Goodbye, processed foods!

Today, I was eating a Cheez-it.

I started thinking about how Cheez-its are made. Processed flour, processed cheese, salt, one million preservatives. Um, ew?

So I thought I'd try cutting out processed foods for one week. Its kind of like the time I tried out being a vegetarian - so far, so good! As it turns out, lots of foods are processed. I found a list online of "unprocessed foods" : essentially fruits, veggies, proteins, and grains. I can do this for a week, right? But this means no more Goldfish during Rainbow Room snack time!!

Tonight I made Tabbouleh. I slightly followed this Barefoot Contessa recipe:

1 cup cracked bulgur wheat

1-1/2 cups boiling water

1 lemon, juiced (1/4 cup)

¼ cup olive oil

3-1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tomato, seeded and diced

      or 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cucumber, unpeeled, seeded and diced

1 onion, diced/ 1 cup minced scallions (white & green)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbs. red wine vinegar

½  cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

½ cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 

Pour boiling water over bulgur wheat and add the lemon juice, olive oil, and 1-1/2 tsp. salt. Stir, cover with plastic wrap, and let it sit at room temperature for about 1 hour. 

In separate bowl, combine tomato, cucumber, onion, garlic.   Toss with bulgur wheat.  Add mint, parsley and pepper.  Mix well.
Chill, covered, at least 1 hour before serving. Flavor improves if it sets a few hours. Taste before serving; add more lemon or S & P if desired. 

**I didn't use mint or tomatoes and I added some feta**

Mm, mm, unprocessed goodness.