap! From a 500g pack you could serve 10 portions all for about 1 euro, bargain or what! There is another advantage to it which is just how easy it is to prepare, you can make it ahead of time pop in the fridge and it will last 3-4 days in there covered. Follow the easy steps below to make up a little batch!

Preparing Bulgar Wheat In 5 Easy Steps!

1. Boil the kettle.
2. Add 1/2 a cup of bulgur wheat to a small bowl.
3. Add 1/2 cup of boiling water to the bowl.
4. Season with salt and pepper and stir through.
5. Cover with cling film and allow to cook until all the water has been soaked up.