Spicy Black Bean Burgers, vegan

If you have read my blog, or if you know me in person, you are probably aware that I am battling hypertension (high blood pressure) and I have also moved towards a Meatless Monday meal plan. Although honestly the Meatless Monday is more like a Roving Veggie Day as it's not always on Monday. But at least one day a week, my diet is plant based, though I do still include dairy usually. 

Anyway, the doc said maybe 30% of my blood pressure issue is from my lifestyle--diet, exercise and stress namely. So I am attacking (or at least attempting) those head on. I already don't use salt when cooking, but I've been buying more prepared and processed foods lately, especially my veggie burgers. While the Morning Star Spicy Black Bean Burger is my fave and is loaded with protein, it also has 330 mg of sodium. So this week, I decided to make my own spicy black bean burgers with a mind for getting that sodium content in half (so 165 mg). It is definitely not under 165 mg, I think it is hovering near 200-250. Still not great, but better! And I think next time I'm going to leave out the soy sauce entirely and see what it tastes like. That would bring it down to less than 100 mg of sodium per burger! (this is me doing my math, certainly not certified or whatever. I'll do the breakdown shortly). Not to mention, they were so delicious, with ZERO preservatives, using REAL and FRESH produce (for the most part), and as an added bonus--they are kid approved! 

Read the labels.
Small changes add up!

I'll post the recipe but I want to be clear that I did NOT make this
recipe up, I got it from the following blog: The Savory Vegan (that link takes you directly to the recipe, I'll post my version below including modifications I did and will do next time). bon apetit!

Ingredients

1/2 yellow onion roughly chopped
4-6 cloves garlic roughly chopped
15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed*
1 cup quick cook oats
1/2 cup bread crumbs*
1-2 jalapenos diced
1/2 cup corn
2 tbsp spicy brown mustard
1 tbsp sriracha
1 tbsp cumin
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari
1 tbsp chili powder
pinch of salt and pepper plus more for topping*
6 burger buns*
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS: lettuce tomato, onion, spinach, jalapeños, banana peppers, BBQ sauce, vegan ranch, etc.

* on the advice of a friend, I dried out the beans a little on low heat (225) in the oven. Another friend stopped over and I forgot the beans so they got too dry. Next time I'll set the time for maybe 10 minutes. I had to add more water back in. 

I used panko instead of bread crumbs as they're lower in both sodium and carbs

We don't eat burgers with buns, again sodium and carbs plus it takes away from the flavor in my opinion. 

I don't salt anything I cook. 

Step 1:

I saute'ed the onions and garlic in water, not butter (as per the recipe), I think next time I'll add some EVOO instead, the burger lacked any fat and EVOO is a "healthy" fat anyway. 

Step 1: 

Meanwhile mash up the beans (I think I'll mash them a little more next time). 

Step 3: 

Mix remaining ingredients in another bowl well (I think I'll give the oats a whirl in the blender next time for a smoother texture that holds together better). 

Step 4: 

Blend the onions/garlic in a blender. 

Step 5: 

Mix ALL ingredients together. 

Step 6: 

Pat out, the recipe says you can get six, but I got seven. My son and I ended up eating 1.5 each, topped with avocado slices and a side fruit salad. This filled us up thoroughly, but not so much we didn't have time for ice cream a little later, of course! 

PSA: Perfect Sausage Announcement

So I feel a little like "Hints from Heloise" on this one (I loved reading her column, am I alone in this?) but...

I LOVE sausage, but hate slicing it. I have tried a serrated knife, regular knife, sawing it, slicing it and nothing seemed to work UNTIL I discovered a secret! 

One evening I took my sausage out of the freezer, placing it in the refrigerator so it'd be thawed in the morning (we order our pork and beef from a local family that raises them as organically/naturally as possible). The next morning it wasn't totally thawed but I went ahead and sliced it. This partially frozen sausage, still in it's plastic wrapping/packaging, combined with a gently serrated knife made PERFECT slices of sausage and it didn't get all mashed like normal. 

So now, if I have sausage already thawed out (as I did this morning, having to use store-bought sausage as we're out of our locally sourced sausage. Sad face.), I pop it into the freezer for about 30 minutes before I am ready to cook it. This gives it just enough time for the fats to slightly freeze, allowing for perfectly sliced sausage patties every time! I go ahead and slice the entire package at this optimum slight-frozen-state. Because they are not frozen solid, the cooking time is about the same except with this uniformity they all cook evenly! 

This has been a sausage-for-breakfast game changer for me and I hope you find it helpful, too. Bon apetit ! 

Quinoa for Two

So often I hear "I can't cook homemade meals for just the two of us" or "just me" or whatever reason keeps people out of the kitchen cooking real food from real ingredients. And it's all rubbish excuses! here is how I make a small batch of quinoa just for my son and me (it's actually just for me, he doesn't like it, but it was my original recipe so now it serves me dinner and two lunches):

1 C Chicken broth (or whatever broth you have)
1/2 C quinoa
1 clove garlic
juice from half a lemon

Bring broth to a boil.
Reduce to low.
Add quinoa.
Add lemon and garlic (minced/grated/finely chopped)

Simmer 10-15 minutes, covered, until broth is absorbed.

You can eat it as is (the chicken broth, garlic and lemon juice are delish on its own), or you can jazz it up a little. Here are links to previous quinoa recipes posted: Quinoa Salad and Friend Quinoa.

That's it. Makes a small batch for a small family. Real food. Real ingredients. Real love.