“Burger” in a bowl

A burger doesn’t always need to go in a bun. A burger can be eaten on a salad, on a pile of grains or just alongside some steam veggies. When I refer to “burger” here, I am talking about an all natural veggie burger made from whole food ingredients. See Recipe Below!

If I were to put my burger on bread, it would be bread made from either spelt, kamut or sprouted grains. Companies such as ShaSha, Little Stream and Grainsfields make excellent breads that are easy to digest, high in protein, fiber and taste delicious!

But in this particular case, I have deiced to put my “burger” in a bowl. Not just in a bare bowl all on its own, but a bowl filled with quinoa, steamed green veggies (broccoli and snow peas from my garden), steamed sweet potatoes and then topped with tahini and tamari toasted almonds. Wow what a bowl! It was a random occurrence of ingredients, but that is the best way to make a meal – especially a vegan one. You can get as creative as you want and just throw a whole bunch of things together and you have yourself a whole foods, balanced meal. Not only is this meal colourful and full of texture but there is also an amazing amount of calcium, protein, fiber, beta carotene, b vitamins, minerals etc… all jammed packed into one little bowl.

Making a homemade veggies burger is also a great way to get in some healthy nutrition and fulfill that urge to eat something that is burger like and has a “meaty” or rich texture. By meaty, I mean (hearty/grainy) so in this case you can use grains, beans, root veggies, nuts and seeds and not even have to go the length of using a faux meat or soy based substitute to get that “patti or juicy burger” option. There are much more naturals options!

So the next time you want to get a little creative and make a burger and throw it in a bowl – make sure to fill both the burger and the bowl up full tasty and nutritious ingredients!

If you have a veggie burger recipe that you would like to share…please leave a comment!

Black Bean Veggie Burger

1 cup black beans, soaked overnight or use 1 can or Eden organic black beans

1 cup sweet potatoes, shredded

1/2 cup almond butter

1/2 cup red onion

1/4 cup spelt flour

2 tablespoons tamari

3 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon cumin

Procedure:

1. Rinse soaked beans, place in a pot with water (cover by 1-2inches). Bring water and beans to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 1-11/2 hours. Remove from water and drain. Or rinse and drain can of organic black beans.
2. Place beans in a bowl and mash. Stir in remaining ingredients.
3. Scoop 1/3 cup of batter at a time to form burger patties.
4. Place burgers on a baking sheet (you may need two)
5. Bake in oven on 350 F for approx 45 minutes.
6. Serve with sprouted buns, a salad or  and enjoy!

Garden of Eatin'

There really is nothing better than produce shopping in your own backyard!

I have always been able to maintain a simple garden consisting of tomatoes, cucumbers, kale and green beans. By maintain, I mean drop the seeds and hope for the best! This year I decided to take it to the next level. Because I have a the farthest thing from a green thumb, I had to hire in help for this task, an organic farmer. He came at the beginning of the season to get my soil turned over with organic goodness and now he comes by to plant things in their proper places – because now I know there is a proper place for every little seedling and they can’t just go anywhere.

I am also learning that there is a timeline involved with everything, and that all things will grow in cycles. I am also learning that little critters, bugs and animals like to feast on my organic buffet in the backyard – I guess it’s because it all just tastes so good! But honestly it’s not fair that they get to dive in before I do – and they usually eat the best parts! But there are ways around this – like building a mesh mini green house to keep the animals away. As for the little critters, cayenne pepper in a water bottle seems to help a bit. However, I am open to more suggestions, if you know of some other ways I can get the bugs off my chard, kale and lettuce – please let me know and leave a comment!!

So far this season I have been seduced with radishes, spinach and some other greens (which I am going to have all season) this includes everything from salad greens to kale, chard, collards, broccoli and arugula. I also have some berry bushes planted that will yield strawberries, blueberries, cranberries and blackberries. In the later part of the summer I will have carrots, beets, fennel onions – I will take more pictures at that time. I also have a beautiful little box of fresh herbs like oregano, lavender, sage, thyme and rosemary.

So if you are considering having your own garden please go through with it, hire some help or at the very least just get some seeds or herb plants and plant them yourself. You can usually get a hold of this stuff at your local farmers market. There is nothing better than walking out to your own “garden of eatin’ and picking your own produce.

Having my own organic garden has made my weekly produce shopping extremely easy. It also provides me with enough veggies for my morning juice – without any worry that I am running out of greens. But the best part is that I get to use some of this wonderful organic and very local produce in my cooking classes. The participants really enjoy this as there is nothing better than eating salad that is picked that same day. If you want to experience this, then you are just going to have to come to a class to find out!

Veggie Delight Salad:

2-3 handfuls fresh arugula, baby greens or spinach
4 radishes, thinly sliced
1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
2 carrots, shredded
1/4 of a beet, shredded
2 tablespoons hemp seeds

Dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil or Vega’s EFA Oil Blend
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2-3 tablespoons agave nectar
1 heaping tablespoon dijon mustard
fresh herbs
salt and pepper to taste

Bring the Rainbow into Your Kitchen!

How does one bring a Rainbow into their kitchen you ask – all you need is a wide variety of colourful fruits and vegetables – and there you have it – a rainbow in your kitchen!

This week’s “Taste the Rainbow” cooking class was themed around the colourful veggies. I couldn’t help but inspire others to learn how to make meals that are bursting full of vibrant colour and of course delicious flavours – as this is how I eat on daily basis.
We made so many colourfully healthy recipes that even a child who believes that the only rainbow in your kitchen comes from a box of lucky charms – would have been impressed!

The good news is that with colourful foods – from nature and not a box – you are not only getting something that is beautiful on your plate – but you are loading your body up full of antioxidants, vitamins and essential minerals. In each colour category: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple – you are providing your body with separate and very different elements of something called phytochemicals. These little guys help to protect us from diseases and keep our immune system strong. So make sure to EAT YOUR COLOURS!

Some highLIGHTS on the menu in last nights class included- mango rice paper wraps, cabbage, carrot, beet slaw, sauteed swiss chard, wild rice with oranges and cranberries and a wild blueberry tart (with a gluten free crust of course!)

So tonight – to keep up with the rainbow theme my good friend came over a for a night of creation. We do this every once in a while – get together and cook up a storm of delicious and of course colourful recipes. Just because it was rainy outside didn’t mean that we had to settle for anything less than a delicious meal – even without the sunshine we brought a rainbow into the kitchen. In fact we even called our meal the “veggie-Q” our version of a typical BBQ – rain or shine the rainbow was on our plates!

Since the slaw salad was such a hit last night – I really wanted to make it again – and what is a “veggie- Q” without a good slaw salad? Of course there had to be burgers and fries thrown into the mix – so we made flax – almond burgers, served in a collard wrap with a pesto made from fresh basil and arugula from my garden, and yam “fries” baked in the oven on a low temp with coconut oil, pumpkin seeds, garlic and oregano (Inspired by Brenden Brazier’s Thrive Diet).
For a sweet and colourful ending to this meal, what better than a bowl of ice cream – yup you got it – vegan creamy goodness made from coconut milk, banana’s and mango and topped with sprouted buckwheat, blueberry compote and cacao nibs – can you say YUM!!!

Once again – I leave it to you to get creative and have fun. There are a whole slew of colourful veggies out there – take advantage of them, have some fun and bring the rainbow into your kitchen this summer with this colourful recipe!

Carrot, Cabbage and Beet Slaw

Ingredients:

1 savoy or nappa cabbage, shredded
2 ½ cups grated beet (approx. 2 beets)
2 cups grated carrots (approx. 4 carrots)
1 fennel (optional)
1 green apple (optional)
5 Radishes (optional)
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1/3- ¼ cup agave syrup
1 ½ Tbs. fresh lemon juice
½ tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. chopped fresh parsley

Procedure:

1. Shred beets and carrots (fennel and apple) using a food processor
2. Chop cabbage into long shreds or shred in food processor.
3. Mix the dressing and toss over cabbage mixture and let it sit and marinate for 1 hour before serving.