January | 2014 | My Foodie Call | Page 4

Monthly Archives: January 2014
- Quinoa Veggie Burgers
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Jan 8th
  Homemade veggie burger, anyone?
  
  Part of the challenge of eating healthy is that you actually have to COOK. Yes, salads are great and all but in order to feel satiated, you need a real meal otherwise that salad is only going to sustain you for about 10 minutes and off to the cupboard you go. Eat real meals. Like this easy veggie burger.
  
  Okay, so I didn’t make the rolls. Making the veggie burger will have to suffice.
  
  Here’s how this recipe unfolds….
  
  I started with my cooked quinoa…
  
  Made up some breadcrumbs. You can buy yours if need be, but get whole wheat!
  
  I pulsed up my veggies, beans and spices in the food processor…
  
  Added my quinoa and bread crumbs….
  
  Transferred it all to a bowl and then to the fridge. It’s not pretty, I know, but stay with me here….
  
  After it’s “chill time” in the fridge, I formed up some patties.
  
  I baked the burgers, popped it on a whole wheat roll and dinner was done.
  
  Shall we dress this burger?
  
  Pickles make the meal, don’t they?
  
  Quinoa Veggie Burger for someone who can open their mouth extra wide.
  
  Quinoa Veggie Burgers
  
  Ingredients:
  - 3 cups cooked quinoa (follow your quinoa package instructions)
  - 1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs (make your own by leaving some bread out to stale, and pulse a few times in your food processor until crumbly)
  - 1-15 ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed
  - 1 large sweet potato, cooked & removed from skin (I did 400 degrees for about 50 minutes)
  - 1/2 onion, chopped
  - 1 red pepper, chopped
  - 2 garlic cloves, minced
  - 1 tsp salt
  - 1 tsp cumin
  - 1 tsp paprika
  - 1/4 tsp chili powder
  Directions:
  - Combine black beans, sweet potato, onion, red pepper, garlic, salt, cumin, paprika, and chili powder in a food processor. Pulse until vegetables are fine chopped and mixed.
  - Add bread crumbs and process until well mixed.
  - Add quinoa and pulse until well mixed.
  - Move mixture to a bowl and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to set.
  - Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
  - Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  - Form the veggie burger mixture into patties and place on the prepped baking sheet.
  - Bake 13 minutes, till burgers are lightly browned on top.
  - Flip burgers and broil on Hi for 10 minutes.
  No meat? No problem.
  Posted in Meatless mealtime | Tagged quinoa, sweet potato
- Cold Snap Soup
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Jan 7th
  So a thought occurred to me today as I was leaving Trader Joe’s. I am frozen, there are wind gusts and the term “cold snap” pops into my head.
  
  What’s with this term. Why is it called a cold snap?
  
  Pretty sure nobody cares, but here is the dictionary.com definition:
  
  A sudden onset of a relatively brief period of cold weather.
  
  My definition?
  
  Weather that rivals a rubber band snapping on your face.
  
  Philosophical I know. :/.
  
  Even so, I was convinced the meal tonight had to be warm, and hearty, but not heavy. There is a difference.
  
  My 10-year-old son had practice right at the dinner hour. Of course. How the heck do people pull off family meals while their kids play sports? Still trying to figure this one out.
  
  In short: The slow cooker. Again.
  
  Warning: This recipe is a semi-cheat soup.
  
  Why? Well it is store-bought, but has a couple of bonus ingredients to bulk it up and add a nutritional punch to the meal.
  
  My stuff. The cream corn helps to bulk up the soup and the addition of nutritional yeast is just to add flakes of awesomeness.
  
  Pile it all in, stir, and set it on warm while you are away at Bball, ballet, or watching Real Housewives…
  
  Add a whole grain baguette and you are good to go.
  
  Cold Snap Soup in the Slow Cooker
  
  Ingredients
  - 2-32 oz Boxes Soup of Choice (I used Trader Joe’s Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper, but this would work with black bean, butternut squash, whatev…)
  - 1 can Cream Style Corn
  - 1 cup Nutritional Yeast (for protein and that “nutritional punch” I mentioned above)
  Cold Snap Soup
  Posted in Salads, Soups, and Sides | Tagged nutritional yeast, soup
- Today is the most depressing day of the year.
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Jan 6th
  
  Did you know that today is supposedly the most depressing day of the year? Google it.
  
  Reasons?
  
  A gajillion.
  
  To summarize, it’s the post-holiday let down, ….first Monday back to work for most…Everyone is trying to recover from massive holiday spending, outside environment is barren and gross…
  Oh, and the weather BLOWS.
  
  I do tread lightly with this last statement. I realize that I could live in other parts of the country that are getting hammered with snow, ice and wind chill factors that would cause me to hibernate until May.
  
  But still. I can see why today and this time of year would just not be cool for many people.
  
  Back to health stuff and the reason for my post.
  
  Do you find that it is easier to eat healthy in the summer? I know I do. Let’s hang in there and bide our time until the rewards of summer are here.
  
  Here are two eating tips for getting through until the “good stuff”.
  
  1) Eat clean, whole foods.
  
  What does this mean?
  
  Shop for foods not in a package.
  
  That do not have an ingredient list.
  
  Like a banana. Or spinach. Or walnuts.
  
  Extra hard to stick with whole foods in the winter months. All you want to do is curl up with a bag of chips and call it a day.
  
  Eat clean, whole foods. Or just be more aware of your shopping cart and how many one ingredient foods you purchase. When you are at the grocery check out, how many packages are in your cart? Become aware. Maybe that could be the initial goal.
  
  2) When you do buy a package make sure you “flip the box.”
  
  Check the back and make sure it has less than 5 ingredients. Make sure you can pronounce those ingredients without contorting your mouth and sounding like an uneducated chemist. And you know those “end of the aisle” sale items at the grocery store? Chances are if it is 10/$10, it is probably not a good choice.
  
  Recap.
  
  Two tips:
  
  1) Eat clean, whole foods.
  
  2) When you can’t, flip the package and shoot for 5 or less ingredients.
  
  And this depressing day, week, month thing?
  
  Temporary.
  
  Onwards and upwards.
  
  Vacations, summertime, and longer, lighter days are coming.
  
  ….And my personal fave, farmer’s markets. Yes-ah!
  
  Posted in Random stuff
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