Recipe: Best Beet Burger Ever!

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I have to share this with you. In the recent months, I’ve been obsessing over beet burgers, thanks to Ground Control 😉 They make an awesome beet burger! And I have, for the absolute longest, been testing out ingredients, trying to put together a really, really great recipe… One that has the best of everything — healthy, tasty, hearty and more. This recipe has it all. Add a little red onion on top and you’re good to go! AND/OR, some melted Chao (yumm…), cilantro or avocado (to die for!). Hope that you enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 3 large red beets (about 1 pound)
  • 1/2 cup brown rice (not cooked)
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1 cup brown rice crips cereal (rice crispy-like cereal)
  • 2 cans black beans
  • 1/4 cup dates, chopped into small pieces.
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
  • 2 teaspoons brown mustard
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 flax egg
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Cook’n the beets – Heat the oven to 400°F. Wrap the beets in foil and roast for about 50 to 60 minutes (until fork tender). Set aside to cool.
  2. Cook’n the rice – Bring a 2-quart pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add rice. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until it’s a bit beyond al dente. About 35 to 40 minutes.
  3. Sauté’n the onions – Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and a bit of salt. Cook until golden brown and charred around the edges, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in cider vinegar. Continue to simmer until the cider has evaporated and the pan is nearly dry again. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
  4. Process’n the oats – oats in food processor until reduced to a fine flour. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
    veggieluvDrain and rinse one of the cans of beans -and transfer the beans to the food processor. Scatter the dates on top. Pulse in bursts until the beans are roughly chopped. Transfer this mixture to a large mixing bowl. Drain and rinse the second can of beans and add the whole beans to the mixing bowl.
  5. Grate’n the roasted beets – Scrape the skins off the cooled roasted beets with the edge of a spoon. Grate the peeled beets on the largest holes of a grater. Transfer the beet gratings to a strainer set over sink. Press and squeeze the gratings to remove as much liquid as possible from the beets (or save juice for other fun recipe). Combine’n the veggie burger mix – Transfer the squeezed beets, cooked rice, and sautéed onions to the bowl with the beans. Sprinkle the olive oil, brown mustard, 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, and thyme over the top of the mixture. Mix all the ingredients until combined. Taste the mixture and add salt, pepper to taste. Finally, add the oatmeal flour, cereal and flax egg and mix until you no longer see any dry oatmeal or flax egg.
  6. Refrigerate’n the burger mix for 2 hours, or up to 3 days – Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or transfer the mixture to a refrigerator container, and refrigerate. Best case burger scenario, let it sit in the frig overnight.
  7. Shape’n the burgers – When ready to cook the burgers, first shape them into burgers. Scoop up about a scant cup of the burger mixture and shape it between your palms into a thick patty the size of your hamburger buns. You should end up with about 6 large patties.
  8. Cook’n the burgers – Heat a skillet over high heat. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to completely coat the bottom of the pan.
    Cook the patties for 2 minutes on each side. Should see a nice crust. Then cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook for 4 more minutes until the patties are warmed through.

Recipe: Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread (Vegan)

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Personally, I’ve never been a fan of eating overly ripe bananas. So instead of throwing them away (such a waste!), I turn them into delicious banana bread. And adding some chocolate chunks makes this recipe that much better. It’s simple, easy and yummy! Hope you enjoy this great recipe. Cheers! 🙂

Ingredients

dry ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose unbleached white flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup of vegan chocolate chunks

wet ingredients

  • 3 medium ripe bananas
  • 1/4 cup agave
  • 1/2 cup of softened Earth Balance butter (coconut oil can be used as a substitute)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. In another large bowl, mash the bananas, then add the butter and agave, and combine well.

3. Gradually stir the wet ingredients into the bowl of the dry ingredients.

4. Combine well until mixed.

5. Pour the batter into a non-stick loaf pan.

6. Bake for 45-50 minutes. The toothpick method is a great way to check if the bread is cooked through.

7. Enjoy!

Recipe: Vegan Spinach Lasagna

lasagnaThis is one of my favorite recipes. So incredibly flavorful. I’ve made it many, many times and it has even passed as a “very delicious lasagna recipe” among my non-vegan/non-vegetarian friends and family. That seems to be a pretty good test…will my meat-eating friends and family (the ones who are extremely hesitant to stray from their diets) return for second helpings of my dishes?? With this dish, it has been a definite “YES”. Best part, the preparation and cooking time are super quick. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 jars of your favorite pasta sauce
  • 1 (16 ounce) package no-boil lasagna noodles (I use Delallo Organic Whole Wheat No-Boil Lasagna)
  • 1 package of silken tofu
  • 2 heaping tablespoons of miso paste (I use Westbrae Mellow Brown Rice Miso Soybean Paste)
  • 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • ground black pepper to taste
  • 2 packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
  2. Place the tofu block in a large bowl. Add the miso, nutritional yeast, garlic, basil and parsley. Add the salt and pepper and mash all of the ingredients together. Mix well.
  3. Assemble the lasagna: Spread 1/2 cups of the sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch lasagna baking pan. Arrange a single layer of lasagna noodles, sprinkle 1/2 of the tofu mixture over the noodles. Distribute the spinach evenly over the tofu (Sometimes, I choose to add other tasty veggies to this layer — depending on my preference, I may add mushrooms, zucchini, squash, and/or roasted red peppers also). Next spoon 1 1/2 cups sauce over the veggies, and top it with another layer of the noodles. Then sprinkle another 1/2 of the tofu mixture over the noodles, top the tofu with 1 cup sauce, and place a final layer of noodles over the tomato sauce. Finally, top the noodles with the remaining  sauce.
  4. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Chia Pudding

chia almond puddingIngredients:

  • 3 tablespoons of chia seeds
  • 1 cup of dark chocolate almond milk 
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1/4 cup of seasonal fruit
  • 2 tablespoons of sliced almonds
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon 

Directions:

Stir in the 3 tablespoons of chia seeds into the dark chocolate almond milk and let sit for about two minutes. Stir again, wait another 5 minutes and then stir again. Sometimes, I like to let sit overnight, as I like my pudding thicker. I will then add a splash or two of almond milk in the morning and stir it up. Add the banana, seasonal fruit, sliced almonds and cinnamon and you’re good to go!

 One of my favorite breakfast treats!

Recipe: Chewy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies

I’ve made these cookies many, many, MANY times. 🙂 They are SO incredibly good. Even my dairy-eating friends can’t tell the difference!

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons golden flax meal

3 Tablespoons water

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt (optional)

1 ¾ sticks of vegan butter or margarine, room temperature
1 ½ cups organic sugar

2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Prepare your flax gel mixture

Preheat your oven to 350F (177C). In a small bowl whisk together the flax meal and the water.

*I buy whole flax, it keeps longer. It can then be ground up in a coffee grinder, or I have my handy, dandy Nutribullet!

Allow it to sit for 10 minutes so the mixture thickens. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2) Whisk together the dry ingredients

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt until well incorporated. Set aside.

3) Cream the Vegan Butter and other ingredients

In another medium mixing bowl cream the Vegan Butter and sugar until well mixed. Beat in the flax meal mixture from step 1 followed by the brown sugar and vanilla extract.

4) Mix the vegan cookie dough

Add the flour mixture from Step 2 and mix until just incorporated. The dough will be thicker than traditional non-vegan cookie dough so don’t be afraid to use your hands to mix it together if you need to. Stir in the chocolate chips.

5) Transfer the cookie dough to the sheet and bake to perfection

Form the dough into 1 ½ inch balls. Place them on the cookie sheet so they’re spaced about 2 to 3 inches apart. Bake for 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through the baking duration. These cookies will not turn golden as they bake so it’s important to pay attention to the baking time. Cookies will store in an air tight container at room temperature for about one week or in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to six months. This recipe makes about 22 to 24 Chewy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Source: http://www.veganbaking.net/cookies/chocolate-chip-cookies#.Uk2B5ha50UU; Hats off to Mattie!