I am missing my oats but it has been SO FLIPPING HOT. Like 100* hot. Oats just aren’t going to happen. I haven’t felt like overnight oats too much either.

I love egg sandwiches. LOVE. And sometimes I microwave an egg. But rarely. However, today, I didn’t want to dirty a pan or turn the oven on.

So I dirtied the Vita-Mix instead.

And stuffed it with blueberries, strawberries, Amazing Grass GreenSuperfood, chia seeds, plain yogurt, ice and coconut milk.

Toasted + buttered with s+p.

I’ve been working hard at my to-do list. I swear it just keeps growing. We have guests coming in on Wednesday and staying for a week. I’m trying to get ahead and prepare a few posts ahead of time as I won’t be home nearly as much while they’re here! So, who’s coming? The lovely Eric + Kelsey [friends from Charlotte] of course!! They were here back in January and Kelsey and I hosted a Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24. So much fun! We’re looking forward to getting in some bouldering + exploring while they’re here.

Speaking of bouldering, we had a quick trip to the rock gym today. Chris + I have gotten really weak over the past 2 months. With a trip or two, a pulled quad, and a busy schedule, we just haven’t gotten there enough. It’s insane how much strength you lose in such a short amount of time.

I was pretty excited when I completed a problem that I couldn’t get last time though. Always a good feeling!

1/4 of the way up

3/4 of the way up

got it!

When we got home, I made my way to the kitchen to prepare veggie burgers for a get together with our friends Sarah + Nick. Sarah has popped up on the blog a few times. She is a good friend from Ohio State, that just moved out here a few months ago.

She asked if I could whip up some veggie burgers! Sure thing!

I’ve made Emily’s black bean burgers a few times, as well as Angela’s In a Jiffy Spelt Burgers. I LOVE both recipes but wanted something a little different. I had a little fun with the In a Jiffy recipe.

Instead of peppers + spinach, I added a zucchini. I made a few other changes as well to put an Italian flavored spin on things.

I was really excited with how they turned out!

Zesty Italian Veggie Burgers [adapted from In a Jiffy Veggie Spelt Burgers]

Yields: 8 large burgers

2c cooked chickpeas [drained + rinsed]
2 sm/med carrots, chopped
1 small onion
2 large garlic cloves
2T olive oil
1 small zucchini [about 2” diameter]
2t dried oregano
2t dried basil
1/2t sea salt
fresh ground pepper
1/2c sunflower seeds
1/4c pepitas
2T chia seeds
1-1.5c spelt flour [or whole wheat]

Preheat oven to 375* and line a pan with parchment or grease pan.
In a food processor, combine all ingredients, except for the seeds + flour. Process, fairly smooth. No large chunks. I had to scrape the bowl down quite a bit. [I use an 11c food processor and this was about the max it would take. If you have a smaller, you could 1/2 the recipe or make it in 2 batches.]
Empty mixture into a bowl and stir in seeds and 1c of flour, until well blended. The mixture will be fairly wet, but you should be able to form a ball and flatten into a patty without it falling apart. The consistency is more moist than cookie batter. If it’s not holding together add more flour.
Bake for 15min, flip and bake another 10-15min.
Done! Or, you can grill them over medium heat for 5min per side. Gives them a nice crust without drying them out!

They’re perfect out of the oven, but I like to throw them on the grill.

We headed to Nick + Sarah’s place, which is awesome. It’s really open and BRIGHT and I love the decor. I can’t wait to OWN a place, so we can finally settle in. That won’t be happening for awhile though!

So nice to have another good friend in Colorado!

It cooled down enough to eat outside.

Sarah made an awesome salad with strawberries, mandarin oranges, pecans + feta. YUM.

She also made a delicious couscous salad. She said the recipe was from a recent Real Simple. It has couscous, chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, mint, lemon, and a few other things. The mint sounded like an odd addition but I really enjoyed this!!

As soon as I thought of the Italian flared veggie burgers, I also thought of a few fun toppings.

tomaters + basil

Also…melted, fresh mozzerela + pasta sauce

this.was.so.good. !!!!! Nick + Sarah both really liked them :) Chris + I did too. I’m excited to have another veggie burger recipe! The toppings were excellent…mmmm Love fresh mozz!