Chickpea & Sweet Potato Burgers

Tonight I decided to ditch my typical weeknight routine and head to the dog beach with Harley. She obviously had a blast and is now passed out laying on my leg. Oh, it’s a rough life for my spoiled puppy!

Harley will run up and try to say hi to almost anybody, but at the beach, her favorite people are surfers. I think she has a special affinity for them because Adam’s a surfer. I swear, every time she runs up to one, she’s looking at the guy like, “Is that you dad?!”

Onto this week’s edition of “what this vegetarian ate today”…

Breakfast: cottage cheese, blueberries, &  Cascadian Farm dark chocolate almond granola

Lunch: a chickpea & sweet potato burger with dilly cucumbers

I spotted this recipe in Self magazine’s April issue and decided to give it a try.  I halved this super healthy burger recipe of theirs and made minimal changes to the original.

Chickpea & Sweet Potato Burgers with Dilly Cucumbers

Makes 2 burgers

What you need:

• 1/2 c dry chickpeas
• 2 TSP olive oil
• Cooking spray
• 1.5 TBSP tahini
• A dash of black pepper
• 1/8 TSP baking powder
• 1/2 TSP salt
• 1/2 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 sweet potato, peeled and grated
• A slice of red onion, cut into thin slices
• 2 TBSP chopped fresh dill
• 1 TBSP rice vinegar

Soak chickpeas in a bowl of water for 12-24 hours. Drain well.

Heat oven to 375. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a food processor, pulse chickpeas, tahini, pepper, baking powder, and 1/4 TSP salt. Scrap down sides as necessary and pulse until mixture holds together.

Transfer to a bowl, then stir in sweet potato and combine well.

Form 2 burgers and place on baking sheet. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine cucumber, onion, dill, vinegar, and remaining 1/4 TSP salt in a bowl. Set aside.

Remove foil and brush top sides of burgers with 1 TSP olive oil. Throw back in the oven until crisp and golden underneath, 15-20 minutes.

Flip burgers, then coat other side of burgers with remaining 1 TSP olive oil. Bake until crisp, about 10 minutes. Serve with dilly cucumbers. I enjoyed mine with ketchup, and think that next time I’ll eat it on a whole grain bun.

Stats per burger with 1/2 of cucumbers: 270 calories, 13 g fat, 11 g protein, 41 g carbs

Pre-Workout Snack: a chocolate strawberry protein shake, which included 1/2 scoop Designer Whey chocolate protein powder, a cup of chocolate soy milk, 1 cup of frozen strawberries, & 1 TBSP of cocoa powder

Dinner: Japanese noodles with peanut butter sauce & broccoli . I love this recipe!

Nighttime Snack: sesame pretzel crisps with avocado hummus

I’m exhausted, good night!