I have been experimenting with bean burgers for several years now but with great frustration. While I was able to eat everything I came up with the majority of my concoctions were just not “blog worthy.” Coming up with an excellent recipe without using oil and salt was quite a challenge. My burgers either fell apart, were mushy, too dry, lacked taste or a combination of these. Finally, I stumbled across the right mix of ingredients and came up with a really tasty black bean burger!
Place oatmeal in a high speed blender or food processor and blend until a fine powder is formed.
Place pepper, onions, garlic, oat flour, sweet potato, cumin, chili powder, paprika, black pepper, date syrup and hot sauce in a bowl and thoroughly mix.
Add the black beans, smash them slightly with a masher then sir them into the mixture.
Form into patties with your hand or a burger press. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Avocado Butter with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes on Toasted Bun
I found a package of grape tomatoes tucked in the back of my refrigerator that had seen its better days. They were shriveled but not yet moldy. Hubby told me to throw them away. “We don’t waste food Dennis,” I said. So I cut them in half, roasted them in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes, and Oh My God! Sweet like candy.
I also had a few over-ripe avacados that weren’t looking so great either. I pureed them with a tablespoon of unsweetend almond milk and a little black pepper until they got nice and creamy. I spread the avocado over a toasted whole wheat bun then smothered it with the roasted tomatoes. If you’ve never had pureed avocado on warm toast or bun try it. It tastes so buttery. Anyway, this was the birth of my Avocado Butter with Roasted Grape Tomatoes on Toasted Bun creation!
Place on parchment paper or a silicone pad to eliminate the need for oil. 400 degrees for 20 minutes.Over-ripe avocados, grape tomatoes, a little almond milk and a bun. That’s all it takes to make this mouthwatering and super healthy sandwich. The bun is Dave’s Market Killer Organic 21 Whole Grain and Seeds
Many people think an avocado is a vegetable but it is actually a fruit. Botanically speaking, it is a large berry with a single seed. Avocados are an important source of fat among plant based eaters and dense in nutrients. There was a time when avocados got a bad rap due to the fact that 85% of the calories come from fat. A medium sized avocado is packed with 150 calories. Don’t turn an avocado down for this reason though. The fat in an avocado is monounsaturated fat, which is a “good” fat that helps lower bad LDL cholesterol, as long as you eat them in moderation. The recommended serving size is 1/3 of an avocado. Phytosterols found in avocado fat have huge anti-inflammatory benefits. The polyhydroxenated fatty alcohols also found in avocados offer additional anti-inflammatory benefits. Why are anti-inflammatory foods important in the diet? Well diseases like cancer, diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, depression and Alzheimer’s seemed to be linked to chronic inflammation.
Green peas are a member of the legume family and are little vitamin powerhouses. They are packed with vitamins A, B1, B6 and C. One cup of peas is loaded with 50% of the daily requirement for Vitamin K which is needed for blood clotting and bone health. These little green gems are densely packed with protein and fiber and contain zero fat. Concerned about the starch in peas? Don’t be. Peas rank low on the glycemic index list (how carbohydrates affect blood sugar) clocking in at only 50 for 1 cup. So if you are someone who generally says no to peas instead learn to say “more peas please!”
The combination of avocado and peas make this sandwich a robust, healthy and filling lunch idea. Adding peas to a smaller amount of avocado is a great way to lower the fat content.
Ezekiel bread is the only bread used in my household. It is hubby approved which speaks volumes. It is a flourless bread made from whole grains that have been allowed to sprout. Sprouting reduces anti-nutrients which are substances which prevent the absorption of nutrients. There is no added sugar in this bread and it is very low in sodium. All this said it is no wonder it’s a very low glycemic index food clocking in at only 36 for the Ezekiel 4:9 recipe. https://www.foodforlife.com/about_us/ezekiel-49
Zuccini- Chickpea Veggie Burger with Tahini Ranch Dressing.
I have tried making veggie burgers a variety of ways but honestly this recipe could win awards. I cannot completely claim rights to it. I found it in Eating Well magazine. I made a change though. I baked them in the oven as opposed to pan frying as the recipe suggests. I did this to eliminate the need for olive oil making the recipe healthier.
These zucchini chickpea burgers have the perfect blend of ingredients and seasonings which make them super delicious. The burgers are firm, no crumbling up or falling apart yet so juicy and moist. They are also super filling. I honestly could have these every day of the week if it weren’t for hubby saying otherwise.
I eat my burgers on a whole wheat bun for greater nutrition and fiber and add plenty of arugula and other salad greens, tomatoes, sliced zucchini and thin slices of vidalia (sweet) onions. This burger is delicious on its own, but if you prefer a sauce, the tahini ranch dressing works really good. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do.
This recipe yields 2 generous size burgers or 4 smaller ones.
Ingredients
Zucchini – Chickpea Veggie Burger-
1 15 oz can drained chickpeas
2 tbsps tahini
2 tsps miso paste
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp chopped chives
1/2 cup shredded zucchini (squeeze out juice)
1/3 cup oats
2 tbsps water
Arugala and other salad greens, tomato slices, sliced zucchini, vidalia onions
Whole wheat bun
Directions
Puree first 7 ingredients then add zucchini and oats. Form into patties. Place in a baking dish lined with a silicone mat. Bake in oven set at 350 degrees until browned (approximately 30 minutes) flipping halfway.
Ingredients
Tahini Ranch Dressing
2 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp white miso paste
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
Directions
Stir the ingredients together. Slowly add some water until mixture is smooth.
To make my burgers nice and uniform I use an inexpensive plastic burger press that I puchased at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Don’t want to purchase a burger press? No problem. Just use a mason jar lid. It works perfectly every time!
Grill the onion slices by placing in a pre-heated waffle iron sprayed with a little water for about 2 minutes
Make a criss cross slit in both potatoes, wrap in a moistened paper towel and microwave until soft
Place 1 baked potato (skin on) in the waffle iron, close the lid and smash the potato. Cook for 2 minutes, slowly lift the lid and sprinkle chives on top, close lid for another 2 minutes or until crispy. Repeat with the remaining potato.
Whip the avacado, almond milk and dill together on high speed until creamy
Place sliced tomatos, lettuce and grilled onions on one of the potato waffles. Spread some avacado-dill sauce on top. Cover with remaining potato waffle.
Spraying the waffle iron with a little water helps prevent sticking.
A Deep Dive into the Health Benefits
Potatoes often get a bad rap and it’s unfair. Potatoes are an excellent source of fiber especially with the skins on. Fiber helps to keep cholesterol and blood sugar in check. Potatoes are a great source of potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and vitamins B1, B3 and B6. Potatoes also contain antioxidants which play a role in preventing certain cancers and age-related diseases. There are only 130 calories in a baked potato with skin on and they are naturally low in fat.
It’s not potatoes that are bad. It’s the way many people eat them that are. I had lunch with a friend who claimed to be on a “diet” so was choosing a healthy lunch. The “healthy” lunch consisted of a baked potato loaded with bacon bits, butter, chedder cheese and sour cream. So we went from 130 lean calories to approximately 592 high fat calories. I had no words. No words at all. What about deep fried french fried potatoes with ketchup and plenty of salt? What about mashed potatoes with whole milk and butter? What about au graten potatoes with milk, butter and cheddar cheese? What about sour cream potato chips? Again, it’s not the potato that’s bad. It’s the way people eat them that is.
With all that said, you do need to know that potatoes are mostly starch that is broken down into glucose rapidly as they are digested. This means a rapid spike in blood sugar. This is important to know if you have issues controlling blood sugar.
To understand how a complex carbohydrate food like a potato effects blood sugar you would need to know its glycemic index (GI). GI is a scale that ranks foods on a scale of 0 – 100. The higher the GI the faster it raises blood sugar. Low GI foods release sugar slowly into the bloodstream giving it more time to use appropriately for energy.
-High GI foods 70 – 100
– Medium GI foods 55 – 69
– Low GI foods 55 or lower
Potatoes have a high GI of 111. That’s about the same as drinking a can of cola. But the method of preparation changes the index. A baked potato is 110 but a boiled potato is 82. That makes sense when you consider you boil off then drain the starch. But if you choose a sweet potato or yam the GI is down to 64 – a much better deal! But even still it doesn’t mean you can’t ever have white potatoes. It simply means you need to control the amount that you put on your plate.
