Veggie Seed Burgers

Much, much better than the Black Bean Chipotle Burger that didn't work out a few weeks ago, this new burger recipe comes from Angela's Oh She Glows blog. While a little on the complicated side, this burger is the perfect texture and has a yummy nutty flavor. When you've just gotta have one, this burger recipe will definitely do the job.

Veggie Seed Burgers

The first step is to saute 1/2 of diced onions and 1 clove of garlic with a tiny bit of olive oil. While that is going on, mix up a flax 'egg' by adding 2 and 1/2 tbsp roughly ground flax seed and 1/2 a cup of warm water in a bowl. Stir and set aside for now.

Add to a large mixing bowl:

• the sauteed onion garlic mixture
• 1 cup of oats processed into flour
• 1 and 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1 cup of grated carrot
• 1 cup roughly mashed cooked black beans
• heaping 1/4 cup of finely chopped parsley (cilantro could also be lovely)
• 1/3 cup chopped almonds
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Combine thoroughly with a spoon.

Now, in a separate small bowl stir together:

• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 and 1/5 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• black pepper to taste

Dump the flax egg and the spice mixture onto the burger mixture.

Now it's time to get your hands dirty. Knead and mix until thoroughly combined. The mixture should be sticky and like a very chunky dough.

Form dough into palm-sized patties. We got eight of them.

 

 

The last step is to fry in a tablespoon of olive oil, just long enough to brown both sides, and serve with any toppings. We did avocado, tomato, and lettuce, which was really good. I am thinking that some crispy onion straws would be delicious too! We did find that the burger could use a bit of salt though, so feel free to sprinkle some on your fixin's before putting putting on the top bun.

Tips, Tricks, and Shortcuts

Here are some things that I've learned so far along the way:

1) Keep a bag of mixed chopped veggies in the fridge. Carrots, bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, onion, peas--just about anything will work. This will save time when you're in a hurry and the mix can be used for so many things, such as a quick curry or stir-fry.



Vegetable Curry

Vegetable Stir-Fry

2) Make extra rice to keep in the fridge. That way when you cook your pre-cut veggies you can serve them over pre-made rice for a cheap, quick, and easy meal! Just make sure the rice is covered tight so that it doesn't start to dry out.

3) Buy pre-chopped garlic. Almost every savory vegan recipe I have even made calls for chopped garlic. Instead of going through the hassle of doing that every time, buy a jar of garlic and just ladle in a tablespoon for each clove called for. Save the whole garlic and chopping it by hand for your better recipes that really deserve it.

4) Don't wash or peel things you don't need to. I don't peel carrots and I don't wash bagged lettuce. Unless you can see bugs or dirt, what is sprinkling a bit of water on it going to do? Absolutely nothing. If you are buying non-organic fruit you may want to rinse off any residual pesticides or other nastiness, however.

5) Don't bother to refrigerate packed lunches. In almost every recipe that I have made to take to school with me for lunch, there is nothing in them that would spoil from being left out at room temperature for a while. So instead of fussing with a insulated bag and a cold pack, I just toss a tupperware container and a fork into my backpack. This also means that you don't have to find a microwave to reheat cold food.

Btw guys, today marks the one month mark for my vegan challenge. I've lost 10 lbs so far and am still dropping fast! Why on Earth didn't I ever do this before now...?

Garlicky Kale

Big shout out to my friend Jessica for introducing me to this wonderful new food, which is pretty much my new addiction...



Garlicky Kale

There is just something about this dish. I've always liked kale, but I can just straight up eat this as a meal. The flavor is pungent, but it a really satisfying way like aged brie or a good crystallized Gruyere. This recipe probably isn't for non-garlic-lovers (or the faint of heart, for that matter), but for those of you who are I think you'll definitely be going back for more... again and again and again.

This recipe originally came from Brittany Mullins on Eating Bird Food.

In a food processor combine:

• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)
• 4 tbsp nutritional yeast

Blend until smooth. There will be itty bitty pieces of garlic, but that is okay.

Garlic sauce--the nutritional yeast makes it yellow.

Wash, de-stem, and tear into bite sized pieces one bunch of kale. This is a whole lot of leafy green, so much sure you start with a very large bowl.

One bunch of fresh raw kale.

Next, pour all of the garlic dressing on the kale and thoroughly massage it into the leaves. It is a MUST to use your hands here. Take extra care to make sure the dressing is evenly distributed. If for some reason you don't have quite as much kale, don't put all of the dressing in. It is strong enough that a little goes a very long way.

Kale after the dressing is massaged in.

As you can see, the kale has already reduced in volume. The longer it is left to marinate, the more wilted the kale will become. If you want it really crunchy, eat it right away. If you would like your kale a little more manageable, let it sit in the fridge for an hour before serving.

Also, please excuse all of my window sill photographs--I know it's ghetto. It is the only spot in the entire kitchen that isn't dark though! Oh, and as a reward to myself today I bought some pretty ceramic fire-glazed dishes. No more monotonous plates! I don't know if you guys had noticed, but it was driving me crazy.

As always, thanks for reading!

Birthday Celebrations

I am having so much fun discovering all of the wonderful foods and restaurants to go to and eat at. This past Friday we went to Kabuki Japanese Steak & Seafood and enjoyed a hibachi show.

Kabuki Japanese Steak & Seafood

The building was beautiful. The ceiling was pained with stars, there were marine fish tanks everywhere, and they had a lounge featuring a waterfall.

Cucumber & Avocado Sushi and a salad with ginger dressing.

My first experience with vegan sushi was awesome--it was super yummy and I easily could have filled up on about five of those rolls.

My delicious sauteed veggies.

The very first thing the chef did was dump a gigantic bowl of mixed vegetables on the hibachi. I thought that they would be divided amoung everyone as a first course, but I was delighted to see that they were all for me!

This is what my plate looked like when I had eaten half of my food...
The leftovers were a perfect breakfast the day after!

The "Vegetarian Dinner" was wonderful. I didn't get the soup and grilled shrimp that everyone else got, but I was 100% content and satisfied with my meal. There was a garlic sauce to die for that I basically drown my already amazing veggies in, and then there was an amazing ginger and soy sauce dressing that was particularly good on the fried rice. So, so fantastic that I am starting to drool just remembering about it. And all for only $13!

Onion Volcano

Our Malaysian chef.

And on top of that, the show was good and the company was lovely.

James, Heenal, Carla, Helen, me, and Darren.

Black Mushroom Cantonese Stir-Fry

I had completely different ideas about what this dish would be like--it actually turned out to be like a vegetable chow mein. It reminded me of the blue can of La Choy chow mein my mom used to buy when we were kids.

Black Mushroom Cantonese Stir-Fry

Start off by sauteing for 5 minutes a container of sliced shikate mushrooms, half a yellow onion, 3 hot small dried red chili peppers, 3 cloves of garlic, a small can of bamboo shoots, and a handful of sugar snap peas. I couldn't find these peppers at Kroger and I didn't have time to run to the Asian market, so I got some different dried peppers. They were useless and imparted no flavor. Next time I'll add a some red pepper flakes instead, which will be less hassle anyways.

Sauteing veggies.

Next mix up 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and about a cup of water (I will probably use vegetable stock next time for extra flavor). Dump over the stir-fried vegetables and start adding soy sauce, probably around half a cup. While I usually use low-sodium only, this is one occasion where regular would be appropriate. Either that or season with salt. Don't forget pepper as well.

Once the sauce is added...

Serve over rice with scallions and sesame seeds, if desired, and season with extra soy sauce as is necessary. The key to this one is really the soy sauce, so don't be afraid to be liberal with it.

Enjoy!

Singapore Noodles

While picking up large rice noodles for the Hakka Noodles at Kroger, I noticed a package of really thin mei fun rice noodles. One of my favorite Chinese-American fast food dishes is Singapore Noodles, so I decided to hang the meal plan and make these for lunch one day.

Singapore Noodles

These noodles are incredibly simple to make. Soak some rice noodles in hot tap water for 10 minutes and then rinse with cold water and drain. In the meantime, saute some garlic, ginger, and and vegetables you'd like. I used snow peas, onion, and scallions. I bet carrots, sprouts, and cabbage would be wonderful as well. You will want a little bit of oil, just a tablespoon or two, one you put the noodles in just so that they don't stick. Fry the noodles for a minute or two, tossing with tongs throughout. Then start adding in soy sauce and curry powder. There really isn't any right amount--whatever looks (and more importantly tastes) right. Next time I may add a little bit of vegetable stock towards the end just to get a bit more moisture, but these noodles are supposed to be dry rather than saucy.

Kind of like Filipino pancit, this is the kind of dish that you can throw whatever leftovers you've got in the fridge in, including meat if you aren't following a vegan diet. Fast, easy, cheap, and incredibly flavorful. What else could you ask for?

Jamaican Stir-fry

What a crazy and wonderful dish. So many new flavors! I cannot wait to make this again.

Jamaican Stir-fry

The first step to this recipe is to get bell pepper, onion, garlic, ginger, plantain, and fresh jalapeno sauteing in a pan. The less brown the plantain is, the less sweet it is--which is a good thing for a savory stir-fry. The original recipe called for half of a habanero. That is not something that I would be able to handle or enjoy, so instead I used a quarter of a jalapeno and it was just right.

Once everything is browned, the recipe says to add fresh thyme, allspice, and curry powder. I have never felt like such an imbecile in the kitchen before--as I've got this stir-fry half finished cooking I realize that I forgot the curry powder and the allspice (which are basically the two main flavors in this dish). Instead I improvised and dumped some of basically every spice in my cupboard into the pan. I ended up using: cinnamon, nutmeg, ground clove, turmeric, cumin, chili powder, and coriander. I felt certain that I had ruined it beyond palatability, but the aroma coming off of it was actually quite nice...

The last step is to pour in some almond milk and stir so that you end up with a sort of curry sauce. After I plated it and sat down at the table, I probably stared at it for about 5 minutes (between the plantain and the circus of spices going on in there it didn't seem very approachable). Turns out that it was fantastic. I was dying to have more of that precious, wonderful sauce with every bite. The plantains were extremely odd though--it was a flavor and texture I've never had before, and it was a little bewildering. Next time I make this I am going to dice the plantain instead and use a lot more other vegetables with it. I'll probably double the amount of spices and almond milk too, because the resulting curry sauce was pretty much to die for. Yum!

Too Pretty to Eat (Almost)

I didn't end up having time to eat any dinner last night, but I was able to make my super delicious lunch consisting of a Balsamic Zucchini Sandwich. I've already posted this recipe, but I just want to share the beauty once more...

Balsamic Zucchini Sandwich
*angels singing*

Balsamic Zucchini Sandwich

I have actually been feeling much better today, but not 100% normal yet. I'm a little less tired too, so maybe the energy boost is starting to kick in. Not sure yet. I had a hard time not taking a nap this afternoon, so I'm obviously not that energetic yet. Hopefully that changes soon.

Breakfast this morning consisted of oatmeal with green apples, toast, and pineapple. I was supposed to have Citrus Sage Oatmeal, but I couldn't get all of the ingredients I needed for that. So, apples it was, and I needed to keep plugging away at all that diced pineapple as well. I hadn't really had plain oatmeal before, and accidentally got quick oats. They were pretty gross, but once I got the apple in there and doused it with cane sugar and soy milk it wasn't too bad. Not really all that picture-worthy though.

The Balsamic Zucchini Sandwich was my lunch for day three. I was astounded by how delicious this sandwich was. I mindlessly scarfed it in about three bites just because it was so yummy. And the really cool thing is that I am pretty sure that you could put just about anything on it and it would still be amazing. Next time I am thinking avocado... I was supposed to have a Artichoke and Tomato Salad with this, but I couldn't get all of the ingredients for that either, so watermelon it was.

Balsamic Zucchini Sandwich

The first thing you are going to want to do it prep the zucchini. I used one entire large zucchini to make the sandwich. Begin by slicing it long ways into strips. I was able to put my mandolin to work on this job (with the hand guard, of course... *nudge nudge* Rich).

Sliced Zucchini

If you've got any other veggies you want on the sandwich you can slice them up this way too. The next step is to toast your bread. I used a 12 grain bread that I like, but you could use a ciabatta roll or just about anything.



Layer One: 12 Grain Bread

 

 



The next layer is going to be whatever condiment you'd like. I used a generous smear of low-fat spinach and garlic hummus, and that was pretty much the cherry on top. I would definitely go with hummus again, but if you aren't sticking with a vegan diet mayo could be good as well. The book suggested red pepper hummus, and I bet that'd be nice too.

Layer Two: Spinach & Garlic Hummus

Next is the zucchini. What you do it saute it on medium-high with balsamic vinegar (again, I used red wine vinegar) and garlic. It only takes about a minute on each side, and you have to be careful about everything burning to the pan. I was able to do my zucchini strips in three batches, and it went so fast that I didn't have time to take any pictures. Then pile it on the bread.

Layer Three: Balsamic Sauteed Zucchini

From here you can do whatever you'd like. I was thinking about putting a roasted red pepper, but then I changed my mind. I sliced a fresh tomato to put on my sandwich, and was very glad I did. You could also do avocado, sprouts, fresh baby spinach, raw onion, and much more. I bet that even apple slices could be good.

Layer Four: Tomato

Next you are going to want to spice it up with some herbs. I used some lovely fresh basil that I got at the farmers' market. This is where you can really be imaginative with flavor profiles. Don't forget salt and pepper as well!

Layer Five: Fresh Basil

And last but not least, the final slice of bread. To be honest, I would probably do another layer of hummus next time just because it was so good.

Layer Six: Bread

There you are. This sandwich was so good that if this was put beside a BLT with real mayo and thick slices of bacon, and I only got to choose one, I honestly don't know which one I would choose. Yeah, that good. Crazy, I know.

This actually reminds me of a recipe in a cookbook that my G'ma sent me. It is from Cuisine Lite's Fresh & Fabulous magazine, and is called a "high-rise" sandwich. Their's looks pretty good too, especially since it looks like they went crazy with the cheese.

"High-Rise" Sandwich from Cuisine Lite's Fresh & Fabulous

Caffeine Withdrawals

I am a big coffee drinker, but I can't take it black. I like mine all doctored up and froofy--Starbucks fraps are my best friend. Unfortunately, all of those things that make coffee so delicious and appealing are made of dairy. And without these things, I'd rather not have coffee at all. Snobbish, I know.

I haven't been drinking any soda either. Technically I could drink diet soda, but since I'm doing this whole natural foods regiment, it seems logical to give chemical sugar substitutes the boot as well.

Which means that I am having some crazy caffeine withdrawals today. At first I thought I hadn't gotten enough sleep, so I was really tired. Then I started feeling terrible, so I thought I must be getting sick. But then I started getting grump and depressed, and I knew it must be something else. The good news is that it will probably pass quickly. I am determined to believe that this is a good thing, and that I'll be better off without all of the extra stimulation.

Another thing I've noticed, and it seems to be a trend, is that I get the hiccups after every bulky vegetable meal. And these aren't your normal hiccups--these are drawn out, painful, obnoxiously high-pitched and loud hiccups. Helen actually came out of her room last night to ask if I was okay. It's not a big deal, just something I've noticed. Like many people, I have a hiatal hernia which is sometimes irritated if I eat too fast. Perhaps these foods, such as kale, just have a hard time passing into the stomach and disturb my diaphragm. Who knows.

For lunch today I was supposed to have a BST (bacon, sprout, tomato) sandwich with baked sweet potato wedges, but I couldn't find any fake bacon at the store. I think it is called tempeh, and I have no idea what that is. Instead I polished off some leftovers. I had some watermelon salad, my last mango pancake, and the caldo verde that I decided not to chuck out last night. The sweet potato fries will have to wait for a little later.

Dinner should be interesting tonight, especially given that I'm not a big fan of tomato soup (though I've never had home made, I suppose). Stay tuned!

Seven Layer Garden Nachos

Okay, so maybe this isn't what they're really called, but I couldn't find blue chips and it seemed more to me like nachos than a salad. This was my lunch for day one.

"Blue Corn Chip Salad", A.K.A. Seven Layer Garden Nachos

I thought for sure that I was going to miss my normal fixin's such as cheese and sour cream, but let me tell you--I was wrong. Very wrong. This just might be some of the best nachos I've ever had, and that is without and meat, cheese, or dairy! Mom, you'd go nuts over these.

The first layer of the nachos is the chips themselves. Since one of the rules of the 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart is to reduce oils, I had to get baked chips. There was only one type of baked tortilla chip that Krogers carried (and this is an incredibly large and diverse store), and it was not blue. I ended up getting Baked! Tostitos Scoops.

Layer One: Chips

The second layer is composed of lettuce. I got red leaf lettuce, which is simultaneously beautiful and tasty. The recipe said to tear it into bit size pieces, but instead I removed the thicker stem pieces and then did a chiffonade cut. We eat with our eyes first, and just looking at those purple little swirls was making me hungry!

Layer Two: Lettuce

The third layer is black beans. I just got a cheap can of the store brand packed in water. I used half of a 15 oz can on my nachos.

Layer Three: Beans

Layer four is a fresh diced Roma tomato. The recipe called for half of one, but mine was so tiny I decided to use the whole thing.

Layer Four: Tomato

The fifth layer is a half cup of any type of salsa. I went with a jar of ChiChi's mild salsa, and that was quite nice. Obviously if you like it hot, go nuts. One option for the future is to skip the fourth layer of tomato and just make this layer a nice heap of fresh pico de gallo. Yum!

Layer Five: Salsa

Layer six is roast red pepper. The recipe called for one and a half peppers, and that sounded like an awful lot to me. I ended up opting for only one pepper, which still seemed like too much but ended up being just perfect. Make sure that these are packed in water with no added oils. I julienned them, but you can dice them however you like.

Layer Six: Roasted Red Pepper

The last layer is comprised of any toppings you might want. I used unprocessed pepitas, which the book suggested. I also decided to put a little fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime. I'm glad I did, because I feel like it really elevated all of those already delicious flavors to another level. And, ta-da! Observe your masterpiece.

Layer Seven: Toppings (Cilantro, Pepitas, Lime Juice)

The menu for today also included a watermelon salad tossed with lime juice. I got the cutest little melon from the farmers' market, which is the perfect size for just me. I also got a bunch of fresh mint at the market, and decided to chop a few leaves up very finely and add that to the watermelon salad as well. Remember about eating with your eyes? Here's a close-up:

Watermelon Salad with Mint and Lime

This was actually so much food that I couldn't finish it. I had about half a cup of random veggies left on my plate and had to put most of my half cup of watermelon back into the container as well. That's okay though, the watermelon will be a good snack between classes tomorrow. The only hard part about this diet thus far has been eating the recommended amounts of food! They weren't kidding when they talked about "real" portions. Perhaps dinner will have to be rather later tonight... Also, if any of you readers happen to be in my neck of the woods, please stop by--there is more than plenty of deliciousness to go around. I feel bad that I keep shoving it at Helen when she's not much of an eater to being with.