Beet & Black Bean Burger

By: Genevieve Melzer

Sometimes you just want a hearty meal, like a bowl of pasta or a burger. I enjoy veggie burgers from time to time but a lot of the store bought veggie burgers have cheese and natural flavors in them. A good vegan burger is hard to find. Awhile back I had a delicious beet burger at this burger joint called Eureka, so I tried to recreate it with my own spin.

My partner in crime Elizabeth Beals already wrote about how to roast beets so if you are unfamiliar go back and read her insightful post on beets. After your beets are roasted you will combine them with the beans and other ingredients listed below.
I also created my own “honey mustard” sauce to serve on the burger, using agave instead of honey to make it bee friendly.

This burger is delicious; it has cilantro and onion to add some extra flavors to the beans and beets. This recipe is a true testament that you can be vegan and not miss out on savory flavors.


You will need:

6 beets (3 yellow and 3 red)
1 cup of black beans
½ onion
4 tbsp of fresh cilantro
Olive oil
Salt

Preheat oven for 350 degrees
Cut off ends of beets and cut beets in half, put beets in a casserole dish drizzle with 2 tbsp of olive oil over beets.
Cook for 60 minutes, half way through cover with tin foil. Take beets out and tell cool.
While beets are cooling chop up onion and sauté with 2 teaspoons or olive oil, cook until golden brown, set aside.
Peel skin off of beets and cut into small pieces, place beets in food processor or blender add black beans, onions, cilantro and pinch of salt. Blend/puree for a few minutes; blend until mixture is pureed with some big chunks left in it.
Tip: Wear an apron while making this recipe, beets are very messy and stain clothes.
Cover baking sheet with tin foil, scoop mixture out of blender, scoop 4-6 big scoops into patty form, recipe makes 5 or 6 patties.
Bake for 30 minutes.
While patties are baking, make your Agave Dijon Mustard sauce.
2 tbsp of Dijon mustard
1 tbsp of agave
In a small bowl add mustard and agave and stir together well.
When patties are done serve on a gluten-free bun or bread and garnish with arugula, tomato and agave Dijon mustard sauce.
Serve and enjoy!

This is one of my favorite recipes I have created thus far; hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Baby Steps to becoming healthier!

Homegrown Pumpkins Happy Fall

By: Elizabeth Beals

Baby Steps:

 
  When first beginning this journey into the unfamiliar world of whole foods and cooking from scratch, it might feel a little over whelming. You might even feel like you are going thru a type of withdrawal, from convenience foods, fast food or just craving mom's good ol' home cooking. Trust me I understand,  I really do. Sometimes I feel like Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde when it comes to picking out my food. I fight between what I think I want and what I know is best for my body. For me, eating the wrong type of food doesn't just add pounds to my frame, in some cases it can cause real discomfort and pain. 
    It will get easier,  I promise.  Not to say that you won't still struggle from time to time and that's okay.  Just don't give up if you slip up. Keep moving forward.  Just because you made one bad decision, doesn't give you permission keep making them.
    With each meal we all have choices to make, whether it be eating organically, locally, or cruelty free. Choosing to eat food that was humanely raised and grown with love. Eating to fuel your body with nutrients that were minimally processed and not made in a factory, but in your very own kitchen.
    If this journey does seem a bit over whelming,  take baby step. Slowly replace the unhealthy foods with clean whole foods. Like with any change it's going to take some time before it becomes a habit. Start with eliminating something from your diet that you know you won't miss. If you aren't a big red meat fan great, check that off the list. If milk always made you feel a little bloated or uncomfortable like it does me then switch to a dairy free alternative like rice milk or almond milk. Milk was easy, but cheese was and is still hard for me. I love cheese even though it doesn't love me back. I was willing to suffer through the uncomfortable after effects because I loved it so much and it was in some of my favorite dishes. I have yet to find a dairy free option that isn't pretty processed. Remember, just because it's vegan doesn't mean it's necessarily nutritious and good for you.
    This way of living might not be easy at first. It kinda feels like swimming up stream against all the easy and fast foods of today. Stay focused, surround yourself with like minded people to help inspire you and keep you on track. This blog started as way for two like minded ladies to keep in touch and encourage one another. We now hope to pass along our insight to others hoping to better themselves thru better choices in food.