Vegan Walnut Spinach Patties

Walnut Spinach Patties

I came up with this recipe because I had a lot of leftover spinach in my fridge that was about to go bad and I was craving something other than a salad. These burgers took about 10 minutes to prepare total and 12 minutes to bake. 

Ingredients

·        3 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil

·        1 cup chopped onion

·        2 cloves garlic, minced

·        16 oz. fresh spinach, stemmed, cooked, chopped, and squeezed dry, or 20 ounces thawed frozen chopped spinach, squeezed dry

·        ¾ cup chopped walnuts

·        ½ cup oatmeal, pulsed into fine powder

·        About 1 teaspoon salt

·        ½ cup vegan cheese, shredded (I used Daiya Mozzarella)

·        Ground black pepper to taste

·        ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

·        4 tablespoons dehydrated potatoes

·        Lemon wedges for serving

Preparation

1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and, if using, the garlic and sauté until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the spinach, ground oatmeal, walnuts, potato flakes, “cheese”, salt, pepper, and, the nutmeg.

2. Shape the spinach mixture into patties and bake for 12 minutes.

Enjoy!

50 Vegan Sandwich Combinations

50 Vegan Sandwich Combinations

Sometimes, you’ll be sitting in your apartment, complaining to yourself about starving and not having anything to eat in the house... but being too broke to go out to eat. So, you walk to the fridge hoping that magically, a new food has appeared since the last 5 minutes when you checked. Sadly, you see nothing but a loaf of bread, and sigh. However, there is hope! You can make a sandwich using any and everything you already have! Hopefully, this list will keep you from feeling that way the next time you’re hungry. It has surely helped me!

Inspiration: Vegan Lunch Box + experience J

1.     Peanut butter and jelly

2.     Vegan cream cheese, strawberry jelly, cashews

3.     Mashed beans and pickle

4.     Avocado, sprouts, lettuce, tomato

5.     Mixed green salad and dressing

6.     Baked or smoked tofu on rye

7.     Chickpea salad

8.     Vegan pate

9.     Cashew butter and banana

10. Seitan pot roast and gravy with ketchup

11. Sliced tofu hot dog with ketchup and mustard

12. Peanut butter with grated carrot and bean sprouts

13. Grilled ‘pepperoni’ sandwich

14. Vegan deli slices with veganaise and mustard, lettuce, tomato

15. Almond butter and chopped dates

16. Vegan tuna with veganaise and pickles

17. Vegan cheese sandwich

18. Tofurky with vegan cream cheese and cranberry sauce

19. Almond butter with raisins and cinnamon sugar

20. Veggie burger

21. Roasted red peppers, marinated artichoke hearts, black olives mashed

22. Lentil-rice balls with tomato sauce

23. Humus and cucumber

24. Baba ghanoush (eggplant) with grilled zucchini

25. Falafel balls with hummus, tahini, and lettuce

26. Vegan chicken patties with veganaise and honey mustard

27. Grilled zucchini, eggplant, onion

28. Vegan cream cheese and pineapple

29. Almond butter and apple slices

30. Refried beans and salsa

31. Fried tempeh

32. Peanut butter and kiwi

33. Margarine with pumpkin, apple, or pear butter

34. Grilled mushroom with caramelized onions and balsamic vinegar

35. Vegan bacon, lettuce, and tomato

36. Scrambled tofu

37. Vegan coleslaw and cashews

38. Fried tofu with a peanut sauce and spinach

39. Herb and chive vegan cream cheese with sprouts, onion, tomato, lettuce

40. Vegan meatloaf and ketchup

41. Peanut butter and vegan chocolate chips

42. Tomatoes, black olives, and vegan cream cheese.

43. Sloppy joe sauce and veggie burger crumbles.

44. Vegan cream cheese, olives, mustard, cucumbers.

45. Vegan chicken patty, marinara sauce, vegan cheese.

46. Vegan baking bits, vegan mayonnaise, tomatoes.

47. Vegan margarine, veggies, Italian dressing, vegan cheese.

48. Asparagus, vegan mayonnaise, nutritional yeast, lettuce.

49. Hummus, alfalfa sprouts, tomatoes, cucumbers, salt and pepper.

50. Vegan meatballs, spaghetti sauce, vegan cheese.

Ethnic Lentil Burgers (Vegan)

Ethnic Lentil Burgers (Vegan)

Your usual lentil burger is made with fresh vegetables and bread crumbs, but this recipe takes a Middle Eastern spin by adding spices like cinnamon to the lentils. This recipe takes about 30 minutes to prepare. You can cook the lentils ahead of time to make the cooking time even less!

Makes 8 burgers

Ingredients:

·        1 cup of water

·        ½ cup dry lentils

·        ¾ cup instant brown rice

·        ¾ cup uncooked oatmeal

·        ¼ cup corn

·        ¼ cup red pepper, chopped

·        ¼ cup fresh onion, chopped

·        4 tablespoons fresh parsley

·        ½ cup shredded carrot

·        ¼ cup chopped celery

·        1 teaspoon safflower oil

·        2 teaspoons salt

·        ¼ teaspoon allspice

·        ½ teaspoon cinnamon

·        ¼ teaspoon cloves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 Fahrenheit.

2. Boil the water in a kettle, pour into a pot, and add the lentils. Simmer and cook lentils for 20 minutes or until soft.

3. Cook the brown rice according to package directions: add ¾ cup of water and rice into a microwavable bowl. Microwave on for 6 minutes and 30 seconds. Fluff with fork.

4. Put the oatmeal into a blender and blend into a fine powder.

5. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients.

6. Separate them into 8 evenly-sized balls, making sure to squeeze them so the burger will stick together.

7. Form into ¾ inch thick patties and place on parchment paper-lined pan. Bake for 10 minutes on each side. 

After making these burgers, I freeze them, and later, they make a super quick and easy meal. Just reheat them in the microwave for 90 seconds or until hot!

Vegan Middle Eastern Chickpea Broccoli Burgers

(Wow that's a mouth full! Literally!)

Adapted from The Tolerant Vegan. 

This was the first full meal that I made as a vegan. And, I’m sad to say that it took me two hours to make the burgers, cook them, and also to make the sides for the rest of the meal. So, if you are in college, making your own veggie burgers is not the most time efficient task. Nevertheless, it is impressive and delicious. However, if you have a long weekend or are at home for Christmas break, you can make dozens of vegan burgers ahead of time, freeze them, and then use them later. By experience, I know that veggie burgers freeze and keep well!

So, here is the recipe.

Burger ingredients:

A FOOD PROCESSOR!

1/3 cup dry couscous

1 cup water

A bunch of broccoli florets or 1 1/2 cups broccoli florets

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 cup chopped scallions (aka green onions)

1/2 cup chopped yellow onion

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 15 ounce can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 tablespoon sesame tahini

1/2 cup breadcrumbs. (Or, 2 slices of toast)

Tahini dressing ingredients:

1/3 cup sesame tahini

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, chopped

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2.  In a small pot, bring the water and couscous to a boil. Remove from heat immediately and allow the couscous to sit in the pot for 10 minutes, soaking up the water.
3. First clean and wash the broccoli. To steam the broccoli in the microwave, cut the florets (trunk) of the broccoli off so that you have the bite-sized end pieces. Place them in a microwave safe dish. Put 2 tablespoons of water into the microwave safe dish, cover with a lid, and microwave for 4 minutes.
4. Meanwhile in a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add in the onion and scallions, stirring occasionally for 3-5 minutes until the onion softens. Remove from heat and stir in the cumin.
5. To make breadcrumbs, toast the bread and place them in a food processor. Then in the food processor, combine the drained chickpeas, steamed broccoli, onion/cumin combination, tahini, and breadcrumbs. Process until you get a malleable green combination. Grab about half a cup of the combination and form “patties”. (I was able to form 8 burger-sized ones). Place the patties onto a foil-lined cookie sheet and bake them for 50 minutes, flipping them after 25 minutes.
6. In a small bowl, combine the tahini, water, garlic, salt, and lemon juice. Whisk until you get a smooth combination.

Because the burgers are a little dry, be sure to serve them with the sauce drizzled over in between two whole wheat hamburger buns. My non-vegetarian friends and family loved these burgers!

Voila!