Easy Veggie Patties

I love the simplicity of true health and wellness. It's not complicated. Eating real food, making sure it's mostly plant based, drinking lots of clean water, moving your body daily with exercise, and most of all staying in constant communication with God is what it comes down to in essence. 

In order to help myself keep things simple in our fast paced society while still trying to eat real food, I think it's super important to get into a routine of having certain foods prepared on a regular basis so you can easily grab them. For me this definitely includes organic brown rice, quinoa, and beans of some sort. These are integral to most of my meals. I usually use some type of bean each week and either brown rice or quinoa. Keeping veggies prepared is also really helpful; having them quickly cleaned and cut if I need to rush out the door is a huge bonus.

I love a good veggie patty. I refuse to call it a burger because truly a burger is made with meat of some kind. I'm not opposed to anyone eating a burger, just do yourself a favor and make it at home so you'll know what you're eating. I'm not a meat eater per say, but it's totally fine if you like it. Consuming unidentified objects that pretend to be food just doesn't appeal to me though...call me crazy! 

Veggie patties are delicious, versatile, and when made right should be fairly painless and easy. I adore them because you can make them with awesome textures and very savory. The sky is the limit and nutrition wise you can pack them with wholesome yummy goodness!

My favorite base for a good veggie patty is some type of bean, brown rice or quinoa, and eggs. After that add whatever you want to include. Spices and veggies whether sautéed a little bit or raw give the variety. It's a fantastic way to use up leftovers!

You can eat these on a bun if you want. I'm gluten free (GF) and choose not to mess with replacing what I used to eat before with GF versions of everything. Somethings I'm happy to live without, buns being one of them. Occasionally, I'll bake a loaf of GF bread. I prefer to eat mine on a large lettuce leaf, broken up on top of a salad, or just beside some veggies.

After you see how easy this is you might be making them all of the time. Kids will love these! Throw some homemade organic ketchup on it and your golden with your kiddo for sure! Feel free to double or triple the recipe. I've not frozen these, but I think they'd do fine.

Recipe yields about 3 patties.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Organic Cooked Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

1/2 Cup Organic Cooked Short Grain Brown Rice

1 Large Farm Fresh Egg

Small Handful of Organic Kale, chopped

1 Large Garlic Clove, minced

1/4 of a Purple Onion, chopped

1 Tsp Celtic Sea Salt

1/4 Tsp Fresh Black Pepper

1 Tsp Organic Ground Tumeric

1-2 Tbsp Organic Unrefined Coconut Oil (for sautéing on the stove)

Directions:

Add the brown rice and chickpeas to the bowl. You can totally blend or food process this part if you want to do so or use a masher like I did.

Mash the rice and chickpeas fairly well.   Some chunks are okay and welcome.

If you use your food processor for mixing then it's simple to toss in the egg, chickpeas, and rice; you can throw the veggies right in there with them or for more texture take the mixture out of the food processor, put it back in the bowl, and then add the veggies.

Next I put the egg and veggies in the bowl.

Mix it well with salt, pepper, and turmeric.

 

Form into patties and brown each side in the coconut oil in a skillet.

Then serve it up however you want! I love these with my homemade mustard and avocado!

Get creative and make this your own! I'll share another veggie pattie recipe soon. Be blessed, be healthy, and be a good steward.

Vegan Soy Free Mayo

Thought I'd share a quick little recipe I found for a great mayo substitute if you can't do eggs, don't want all that nasty soybean oil, or want deviled eggs and think all that egg between the mayo and eggs themselves is over kill. Whatever your reason, I think you will enjoy it. Use it in any recipe calling for mayonnaise.

The original recipe can be found in the Nourishing Friends Cookbook authored by Leanne Vogel. I keep these ingredients in my pantry on a regular basis, so it was easy to whip up a batch quickly. 

I think you could easily substitute the cashews for macadamia nuts and the raw apple cider vinegar for raw coconut vinegar, and hemp oil for the olive oil, if you wanted. It's a very nourishing recipe with the ingredients as is truth be told.

Coconut milk and oil are full of health benefits! The oil contains 3 anti microbial and antibacterial medium chain fatty acids. They are all a super boost to the immune system naturally. One of the acids in particular is called monolauric acid. In the body it is converted into a compound called monolaurin. Our bodies need utilize element to stay healthy. Make a note it is ONLY in organic unrefined virgin coconut oil. The only other food that contains monolauric acid is human breast milk. (This is one reason breast feeding  is so important.) The oil is in the milk. The milk is a blend of the flesh and water. It's packed with vitamins B, C, E, and many minerals like magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus.

Cashews contain healthy monounsaturated fat, and are high in antioxidants, special vitamins,that help deter cancer cells from forming. They are rich in magnesium, which is an integral mineral in our bodies it regulates nerve and muscle tone, controls how much calcium we receive, reduces high blood pressure, helps with going and staying asleep, and relaxes muscles. I get my cashews from Trader Joes or Nuts.com.

The recipe originally just calls for sea salt. Beware of that term. All salt is from the sea, so technically any salt can say, "sea salt." I specifically noted Celtic sea salt. Another acceptable salt would be Himalayan (pink salt). Celtic sea salt is from the coast of France. It has not been bleached or dyed white like table salt, all of the natural minerals are still in tact (over 75) like sodium, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and more. It also does not contain any scary anti-caking agents. I don't know about you, but I just want to eat salt.

Ahhh the wonders of turmeric, such an incredible little root! Used in Ayurvedic medicine for years, here in the USA we are finally waking up to its power. Turmeric is a deep yellow/orange root, first heard used widely in India, has wonderful immune health properties as well as a natural anti-inflammatory. I throw it in whatever I can.

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is a super source of healthy omega 9. It has some omega 3's, but not much. Our bodies naturally make the fatty acid omega 9, so take it easy. It a healthy fat for the heart. Make sure to choose a true EVOO. Look for ones in dark glass bottles, with deep rich yellow/green hues, and a harvest date on the back. Many olive oils on the shelves in today's markets are not pure even if they say so on the label. California's olive oil standards are very high, so one from CA is a safe bet.

I actually drink a little raw "unpasteurized" apple cider vinegar (ACV) everyday in my water. It's great for digestion, regulates the pH in the body, burns fat, and helps our immune system function well. I like the Braggs brand. ONLY RAW ACV has the health benefits. 

Recipe:

1/2 Cup Organic Whole Coconut Milk

4 Tbsp Coconut Oil

1/4 Cup Raw Cashews (soaked for at least 20 minutes in filtered water in a glass jar or bowl)

1/2 Tsp Celtic Sea Salt

1/4 Tsp Organic Ground Turmeric

2 Tbsp EVOO

3 Tbsp Raw ACV

Directions:

Put everything in a food processor or blender.

Process really well until creamy.

That's pretty much it. Then put it into a glass jar or Pyrex type dish. It should keep for a few weeks in the fridge. Enjoy!

After being refrigerated the oil balls up a little bit and looks grainy. That's perfectly fine and natural. 

Homemade Elderberry Slippery Elm Syrup

Loving this fall weather, except for the gray days. Summer time is my absolute favorite season though. I love the hot sun beating down on me while I'm hiking on trails or walking on the beach. So since we have now walked into the holiday season immune defenses are going to be down because of all of the sugar and not so great dietary choices. This time of year is so tempting. If you'd like to skip cold and flu season all together, check out my post here. To keep a little insurance so to speak in our back pockets, I thought it would be great to show you how to make a kid friendly medicinal syrup to administer daily or weekly to boost your family's immune systems.

So colds and flues are viral. Viruses are not the same as bacteria. Viruses cannot replicate with a host cell, therefore they are not considered living organisms. Bacteria on the other are able to exisit and thrive without a host. Knowing the type of infection you have is key to treating it. Regardless, both types of infections can really take our bodies into an unnecessary tail spin...not fun! To keep myself and my children healthy I utilized some of God's finest from the outdoors and made a immune system boosting syrup. This is appropriate for age 1year and older. It does contain honey, so do not give it to a baby under a year of age. There is a particular bacteria, C.Botulinum that can cause death in infants.

Ingredients & Benefits

(1/2 Cup) Dried Black Elderberries: immune boosting, helps ward off viruses

(1/4 Cup) Slippery Elm Bark: soothing for sore throats, fights infection

(1/4 Cup) Ginger Root: anti-inflammatory, immune booster, mucous solvent

(3) Ceylon Cinnamon Sticks: anti-inflammatory, warming to the body, anti-bacterial

(1 Cup) Raw Local Honey: anti-bacterial

Here is how to make the syrup:

Mince the ginger root.

Then measure 3 cups of filtered water and put it into the pot.

Then put the elderberries, ginger, cinnamon, and slippery elm bark, into the pot.

Simmer on low heat for 1 hour. Next you will turn off the heat and use a mesh strainer to strain the herbs from the liquid. Add your honey. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator.

Servings:

Adults: 1 Tbsp

Children under 12: 1 Tsp

Children under 4: 1/2 Tsp

You can use one serving daily for immunity support or take 3 servings at the onset of illness to fight an infection. Store in the fridge for 2 months.

Please give me a heads up if you make this for yourself or your family. Be healthy, be blessed, and be a good steward!

Gluten Free Donuts!!!

Oh my goodness, need I say more? It's a dream come true right....gluten free and donut to be in the same sentence. Okay, so it's not exactly Krispy Kreme, but they are sweet enough and have a hole in the middle....score! These are even better because dare I say, they are actually good for you!

These delectable yummies are made with coconut flour. It's loaded with awesome fiber, healthy fat, and vitamins! Really, while they do contain some healthier sugar, you could almost serve these to the kids for breakfast and really not give yourself a guilt trip.

Ingredients:

Donuts

1/2 Cup Organic Unrefined Coconut Oil

1/4 Cup Organic Coconut Sugar 

1/4 Cup Organic Maple Syrup

1/2 Tbsp Organic Ceylon Cinnamon

6 Farm Fresh Free Range Eggs

2 Tsp Organic Pure Vanilla Extract

3/4 Cup Organic Coconut Flour

3/4 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tsp Celtic Sea Salt

Chocolate Topping

One 365 Whole Trade Dark Chocolate Bar

1 Tbsp Organic Unrefined Coconut Oil

Directions:

I used a Pampered Chef fluted mini bundt stoneware pan. Go ahead and grease it with coconut oil ahead of time. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

You can use a blender or food processor. I opted for the food processor. Go ahead and add your eggs, coconut oil, coconut sugar, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Process them well.

Place a stainless steel mesh strainer over the open top of the processor bowl. In the strainer add the flour, salt, and baking soda to sift. Shake and sift the mix. Whatever doesn't sift through, dump into the processor bowl. Process it well.

Pour into greased wells of donut pan or fluted mini bundt pan. If you use the Pampered Chef fluted mini bundt pan it will take 30 minutes to bake. Using smaller donut pans? Cut the bake time in half.

While baking, break up the chocolate bar into a small pot. Add the coconut oil. Don't do anything with this yet. Once the donuts come out of the oven, put the pot with the chocolate on the stove. 

Slowly melt the chocolate. Then drizzle it over top of the donuts. 

I realize mine do not look super pretty. Perhaps you are an expert drizzler, I am not :) That's okay, they still taste fabulous! Put them in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Then take them out and enjoy them! Please let me know if you try them with a comment on my blog. Be healthy, be blessed, and be a good steward!