Hope your week is off to a good start!
While I cranked through work, a workout, and getting Harley some exercise earlier in my day, my late afternoon was spent at one of the most dreaded places ever – the dentist. Not only do I despise getting my mouth poked and prodded at (does anyone actually enjoy it?!), I always seem to have a rough time after getting any dental work done. Tonight I’m left with a colossal headache, but have regained feeling in my face so YAY for that! You’re probably thinking…
Would you like some cheese with that whine?
…and so I’ll quit my complaining and tell myself that I’m lucky to be able to go to the dentist and have healthy teeth. Going to the doctor and dentist is certainly a facet of healthy living, although sometimes not a fun one.
I’ll move on from my unpleasant dentist trip and talk about good stuff, like yummy food.
Rewind to last night’s dinner…
This meal is broken down into 2 parts: First, I adapted this recipe for veggie burgers from Vegetarian Times magazine and used what I had available in my kitchen. (You can find their original recipe here.)
Mediterranean Veggie Burgers
Makes 6 burgers
Ingredients:
- 4 oz rigatoni
- 1/2 c quinoa
- 7 oz vegetable broth
- 2 TBSP + 1 TSP olive oil
- 1/4 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 15-oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed, drained, and patted dry
- 1/4 c finely chopped cabbage
- 1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
- 1/4 c marinated artichoke hearts, drained and finely chopped
- 2 TBSP tomato sauce
- Salt & pepper
Cook rigatoni in a large pot of boiling salted water until very soft, around 19 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Bring quinoa and vegetable broth to a boil in a saucepan. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 13 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Heat 1 TSP of oil in a small saucepan over medium heat, then add onion and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes, then remove from heat.
Process the rigatoni and white beans in a food processor until smooth and paste-like. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the quinoa, cabbage, bell pepper, artichoke, tomato sauce, onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and mash to combine everything.
Form 6 patties, then use the remaining oil to brush both sides of the patties.
Heat your grill to high heat, then cook your patties for around 10 minutes or until lightly browned. *Side note: the burgers tend to fall apart a bit, so just use a spatula or fork to mash any pieces of burger back into the mix.*
Eat the burgers on their own, or dress them up with the works. I ate mine on a whole wheat bun with ketchup and sliced fontina cheese.
Per burger: about 275 calories, 10 g protein, 9 g fat, 41 g carbs
For the second part of the meal, check out these bad boys…
Sweet Potato Fries
Makes 4 servings
What you need:
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 2 TBSP + 1 TSP vegetable oil
- 1/2 TSP salt + more for sprinkling
- Pepper & garlic powder to taste
Peel the sweet potatoes, then cut them up lengthwise into fry-like slices as pictured:
Place all the slices into a bowl. Pour 1 TBSP of oil and sprinkle 1/4 TSP salt + a touch of pepper and garlic powder into the bowl, then toss to coat evenly. Repeat this once more.
Place all of the sweet potato slices onto a baking sheet in a single layer.
Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then remove from heat and flip the fries over with a spatula. Spread 1 TSP of olive and sprinkle some salt evenly over the fries, then return to the oven to bake for another 10-20 minutes, depending on how crispy you like your fries.
Nutrition stats per serving: 150 calories, 8 g fat, 2 g protein, 19 g carbs
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