Diet Update (includes recipe!)

I don’t own a scale, at least not one that’s reliable, so I don’t know how much weight I lost, or even if I’ve lost any. But I have been a champ about sticking to the eating part of my diet. The exercise part has been a little more difficult to squeeze in, but I’m definitely eating “low fat”. I have not gone to the gym yet this week, but I HAVE gotten up early every day and done my leg exercises.

I have chondromalacia patella. Don’t worry, it’s not contagious. My kneecap doesn’t line up properly so the cartilage under my kneecaps is wearing out more quickly than what is “normal”. It is very painful and I like to describe it as “crunchy knees” because my knees crackle, pop, and grind whenever I bend them.

I went to a specialist back in May and had it officially diagnosed, then I attended a couple months of physical therapy. The physical therapy worked GREAT! Seriously. I started running 5 days a week and was loving it. Then it got dark in the mornings so I quit running. Then it got cold in the mornings and I quit getting up early to do my leg exercises. Then my knees started hurting.

I really expect to get on a gym schedule next week. You’re thinking, “Blah, blah, blah” but I can’t go tonight because my daughter has religious education class at 6 and tomorrow night we have Brownie Scouts at 6:30 and PTO meeting at 7.

So for dinner last night I had cranberry bulgur stuffed peppers. It was DE-lish and SO easy to make. Let’s see if I can remember…

In a skillet, mix 14 oz of chicken broth with 1/2 cup of chopped carrots and 1/4 cup of chopped onion. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in 1/3 cup of dried cranberries and 3/4 cup of wheat bulgur (more about this a little later). Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, cut two bell peppers (I used red, but you can use any color) in half lengthwise so they will fit in the skillet, clean out seeds and set aside. Stir in 1/2 cup of shredded Muenster or mozz cheese (I used fat-free mozz) into the bulgur mixture. Fill peppers with bulgur mixture, put peppers in the skillet, add 1/2 cup of water and simmer until peppers are tender crisp.

About the wheat bulgur…it looks like brown couscous. It has a bit of a chewy texture and a nut-like flavor. It’s almost impossible to find it in a regular grocery store, but can usually be bought in bulk at your local organic grocery store—like a Whole Foods. In fact, I went to Whole Foods yesterday specially to purchase the bulgur. This trip to Whole Foods was a real experience for me…one that I’ll share with you tomorrow!