This is the first veggie burger recipe I would actually consider eating for breakfast.  Especially when topped with the lemon ginger yogurt sauce you’ll see below.

Crockpot chickpeas!

Veggie burgers can sometimes be a little tricky to get the hang of.  Often times, there are problems with the mixture holding together, or being too soft after cooking.

These seemed about as full proof as you can get!  Not too many ingredients, so not much can go wrong.  I always try to leave my veggie burger mixtures a bit on the textured side.  Gives them much better chew!  No one wants a mushy, doughy veggie burger.

Below is the mixture before adding the ground oats.

My best textured veggie burger to date!  Although I’m still quite fond of The Burger.

Enjoy wrapped in lettuce, with a few slices of apple.  On a bun with melted cheese + ketchup.  Crumbled on a salad.  Or.

However you choose.

Apple Sage Chickpea Burgers [yields 9 small, 2-3” patties]

• 1.5c chickpeas
• 1/4c onion, chopped
• 1/2c apple, grated
• 1.5T sage, finely chopped
• 1/2c ground oats
• 1/2t garlic, minced
• 1/2t salt
• 1T oil + 1-2T for cooking
• 3T sunflower seeds
• pinch of black pepper

1. Rinse + drain the chickpeas.
2. Grind the oats, about half way to flour in a blender, food processor, coffee grinder, etc.  Measure out 1/2c and set aside.
3. After grating the apple, squeeze between a few paper towels or a kitchen towel to absorb some of the moisture.  Measure a loosely packed half cup.
4. Add the chopped onion + garlic to your food processor and pulse a few times.
5. Add the chickpeas, apple, sage, salt, oil + black pepper.
6. Process until everything is combined.  About 5-10 seconds.  Refer to photograph #2.
7. Add in the ground oats and pulse around until the mixture holds together.  Avoid over processing, so the burgers have a nice texture.
8. Test by forming a ball and pressing it into a patty.  If it’s not holding together, pulse in 1-2T more oats, until it holds.
9. Stir in the sunflower seeds.
10. Heat pan over medium and add 1-2T oil.  Coconut oil works really well for this.
11. Form patties and cook on each side for about 4-6min until golden brown.

tips/substitutions: You may be able to add a flour instead of partially ground oats, but the texture will differ slightly.  I would start by adding 1/3c and go from there.

Lemon Ginger Yogurt Sauce

• 1/2c plain Greek yogurt
• 1t honey
• 1t lemon juice
• 1/2t minced ginger
• 1/2t lemon zest

1. Mix together and use as a topping.

I scarfed these down with side of cottage cheese scrambled eggs?  Major egg excitement over here.  Our local non-chain pet store sells fresh eggs!  The owners raise chickens and sell the eggs for the amazing price of $3!  And, they beat out every other farm fresh egg to date!  I’ve never seen such a golden yellow/orange color and the yolk sits about one inch high!  Even after adding cottage cheese, these scrambled eggs were bright yellow.

Breakfast [lunch or dinner] is served!

The sauce adds a nice tangy bite.  Made these today and they’re already 100% polished off.

This is another recipe, I highly recommend doubling.  Freeze one whole batch, by tightly wrapping each [cooled] burger in saran wrap, then in a sealed freezer bag.  Defrost the night before in the fridge.  Super quick and easy to heat back up and take to work in the morning, topped with an egg on a toasted bun, or lettuce wrap style.

I’m missing those Field Roast sausages less + less.

Now back to being wrapped up in a blanket, on the couch, with a box of tissues, sipping tea, and eating popcorn. 

Ashley

I found the latest + greatest yogurt invention at Whole Foods the other day. 

Has anyone seen this???  I have been waiting for an almond-based yogurt product!  It’s finally here!!  There were 3 different flavors of Amande at Whole Foods.  I’m finding it crazy right now that I cannot pull up any sort of website or online information for this company!!  Has anyone found anything?  I can just find a few reviews.  Very odd!

The yogurt has live cultures, 2g fiber, 6g fat, 160 calories, 14g sugars, and 3g protein. 

So, how did it taste?  It had an excellent almond and cherry flavor.  The cherry wasn’t overpowering and the sweetness was perfect.  Once stirring completely, I enjoyed the texture.  It’s definitely different than typical yogurt.  It was very light and smooth.  It’s wasn’t runny at all, like I expected.  At first bite, before stirring, I would say it was a little gummy or slippery in texture…if that makes sense.  While it’s ingredient list is short, it does include things like rice starch, locust bean gum, and a few others I can’t remember.  However, after stirring and taking a few bites, I loved it.

I’ve never had soy yogurt and am not sure what the nutritional profile is, but in comparison to coconut yogurt, I like it more.  You could mix in a million different things, like flax + chia seeds, to bump up the protein as well.  I’m anxious to hear if any of you have tried this and what your thoughts are.  This definitely won’t be an everyday purchase for me, but once in awhile, sure!  Actually, I think I want to try making this at home!

Time to get back to you know where!!! [the house and/or Home Depot + Lowes]

Ashley

I made a delicious, quick and refreshing breakfast.

I’ve been eating Plain Wallaby Organic [my favorite brand of non-Greek yogurt] instead of Greek yogurt recently.  Here’s why:

• MUCH cheaper $3 for 32oz as opposed to $5 for 16oz
• Fat + Organic – Any of the organic Greek yogurts seem to all be fat free.  I like fat in my yogurt!
• Nutrition is somewhat similar 
• 1c Wallaby Plain – 140 cals : 11g protein : 4g fat : 9g sugar
• 1c Oikos Plain – 130 cals : 23g protein : 0g fat : 9g sugar

So the protein is WAY higher in the Greek, but I get enough protein from other sources.  For now, I’m sticking with the non-Greek!

This was about 1c of yogurt, a bunch of fruit, Love Grown Foods granola, a drizzle of honey, and a toasted Ezekiel sprouted grains English muffin with melty pnut butter smothered on top.

Melty pnut butter on a bagel or English muffin is one of the best things everrrrr.

Touch of sweetness from the fruit + honey.  I found a great deal on organic strawbs + bluebs at WF the other day.

Once I got to work, it turned into one of those days.  My legs were in slow-mo from my bike ride the day before, and I think I left my brain in bed.

First.  This happened.  I was going to get some sauce for the turkey meatloaf and was moving a different container of sauce for an Indian dish.  The lid was not on correctly so I dropped it when I picked it up.  This drawing below is not an exaggeration.  It’s exactly what happened.

ALL OVERRRRRR.

I also dropped a container full of water and these radish flower garnishes all over the prepared foods area. 

THEN, I burnt my hand.  Not too bad, but no burn is fun.  This is not typical for me!  I dropped 2 other things, but can’t even remember what.  I’ve blocked it out of my memory.

I still had yellow saucy goo all over me + my hat.

I redeemed myself when I came home, with this dish.  It’s what I made for our friends’ going away party.  I would have to say, it turned out delicious.  The texture was amazing.

Summery Quinoa Millet Casserole [adapted from 101 Cookbook’s, Heather’s Quinoa]

[Serves ~10]

• 1c white quinoa + 1c black quinoa + 1c millet – rinsed + drained
• 4c water [for the quinoa] + 3c water [for the millet]
• 2T olive oil
• 1/2c pepitas [pumpkin seeds]
• 3c kale – washed, de-stemmed + chopped
• 1pint cherry/grape tomatoes
• 1/2T olive oil
• 1t sucanat [or other sugar]
• 1/4t salt
• 1 avocado
• 1.5c frozen corn
• 1/2 – 3/4c raw vegan pesto
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• black pepper
• 1/2-1t fine grain sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350*.  Slice cherry tomatoes in 1/2 and put on a baking sheet.
2. Toss with olive oil, sucanat [or other sugar] and salt.
3. Bake for ~45min, tossing once after 25min.
4. Heat a large pot over medium heat with 1T olive oil.
5. Add in rinsed quinoa + millet.  Stir for about 2min to bring out nutty flavor.
6. Add in all water. *see note below
7. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20+ min until all water is absorbed.  [It took longer than normal with such a large quantity.] 
8. Fluff with a fork.
9. In a small pan over med-low heat, toast pepitas, stirring frequently until just browned.  ~5min.
10. In a large sauté pan heat 1T olive oil over med-high heat.
11. Add in garlic + onion, stirring for ~2min.
12. Add in quinoa + frozen corn.  Stir.
13. Add in chopped kale and cook for ~3min, until kale is slightly wilted.
14. Take off heat.  Gently stir in pesto, pepitas, and tomatoes.
15. Salt + pepper to taste.
16. Top with 1 diced avocado.

*You can definitely use all quinoa in this but the millet gave it an creamy + thick texture.  There is no difference in water amount or cook time between black + white quinoa.  I only got the black quinoa for the color.  Millet has a similar cook time to quinoa, so it worked fine cooking them together.  You can sub out any grain you wish in this dish.

**I meant to also toss in 1 can of rinsed garbanzo beans for a little more protein but forget.  I think it would be a great addition.

***Feel free to sub in a store bought pesto or a non-vegan version.  If it’s an oily pesto, you might not need as much.

****Also, I made the quinoa + roasted the tomatoes the day before to save time.  It just took a little longer to heat the quinoa up in the pan.  I also threw it in the oven [on a low heat] to keep it warm when I got to the party.

I absolutely LOVED the texture of this.  Very creamy but a nice crunch from the pepitas.  The flavor of the pesto and the sweetness of the tomatoes was awesome too. 

The roasted tomatoes should look like this when they’re done.  I use parchment paper for easy cleanup.

I was exhausted from work and then racing home to shower + finish making this dish but it was worth it!  The party was so much fun.

The bro-in-law.  Do you see me?

One of our friends has a moped/bike thing.  The boys thought it was a good idea to play with it in the alley.  I was thrilled…

So was Jen.  Jen is our friend that’s moving.  Very sad!!  She and her boyfriend Jay are off to DC.  We’ll definitely miss them!!

Kurtz tried to jump on the bike.  What happened after this photo was not pretty.  He was okay, but the bike took quite the hit.

Ann [Kurtz’s g/f] was also less than pleased.

Jen has a great style and always has the best accessories. 

Ugh.  The husband. 

At least he had a helmet on?

Hovan!!

Do you see the wet spot on the neckline of my dress?  I dropped a bunch of watermelon all over the place.  Yup, fail #789 of the day.

<3

We had an awesome cookout with our friends and the quinoa dish went over really well.  Then we stopped at a bunch of Jen + Jay’s favorite bars.  It was a good night!!  We got home late and I was not feeling blogging at 2am. 

When I woke up, I found vomit on my yoga mat.

I promise it was not from me or the husband. 

Which dog is guilty?  I’m guessing the brown one.

I was slightly dehydrated from last night but this kale green monster kicked whatever small hangover I had to the curb.  It rocked.  

Kickin’ Kale Pnut Butter Banana Green Monster

• 2c washed + de-stemmed kale
• 1c ice
• ~1/2c milk of choice
• 1/2c plain yogurt
• 1-2T pnut butter
• 1 banana
• 6 strawberries
• 1/2t cinnamon
• 1T chia seeds

Blend awaaaay!! 

I got a great tip from a reader for blending Green Monsters.  If you don’t have a blender that pummels through kale or spinach, try this! 

1. Blend/puree kale + milk/liquid and then add in all other ingredients and blend again until smooth.

We’re off to Ft. Collins today to shop around for a house to rent!

Hope you all have a lovely Sunday!!

Ashley