Homemade Granola Bars

Save packaging waste by making your own granola bars!

I made some extremely tasty "Harvest Granola Bars" (I just made up that name, what do you think?)
They contain pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds!

Recipe:
3/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda

2 1/2 c. oats

1/2 cup mixture of flax seeds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (shelled)

1/2 cup chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix together oil and sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; add to oil mixture, mixing well. Stir in oats, seeds, and chocolate chips.

I ended up "massaging" this together with my hands to make it more homogeneous.

Press into bottom of ungreased cookie sheet/jelly roll pan (something with a slight lip). It is okay if it doesn't reach the edges of the pan. Mine were kind of free-form edges. They look nicer after you trim them off but they are still deeee-lish, so don't throw any of this away!

Bake about 20 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool and cut into bars.

I also like to eat the crumbs in milk, like cereal.

Store in a sealed container. I put mine in the fridge but I'm sure it would be fine at room temperature as well.

Easy Homemade Black Bean Burgers

I sort of made up this recipe today.

What can I say, I'm inspired.

Ingredients:

1 package of taco seasoning

3 cups black beans, divided

1/3 cup bread crumbs

1/3 cup corn

1/4 cup finely chopped onion (you can saute first if you like)

Procedure: Combine 1 1/2 cups of beans with taco seasoning. Mash well (I used my blender; a food processor might be good too. Or, just mash!)
Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
Using a 1/4 cup measure, scoop out the mixture and form into 1/4 cup patties. Set aside

(I got 11 paties out of this.)

Oil a cast-iron skillet. Put a few patties in a heated skillet and cover. Cook for 3-5 minutes and flip. Cover again and cook 3-5 minutes for the other side.

(I tried with the cast-iron skillet AND a teflon coated frying pan and got way better results with the iron one).

You can eat the burgers right away, or put them on a well-oiled cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes if you like them a bit more crisp (I do!).

Serve on a bun, topped with salsa and sliced avocado.

Yum!

Vegan Lunchbox Fame

I am honored to have one a bento contest at The Vegan Lunchbox!

My lunch box is featured here (I'm winner #4!), and she even asked for my recipe for Vegan Roll-Out Oatmeal Cookies and posted it here!

Tofu Burger Recipe

I just found this recipe online. The source is not credited, and I haven't tried it yet, but it looks easy (although a bit bland; I will add more seasoning when do my trial run!). Another thing I might try would be to bake the patties on parchment paper for about 30 minutes and then try pan frying them LIGHTLY, just for flavor and a firmer texture.

Tofu Burgers
These burgers are quick and easy to make. The ingredients can be mixed in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. Form and cook the patties as needed. Or you can cook all the patties at one time, then store them in the frig. and reheat them in a toaster oven or microwave. If you want to grill the burgers, precook the patties before putting them on the grill.

1 pound firm tofu, mashed
1/2 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1 slice whole wheat bread, finely crumbled
1 small onion, finely chopped or 2 tablespoons onion powder
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder or granules
1/2 teaspoon each: basil, oregano, cumin

Mix the tofu with the rolled oats, bread crumbs, chopped onion, parsley, soy sauce, and seasonings. Knead for a minute or so, until the mixture holds together. Shape into 8 patties. Lightly spray a large skillet (preferably non-stick) with oil then add the patties and brown on both sides.

If you want to be a little daring, experiment by adding finely shredded carrots, zucchini, beets, or chopped walnuts or sunflower seeds.

The Magical Loaf Studio

Roll up, roll up for the Mystery Loaf! Roll up, roll up for the Mystery Loaf! The Magical Mystery Loaf is hoping to take you away....



I am a big fan of The Vegan Lunchbox blog, and she has a great resource for creating vegetarian entrees on her site that she designed called "The Magical Loaf Studio".

You can choose from a check list of various ingredients, select the ones you have on hand and MAGICALLY generate a loaf recipe!

I think that these would also be suitable for forming into burger patties as well.

I have been a vegetarian for a very long time, but have only in the past few years discovered a wealth of vegetarian recipes that are healthy, inexpensive, and fun to eat (not just rice and beans, though I do enjoy that on occasion, too!).

Have fun designing your Magical Loaf (you get to name it, too)!

Look at more "Thrifty Green Thursday" tips over at the Green Baby Guide.

Great Moments in Homemade Veggie Burgers (recipe 1)

Inspired by Katydid and Kid and her recent vegetarian burger experiments, I thought I would share a few of my favorite recipes.
I have been a vegetarian for over a decade. When I first "went veg" it was kind of hard to find vegetarian convenience foods. I went a little crazy when Bocca Burgers and Morning Star Farms started having options available in the freezer section of normal grocery stores! I ate their products so often that I was actually eating processed foods MORE than when before I became a vegetarian!

This is the first home made veggie burger recipe I ever tried, and I love it. It makes a lot and I freeze the leftovers in a ziplock bag and reheat them one at a time. You can also make "meat balls" out of this recipe. It comes from the Country Life Vegetarian Cookbook.

Oat Burgers

1 1/2 cups chopped onions
2 TBSP olive oil
4 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup soy sauce, unfermented (I have used Braggs Liquid Amino for this)
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 TBSP onion powder
1 1/2 tsp. basil
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp ground dill seed (I leave this out because I have never bought it)
1/2 cup nutritional yeast (I got mine from www.BulkFoods.com, but I have also substituted 1/2 cup of sesame seeds when I was half way through a recipe and realized I was out of nutritional yeast!)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds or chopped walnuts
3/4 cup cracked wheat (I have used wheat germ as well)
3 1/2 cups regular rolled oats

In a large pot, saute onions in olive oil until soft. Add remaining ingredients except oats. Stir together and boil for 5 minutes.
Add oats and mix briefly. Reduce heat and simmer 5 more minutes.
Cover, set aside and let sit 1 hour (this lets all of the liquid be absorbed by the oats)
Using 1/2 cup measure dipped into water, fill with oat mixture.
Place on greased cookie sheet (I used parchment paper)
To prevent sticking, dip hands into water before forming into burgers.
Bake at 350 F for 35 minutes.
Turn over and bake additional 15 minutes.

yield: about 15 burgers

I have also pureed all of the ingredients in my blender before boiling.

I did that so that I could feed bits of oatburger to my one-year-old who doesn't have many teeth. It gives it a more uniform texture, but isn't at all neccessary.