Wild Rice Pub Burger

Okay, I saved the best for last.  This is, by far my favorite meatless burger recipe - a Wild Rice Pub burger, from a blog that is no longer available online.  :( 

This recipe has it all, texture, flavor, density - everything!  So, here it is: 

First, you'll need to prepare the rice.  You should do this the night before you plan on making the burgers so the rice has plenty of time to cool in the fridge - but an hour or two of chilling will be fine if you are adamant about making it immediately.   :)

Put ¾ cup wild rice (local if you can find it) and ¼ cup brown rice in a medium-sized pot.  Add 3 cups veggie broth, and bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer.  (For the broth, I use 3 cups water + 1 of vegan "beef" bouillon cubes.)  Cover the pot & cook according to the wild rice package instructions, which should be about 50 minutes.  When finished, fluff the rice with a fork & store covered in the fridge overnight.

Now for the burgers!

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp ground flaxseed
• ½ cup + 1 Tbsp warm water
• 2 rounded tsp onion powder
• 1½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp curry powder
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp olive or safflower oil
• 1 cup Daiya vegan cheddar cheese
• Cooked & cooled rice
• ¾ cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
  

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the flaxseed & water for about 30 seconds, until thick.  (This is your binding agent)  Whisk in all the spices, then whisk in the oil.  Add the Daiya cheese, and stir in the wild & brown rice.  Finally, add the breadcrumbs & stir until everything is well combined.

Drizzle a thin layer of oil on a nonstick skillet or pan, and heat on medium.  Allow the oil to warm, but be careful don't leave it unattended to where it gets too hot!  As the oil heats, measure ½ cup of the burger mix.  Knead & smash with your hands to form a firm, sturdy patty.  Gently add the patty to the hot pan.  Repeat with remaining burger mix until it's all used up.  Cook the burgers on each side for about 3 minutes, until crisp & golden brown on the outside.  Remove from the pan & place on a cookie sheet.

You can now serve the burgers as is or with all your favorite condiments!  Here I used sauteed mushrooms, veganaise, ketchup and romaine lettuce.  DELISH!  My husband and toddler even loved them!  Which says a lot!!!

Leftover burgers freeze well & can be reheated in the oven.
Makes 8 patties.

Black Bean Burgers

This recipe is for a Black Bean Burger.  I like the texture (which is provided by the mushrooms pulsed in a food processor) and flavor of these a bit more than the Lentil-Walnut ones, but I don't always have fresh mushrooms on hand, or black beans cooked so I don't make it as often. And if you don't like mushrooms, don't worry... you honestly cannot taste them when processed with everything else and they really are just there for the awesome texture they provide to the patties.  :)

Ingredients: 

14 ounces of cooked black beans (you may also use a can of beans, drained & rinsed) 
1 10-ounce package cremini (baby bella) mushrooms cut in half or sliced
1 slice whole-grain bread, toasted
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 t ground cumin
1/4 t salt (omit if using canned beans) 
1 t black pepper
1 egg (or you may use a flax egg - 1 1/2 T ground flax seeds mixed with 1/4 c. water, set aside for about 5 mins til thickened)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425° F. Place mushrooms in food processor bowl and pulse several times until coarsely chopped. Tear bread into pieces and add to food processor, along with beans, onion, garlic, vinegar, cumin, salt and pepper. Pulse until mixed, then add egg (or flax "egg") and pulse a few more times. Divide mixture into four. Take a quarter of the mixture and form a ball, then flatten with your hands.  Repeat to make the remaining three patties. Place patties on nonstick baking sheet (I use a baking stone). Set baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven and allow to bake for 20 minutes, until outside is crispy.

I only have photos of these on the baking stone because I suck and scarfed them down before I thought to take a picture.   Next time I will take one of them on the bun.

Also, this photo shows orange specs in the burgers, which is from the cheddar cheese that the original recipe called for.  I found the cheese to not add any flavor or anything other than added calories & fat to the burgers, so I will omit it going forward.

Tomorrow - my FAVORITE burger recipe, Wild Rice Pub burgers!!

Healthy Burger Recipes! Today a lentil & walnut burger!

I wanted to post and review a few recipes on here, because I haven't done that yet, and I love recipes.  :)

I am going to post my 3 favorite burger recipes.  I started to do them all in one post, but the post became way too long so I'm doing them seperately.  One of the things I like about meatless burgers is that they have they can have the same sides, fixings and appearance of traditional burgers but they're obviously healthier and vegetarian or vegan.  This way, I can make a burger out of ground beef for hubby and a meatless variety for me.  (our son likes both)  So everyone's happy and our plates all look identical.  

The first is for a Lentil & Walnut Burger.  While the texture is definitely different than an actual burger, the flavor is pretty close, and of course, health-wise, it is a much better option.  (No pink slime - a.k.a. ground up intestines washed in ammonia - in this burger!)   What's also nice about this burger is that most of the ingredients are pantry staples of mine, so usually I have almost all of the ingredients on hand, I just need to buy fresh buns from a natural food store when I want to make them.  (I have yet to find suitable bread or buns in traditional supermarkets) 

Anyhow, without further ado, here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup brown lentils, picked over and rinsed
• 1 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
• 2 piece bread, toasted OR 2/3 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 4 tsp ground coriander
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 chia/flax "egg" (1 tbsp ground chia or flax + 1/4 cup water)

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a small bowl make the chia or flax egg and set aside.

Place lentils in a medium sauce pan and add about 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes.   While the lentils are cooking, toast the walnuts by placing them on a baking sheet and cooking at 350F for about 10 minutes until golden brown and delicious. Let cool.

In a food processor, process the garlic, walnuts, toasted bread (or breadcrumbs), garlic & spices until combined.

When the lentils are done, drain and rinse.   Now add oil and lentils and pulse until coarsely chopped (some lentils should be visible and left chunky). Add the flax or chia "egg" and pulse a bit more until combined.  Now shape patties with hands (makes about 7 for me, depending on how big yo make them and how much of the mixture you nibble on before hand ;) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a non-stick mat.  (I use a non-stick baking stone)

Bake at 350F for 20-22 minutes on each side for a total of 40-45 mins.  *Make sure you are gentle with them when you turn them over.  Whatever you do, do NOT up the oven temp in an effort to get them to cook faster.  Trust me, I tried once and they were dry, crumbly and the texture was way off.

Now, for some photos.... (disclaimer, I apologize in advance for the quality of the pics, as I am too lazy to take pictures with my actual camera because I have to upload them.  I always use my cell phone so I can email them to my computer. /disclaimer)

the burgers just after being shaped/before they are baked....

 

And, just out of the oven.  The outside of the burger gets a thin, crisp layer, while the inside remains more moist and flavorful.  These are good even by themselves - no bun necessary!  

I did, however, use a bun this time, and had them with a side of sweet potato waffle fries.  Sometimes I have a side salad with them instead of fries and I've even eaten steamed broccoli on the side!  :)  Be creative!
I've used ketchup and mustard but BBQ sauce would also be good on these! (natural BBQ sauce of course) 

 

Here's another pic where I used veganaise, lettuce and tomatoes. 

Do you like meatless burgers? 

Healthy AND Convenient

It is no secret that cooking from scratch is the best way to ensure that the food you're eating is whole, clean and healthy.  It is also no secret that cooking takes time, and these days, time is something we all wish we could purchase in bulk. 

There are some "convenience foods" that I keep on hand for when I am in a pinch & short on time.  Foods that are "okay" in terms of taste, ingredients and health.  Way better than hitting the drive through, but not as good as preparing it yourself.  Most of these foods tend to be a bit high in sodium, but if you're not eating them all the time, it's not anything I would worry about.
Things such as:

-Amy's Organic Frozen meals.  I love that most of Amy's stuff is meatless and are made with whole/natural ingredients.  They taste really good too.  The only downside is that they tend to not be super filling, so if I didn't have time to pack a lunch and take one of these to work, I usually eat something with it, on the side.  Such as a baked sweet potato, small salad etc.
- Amy's Soup or Pacific Natural Foods Soup.  Again, a bit high on the sodium and no where near as tasty as homemade soup, and, well not always a filling meal either, so sometimes I have this on the side of my organic frozen meal.  ;)
- Organic Oatmeal.  There are lots of varieties of organic oatmeal that are tasty. If I eat two, my hunger is satisfied.  This will do in a pinch but they tend to be pretty high in added sugar so I try not to rely on it for an every day breakfast.  

Then there are lots of quick & healthy snack items such as raw almonds, pistachios or other nut of choice, organic/natural tortilla chips with salsa, half of an avocado, whole wheat pita bread with hummus, half of an almond butter and jelly sandwich, a bowl of granola with almond milk, an apple, banana, or orange, Lara Bars etc.

But for meals, you can also get them to be healthy AND quick/easy/convenient.  How?  By preparing things that can be made in a "batch" ahead of time.

Breakfasts

Oatmeal, for instance, I sometimes cook a huge batch of (from regular, plain ol' oats) and then separate it in to 3-4 separate containers (all, still large, and are 2-3 servings each) and make each bowl a different variety.  I sweeten it with different combos of the following:  raisins, apples, cinnamon, maple syrup, brown sugar, stevia, bananas, almonds, walnuts, peanut butter or almond butter. Then I keep one batch /bowl in the fridge to eat from each morning and freeze the others, and take them out at as I need them. So it's all healthy & convenient and you only need to do the work once.
I also just discovered "Baked Oatmeal Bars" this weekend.  I will post the recipe and pictures later, but it basically takes an oatmeal recipe, combined with some non-dairy milk and some other stuff to make your pre-made oatmeal portable as well  ;)   The only thing I'll do differently next time is double the batch and freeze half of it so it's even less work and more convenient...  ;)

Egg Bake - I know a lot of people make "egg bakes" but the majority of them are not very healthy.  Typically made with about a dozen whole eggs, bacon (and/or sausage), cheese, milk, hashed browns and who knows what else.  Well I like to make a healthified version.  (I know that's not a real word)  I truly do enjoy the taste of veggie omelets but instead of taking the time to make one every day, I just put all the ingredients together (usually I do 6 eggs and 6 egg whites, broccoli, spinach, mushrooms and a little bit of reduced fat cheese and then bake them in an 8X8 baking dish on about 300° until done (about 30 mins).  Cut in to squares and have 1-2 per day for breakfast.  You can also bake these in muffin tins with the little paper muffin cups if you like.

So the key is making larger batches of something that can be eaten through out the week. You can do this with all kinds of dishes.  Make a large batch of whole wheat or brown rice spaghetti and have leftovers to take to work for a couple of days, or a large batch of soup and freeze some either in to individual portions size jars, (I do this allll the time!!) or bowls that have several servings.  A large Black Bean & Quinoa Salad will last 3 days in the fridge and can be your take-and-go lunch, or get-home-and-eat dinner.  Bean Burritos are always fast, easy and healthy.  I like to make big batches of beans on the weekends and then freeze them in to smaller portions to be used later on, but canned, organic & low-sodium beans are sufficient too.

I have more options too, but these are the ones that came to mind right away.  I will post & link recipes to the dishes mentioned here too.

Question:   What is your favorite thing to make ahead of time that can be eaten for several meals?

His and Hers Dinners

One of my big struggles when it comes to eating is the vast difference between my eating preferences, and my husband's... and my toddler's.  I would prefer to eat all vegan, but my diet is more like pescetarian (mostly made up of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, pasta, nuts, etc... no chicken/beef/lamb/pork, only fish on occasion, dairy on occasion).  My husband is a carnivore with a large appetite and my toddler would love it if he could live on macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets and french fries at every meal.  (although typically we can get him to eat what is served, sometimes it just takes a lot of coaxing)

We prefer to eat dinner as a family obviously, and it's just not ideal to prepare two (or three) totally separate things to serve at one meal.  Even if my husband was more up for cooking his own meal (which is not typically the case) then we'd still have two cooks in the kitchen at once which is difficult, and I still have to meal plan/shop for two different meals for one night, so it's still nearly twice the work.

In our case, there are few options:

1. Have him deal with it and just eat what I cook regardless if he would prefer something else.  
Pros:  Easier for me, and I get to eat what I prefer while also feeding my whole family healthy foods.
Cons:  Hubby likes cheap food, unhealthy/fattening food and meaty food, so in this case dinner leaves him less than satisfied.

If I am going to go this route though, the least I can do is try and make things that are more appealing to him.   I am more than happy with a big fat salad for dinner, but my husband, and son.... not so much, so I won't be putting that on our weekly meal plan any time soon.  If I am going to make something for the whole family, I try and make something that still tastes great and at least resembles a food that he is fond of.  Some things I've made that I know he has liked are:

-*Red Lentil Enchiladas   (basically just using red lentils in lieu of meat)
-*Wild Rice Pub Burgers
-*Vegetarian Chili
-*Pasta with veggies and homemade "cream" sauce.  (milk, flour and seasoning)
-*Spaghetti
-Bean burritos
-Lentil Loaf.  Basically a lentil version of meatloaf.  :)
-Salmon or other fish.  I don't mind eating fish once and a while so that is an option, and Mike can just double up on the fish portion.

2. Make a meal that is versatile/a meal that can be done both ways.
The meals above that are marked with an asterisks, I sometimes make meatless/as described, but sometimes I make them both ways.  On the dishes that have meat them, I will prepare the meat separate and have Mike add it to his own plate.  The others, like burgers & enchiladas, I make meat for his and a meatless variety for mine.  Some other things that can be made versatile are:

-Homemade Pizzas.  Veggies for mine, canadian bacon for his.
-Tacos.  Ground beef/regular tacos for him and then I either make a taco salad and use Morningstar meatless crumbles, or I just use beans, salsa, green peppers, guacamole... all the mexican fixings.
-Fajitas.  Have portobello mushrooms, onions and bell peppers for me and  chicken or steak for him.  Then all the sides & fixings can be shared.
-Stir Fry or Pad Thai.  I've never made Pad Thai but I found it as a suggestion from a search result, haha.  But both can be made with meat/tofu separately and we can each add it to our own meals.
-Kebobs.  These are more for the summer, but I can make chicken or steak kebobs for Mike, and veggie kebobs for me and throw them on the grill.
  
3. Make two completely separate meals  
This is the case more often than I'd like to admit.  The more acceptable version of this is when I make, say a meat main course with a veggie side and a grain side.  He eats some of everything while I eat the two sides and no meat. 


4. Have him make his own separate meal.
I don't know why but I feel weird about making something that I know full well he doesn't like or won't be satisfied with and making him fend for himself. 


Of these, I really prefer the first and second options.  I am going to need to look in to more versatile meals and meals that are hearty & filling enough for him too.  When I find more, I'll be sure to put them here!  :)

The good, the bad and the ugly

Today I have a few things on my mind, all very different.  One is good, one is bad and one is ugly. 

On the good news - I have a co-worker who has been trying to conceive for several years.  Clomid was unsuccessful, as was IUI and they are now undergoing IVF.  On Saturday they were able to retrieve 6 eggs from her and today, she let me know that 4 of the 6 eggs "took" and are now embryos.  They just have to wait a couple more days and they will implant the two best embryos.  I am so so happy for her.  What a wonderful answer to a prayer.  Now just hoping and continuing to pray that all goes well with implantation and that they are able to become parents.  She is 39 and this would be their first pregnancy/child. 

The bad news, (much more trivial than the good news) is that on both Saturday & Sunday this weekend, when Tyler was napping and I had a choice to either work out or nap myself.... I chose to nap, both days.  I feel like such a lazy bum and super disappointed in myself.  I have two months to get my body in as good of shape as I can in that time and I am not using the time as good as I could/should be.  Also, if I don't, there's a chance I will lose $100 to a friend I am in a weight loss bet with. 

And for the ugly.  My dad has been struggling with some health issues for a while - he has had this awful cough that sounds as if he is about to gag/throw up, I think it's related to asthma and he has an inhaler for that.  But about a month ago he let me know he is on oxygen and needs a biopsy on his lung.  Last night, he let us know that he has lung disease and that he needs a lung transplant.  I didn't get much more out of him than that and when I tried to google "lung disease" about 10 different kinds of lung disease came up in the suggested search, so I don't even know what kind, or how long the wait is or how he'll do in the mean time etc.  Just that he needs one.  And that is scary.  He is only 55.  My mom died when she was 49.  I am only 29 and feel like it's way too soon for me to lose both of my parents.  I just want him to be healthy and to have lots of years left. 

Motivation

Sometimes, working out is a huge priority in my life and I will go to great lengths to ensure I get a workout in. ... And sometimes, it is totally the opposite as that.   Sometimes I don't feel like it for one reason or another and I will take any excuse not to work out, even though deep down, I know I *should* go.   These times, I try to remember that there has never ever been a time, where, after I work out, I think, "Man I should not have done that!!!"  Quite the opposite actually.  I always feel amazing after a workout... refreshed, energized, accomplished, healthy, cleansed, less stressed... so many great things!!

Furthermore, whenever I skip a work out, I am never ever glad I didn't go.  I regret it.  All day.  I feel like a bum.  Like a slacker, I have less energy and I crave (and usually eat) crappy food.   So again, I try to remind myself of this any time I am looking for a reason to skip a workout.  And when that doesn't work, I log in to Pintrest and read my Fitness board.   And for your viewing pleasure, I am putting them all here for you.  Enjoy.  :)