Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Raw Garden Burgers


Yesterday was a very busy day at our house. We had an appointment that we needed to keep so we had to brave the elements and get one of our vehicles out. Once we got out of the neighborhood the roads were in great shape. Since the weather service is calling for another foot of snow overnight tonight we stopped at Costco while we were out. Much to our surprise Costco is now selling organic milled flax seeds, a 2 pound bag for $7.99. I usually buy our flax seeds whole but I grabbed a bag any way. I like to buy these things when Costco has them so they continue to offer similar healthy products. It will be a pain to keep the big open bag in the freezer. But as much as I am using flaxseeds these days the bag won’t be full for long.

When we got home from running errands I mentioned tofu lasagna, and the hubby responding with a quick, “that sounds really good.” So last night we had tofu lasagna, salad and leftover braciole for dinner. A couple of quick notes on last night's dinner. I used brown rice flour in the lasagna in place of whole wheat and the substitution worked great. I have made a note on the original recipe. Also, I seared the cut slices of braciole in my cast iron skillet so they had a little crust on the outside. The hubby really liked the exterior crunch and thought it was a great addition to the dish.

For dinner tonight I had no idea what I wanted to make but since we have all those ground flaxseeds I thought why not use them in dinner tonight. I thought a raw veggie burger would be good with a big salad for dinner. This burger is a combination of a few different burger recipes from Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen. For those of you that are interested in raw food but haven’t really tried it yet her book makes raw food very accessible. I have only made a few things from it so far but I am already feeling much more comfortable making raw food after reading her book.

Raw Garden Burgers
Makes 4 burgers

Ingredients:

1 cup dried ground almond pulp, from making almond milk (or raw almonds ground in your food processor until fine)
½ cup golden flaxseeds, ground
2 carrots, grated
3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
1/3 yellow onion, peeled and grated
1 cup water
2 teaspoons dulse granules, or to taste (I use this to cut down on our salt consumption)
1 teaspoon oregano, dried
¼ cup raw sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, lemon juice or red wine vinegar (I used wine vinegar)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely minced
Black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Combine everything and mix until completely combined. Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly.

Form into four patties and dehydrate for 3 hours at 105 degrees. After 3 hours they should be firm enough to flip over and “cook” for another hour to dry out the other side.

I served these with avocado and salsa tonight but sun-dried tomato marinara of a little nut cheeze would also be good on top.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 415.95
Calories From Fat (64%) - 266.1

Total Fat-  31.45g
Saturated Fat - 2.74g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 57.87mg
Potassium - 602.14mg
Total Carbohydrates - 25.39g
Fiber - 13.31g
Sugar - 5.6g
Protein - 14.1g

Comments:

This is a big burger, just under 8 ounces before it is dehydrated. It is very filling either due to its size or the fat content, I don’t know which. We had it tonight with salsa and avocadao on top and a big green salad. It was great dinner packed with nutrition. Each burger contains approximately 7,900IU of vitamin A, 50mg of vitamin C, 125mg of calcium, 10IU of vitamin E, 60mcg of folate, 300mg of phosphorus, and 120mg of magnesium. Pretty amazing nutrition for a burger I thought. Can you imagine a comparison of this to a beef burger?

Raw burgers have a texture that is very different from other veggie burgers. When I first had one at the health food store I wasn’t certain how I felt about them. But they have definitely grown on me. However, I think they need a sauce or avocado on top to make them a little moister. Maybe I need to try dehydrating them less in the future.

Unrelated note:

It is snowing again at our house. My husband’s office has already told people to log in and work from home. We are expecting another foot of snow and possibly a little more. The snow from last weekend is still on the ground so this is more to add to the pile. For a place that goes many winters with nothing more than a flurry we are getting clobbered this winter. I will try to get more snow pictures tomorrow, when I am not busy shoveling snow that is.

I hope you are all having a good evening.

13 comments:

  1. These sound great...very healthy.

    Thanks for the recipe...what could you use instead of the almond pulp?

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  2. Your burgers look and sound amazingly healthy! I love this recipe and I guess I can just pan fry or bake them instead because I don't have a dehydrator.

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  3. Thanks for the reminder that I really MUST make these! :)

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  4. That burger looks really darn good! We have another slight chance of winter weather tomorrow night. Still have lots of packed snow and ice on the ground now, made for a tricky 3-block walk into work this morning. Stay warm!

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  5. Rose,

    I editted the recipe to indicate a substitute. Thanks for asking for the clarification.

    Oraphan,

    I would recommend trying to bake them in a low oven on parchment or silpat.

    Ricki,

    I can't wait to hear what you think. Dan and I are very new to raw food. But we are trying to eat more if it, as you are. I think it is like anything else, it just requires time and experience with the techniques.

    Heather,

    Sorry to hear you are geting more winter weather. It was snowing so hard here earlier that I could not see 75 feet when I looked out the window.

    Alicia

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  6. " I mentioned tofu lasagna, and the hubby responding with a quick, “that sounds really good.” "
    thats cute.:) and.....it does sound really good....my oven is unusable right now, we are working in the kitche)(tile still)ttyl Alicia

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  7. Michelle,

    Dan LOVES my tofu lasagna. He swears it is just as good as the dairy version I used to make. Of course our tastes have changed some since becoming vegan. But we both really like it. Even my elderly omni parents find it to be an acceptble alternative to the dairy version and they eat very unhealthy, unless they are having dinner with us (and I am cooking). So ..... it must be fairly good for the unhealthy omnis to eat it without complaint.

    ttyl,
    Alicia

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  8. I am not usually a fan of veggie burgers, but those look great! I could just sub almond meal for the pulp couldn't I?
    I really feel for you, you have had ridiculous snow fall this year!

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  9. Janet,

    Almond meal should work fine. Once I dry the pulp it is in essence the same thing. If you try it please let me know how that sub works.

    Our local news is on now. Apparently we have had more snow than Buffalo, NY and Chicago this year. Unbelievable! They just said this current storm may drop another 20 inches. I used to love snow. However, I am getting really tired of it now!

    Alicia

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  10. Thanks, Alicia!
    We ended up only getting 6.5 inches, but shoveling it was a good workout:)
    20 inches sounds awful!

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  11. Janet,

    I would love to live near you. We already have at least 15 inches additional snow on the ground. Enough already!

    Glad you didn't get hit too hard.

    Alicia

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  12. I have been learning a lot more about going raw lately so I am excited to try this recipe.

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  13. Mary,

    Raw food is fairly new to me as well. It is easier than it appears though. The texture of raw burgers is very different, so please expect that. Also, they are much better warm out of the dehdrator. We had the leftovers cold from the frig and neither one of us liked them as well.

    Alicia

    ReplyDelete

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