Grilling: Black Bean Burgers

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Grilled Bean Burgers: First batch of bean burgers

Grilling is something I enjoy doing when the weather is nice. I’m an outdoor girl, so soaking up the sun while I grill a variety of dishes on the outdoor grill is tops on my list.

In my pre-veggie days, I wasn’t too fond of grilling meat. I did enjoy grilling the sides that accompanied the main meat dishes; asparagus, greens, beans, French fries, root vegetables, etc., Well… you get the idea.

Yesterday, was an incredibly warm day the flavorful veggie sandwiches played the starring role in our afternoon meal but I decided to toss some bean burgers on the grill too. Huge bonus points that some non veggie friends sampled and raved about the bean burgers.

I’ll get around to posting a recipe for these bean burgers. I admit since closing my foodie blog a little over a year ago I’ve gotten out of the habit of measuring whatever I prepare. I’m not one to follow a recipe, so toss in whatever feels ‘right’ at the time.

For the most part, I tend to stay away from the fake meats. Instead I use whole food ingredients that don’t mimic their meat counterparts but taste good anyway! Initially when I attempted to make grilled bean burgers, they would fall apart. Wendy from The Vision Quest of Life mentioned encountering this issue to. In response to her comment I said…

My bean burgers used to fall apart too, it took some tweaking before I had a burger that stayed together on the grill. I tend to chill my bean burger mix at least an hour, but usually overnight, before adding them to the grill. Adding a binding ingredient such as ground flax seeds can help also.

Since following these rules I haven’t had an issue with my vegetarian/vegan burgers crumbling. Why flax seeds? Flax seeds acts a binding agent, so it can be used in place of eggs to bind your ingredients together. Therefore giving you a firm burger that won’t crumble as easily. I’m all out of flax seeds, so didn’t use them in yesterdays grilled bean burgers but they held up their shape throughout the grilling.

Celebrate Life is a new blog. It’s less than a week old. Since that’s the case, I really don’t have a lot of readers; however, I’d urge those that have wondered to my virtual home to check out Wendy’s virtual home too. I’m enjoying reading through her posts. Check out her post on a Summer BBQ Feast. I think it’s great for those looking for veggie friendly BBQ ideas. While you’re there, you might want to read her Why not Dairy post too.

What’s in the Grilled bean burger?

  • Black beans
  • Carrots
  • Green onions
  • Collards
  • Garlic
  • Corn meal
  • Squash
  • Cumin
  • Curry
  • Sea Salt

With the exception of the carrots and some of the green onions, I tossed everything into my food processor and pulsed. The grated carrots and green onions were grated and folded into the mixture.

I would love to say that the grilled bean burgers are still around but they’re gone. No, my daughter and I didn’t eat them all ourselves. I had friends over, remember! Non veggie friends that gobbled them up. There was only one lowly burger left this morning and that burger was chopped up and added to the homemade home fries I prepared this morning.

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Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian, whole food

Vegan: Flavorful Veggie Sandwich

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Veggie sandwich

 

I really love color, and enjoy seeing it displayed in the various cuisines I prepare. Naturally, I was extremely pleased with this colorful vegan sandwich. Although the cooked meals I prepare are usually ready within fifteen minutes there are times when I don’t feel like cooking. In those instances, I’ll choose something such as the veggie sandwich above.

My daughter and I can choose to eat a salad, or wrap the filling into a wrap. Today we decided to make sandwiches and so our wrap of choice was rye bread.

I’ve been vegetarian since 1992 (turned vegan a few years later.) You want to know something? I wasn’t always fond of salads. I chalk it up to the tasteless salads I encountered as a child. It was obvious that no thought was put into them. I was expected to eat them because they were a salad. You’re supposed to eat your veggies, right? Although I ate them, I didn’t enjoy the bland vegetables that were put out before me. Fast forward years later, and now I enjoy my salads and realized that they can be extremely flavorful, imagine that! 😉

What’s in this sandwich?

  • Grated carrots
  • Spinach
  • Romaine lettuce
  • Collard greens
  • Raw sunflower seeds
  • Yellow onion
  • Raisins
  • Black olives
  • homemade mayonnaise

Within the next few days, I’ll come back to this post and include the exact measurements used for creating this salad.

The beauty of salads is that you can make them as simple or complex as you want them to be. This ‘salad on bread’ was bursting with flavor. My daughter enjoyed eating it a lot. I tend to make large batches of these types of salads so we can snack on throughout the day. There are so many different options that can be done with this sandwich, at times I use collard or kale leaves to make this a 100% raw meal. Regardless of what path you choose, it’s still delicious.

I really enjoy the weekends. If the weather is nice, it gives me a chance to hang outside with my daughter for the majority of the day. The sky was overcast for a good portion of the morning, however, the clouds eventually, rolled away to reveal the glorious sun.

Earlier today, I started the grill and grilled some homemade bean burgers. Yes, their vegan and no they didn’t fall apart. I’ll be posting the recipe for those burgers and a few other dishes sometime next week.

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Recipe, Vegan, vegetarian, Vegetarian, whole food

Vegan: Green Energy Smoothie

green-smoothie.05.28.10.jpgAs I’ve already mentioned I’ve been craving a lot of greens lately. Fortunately for myself I have plenty of green vegetables growing in my garden, and so last evening I went out and picked more collards and kale.

Quite a bit of the green veggies were turned into collard and kale chips. I’ll post the recipe in a later post. Kale chips are a tasty (and healthy) snack. It was hard not to put all my greens into my soon to be chip pile, but I managed, and I was able to make a green smoothie.

Green smoothies are something my daughter and I drink daily. The green smoothies I make are delicious and nutritional powerhouses. Yep, they are chock full of vitamins and minerals. Something that not only taste good, but is good for you too. You can’t beat that right? Yes, the smoothies are Vegan. The green smoothies are a much better choice than the many of the empty calorie drinks that are flooding the market.

A few facts about greens
Did you know that ounce for ounce collards have more calcium than milk? Shocking stuff, I know and something you most likely won’t hear too often if you’re listening to mainstream media. According to many of those sources, milk is where it’s at, right?

Importance of Vitamin K
Another powerful vitamin you’ll find in most green leafy veggies is Vitamin K. Chlorophyll is what gives plants their green color, It also provides vitamin K. Many people overlook this amazing vitamin. We really shouldn’t since it plays an extremely important role in calcium circulation and bone formation. There have been numerous studies done that show low levels of vitamin K are linked to low bone density. Don’t forget your vitamin K!

Spinach and Oxalic acid
Ok back to the calcium, it’s true dark greens are an excellent source of calcium. However, there is one dark green that shouldn’t be counted (at least not by itself) on for calcium. Which dark green is that? Spinach. The reason is simple, spinach contains a high amount of oxalic acid. Oxalic acid removes calcium from the blood. When you eat spinach it’s best to pair it with foods that are loaded with vitamin C since this will help cancel out the oxalic acid.

Green Energy Drink

  • 4 cups unsweetened apple juice
  • 1 cup grapes
  • 2 cups kale and collards
  • 1″ ginger root (if you don’t like spicy leave out the ginger)

*If you don’t like your smoothie thick add more apple juice.

Directions

  1. In a blender add all ingredients
  2. Blend until smooth
  3. Drink and enjoy

This is one of the numerous high energy drinks I make throughout the week. It’s all natural, sweet, and it’s good for you. I naturally have a lot of energy but this drink gives me even more.

For those of you who aren’t eating enough vegetables, why not give smoothies a try? Smoothies are a great way to add more vegetables into your diet without the ‘taste’ of the vegetables. Personally, I do like the way vegetables taste however, if you aren’t used to them but would like to add more to your diet, green smoothies are a tasty (and delightfully sneaky) way to accomplish that. Enjoy!

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Gardening, Recipe, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Vegan Cuisine: Sauteed collard greens with tomatoes and red beans

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Vegan: Sauteed collard greens with tomatoes and red beans

As I mentioned in my cravings post, I’ve been craving more greens than normal. This morning I went out into the garden and picked about 4 cups of collard greens.

I have about 3/4 acre of garden, and enjoy eating regular produce during the harvesting seasons.

In the above picture you might not be able to even see the red beans. The tomatoes got in the way. 🙂 I love colorful dishes, and I definitely had that going on with this simple but delicious meal.

I don’t purchase canned beans. I prefer using the dried beans. I soak and cook a large batch of beans at once. In doing this, the beans tend to last me throughout the week. I just put the beans I’m not going to use in my Pyrex glass storage containers (I don’t use plastic storage containers) pop them in the refrigerator or freezer and bring them out when I’m ready to use them.

Did the overabundance of greens satisfy my greens craving? No, I’ll be picking more greens later today (for some green smoothies.) Tomorrow morning, I’m sure I’ll be picking more collards or kale to add to whatever dish I decide to prepare.

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Vegan, vegetarian, Recipe

Cravings: Mango Ginger Fruit Pudding; Raw Vegan

mangoes_05.26.10.jpgThe past several days I’ve been on a green kick (of the vegetable variety) and so you’ll find garden greens sprouting up in a variety of my dishes. I love experimenting in the kitchen. It’s so much fun coming up with a new recipes that’s not only delicious too eat but is healthy too.

A few years ago I created this recipe and published it on my foodie blog. I decided to repost the actual raw vegan recipe here. My daughters been craving mangoes and so I think I’ll be picking up a few from the store and recreating this recipe later this week The first time I made this dish, my daughter gobbled everything. I was able to get about a tablespoon. I guess it was good stuff, right?

Mango Pudding With A Kick

  • 1 medium sized mango – cubed
  • 2 overly ripe bananas
  • 1″ ginger

Directions

  1. Add all ingredients to a food processor
  2. Blend until smooth
  3. Enjoy

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Constant Craving: Green Leafy Vegetables

As I mentioned at the beginning… lately, I’ve been on a ‘greens kick’. Eating greens hasn’t really been an issue for myself, since they’ve always been a part of my lifestyle. At one point, I do remember I wasn’t too fond of kale, however introducing it slowly into dishes I loved gradually changed my taste for them and I grew to enjoy eating them.

Kale, now has a prominent spot in my garden. Perhaps later today I’ll include a green smoothie recipe. It’s healthy and sweet even if a few of the ingredients are greens (kale & collards.) The greens doesn’t alter the yummy goodness of the smoothie and is a welcome addition to the sugary drinks that have no nutritional benefit.

k.d. lang: Constant Craving

I’ve always enjoyed listening to k.d. Lang. She has a beautiful voice. Watching her interviews, she has always come across as extremely approachable and very comfortable with herself. I’ve always liked that. Although their are many songs I enjoy by her, I decided to include one of the first songs I heard by her. Enjoy!

Lyrics
Constant Craving
by kd lang

Even through the darkest phase
Be it thick or thin
Always someone marches brave
Here beneath my skin

Constant craving
Has always been

Maybe a great magnet pulls
All souls towards truth
Or maybe it is life itself
That feeds wisdom
To its youth

Constant craving
Has always been

Craving
Ah ha
Constant craving
Has always been

Constant craving
Has always been
Constant craving
Has always been

Craving
Ah ha
Constant craving
Has always been
Has always been
Has always been
Has always been
Has always been
Has always been

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Vegan, vegetarian, Raw food, Recipes