Homemade Veggie Patties

In my quest to go more vegetarian, I've tried different veggie burgers and loved some more than others. But one thing I didn't love was the cost! So I thought it'd be fun to try making my own.

I looked up some recipes online and launched my efforts from those ideas. Basically, you can use whatever ingredients you want and each time I make them, I throw in something different. They are packed full of protein vitamins, minerals and great nutrients! They may not be pretty but they're tasty and good for you!
Whatever spices and herbs you add give them yummy flavor. I like to serve mine with a little mayo that I've blended with a little chipotle in adobo sauce.

I didn't give you quantities of each but there should be about 1/4 as much bread crumbs as beans. the rest is done to your taste.
I make up a big batch and bake them on parchment or foil. When they cool I cut the paper/foil so that they stay separate and freeze them for future use.

Black bean Veggie Burgers by CJ 7-11

Black beans
Opt. White beans (sometimes I add some beans other than black)

Bread crumbs
Eggs, lightly beaten (1 per 2-3 cups of beans)
Onion
Garlic
Grated carrots
Sprouted wheat
Creamed corn (my hubby loves corn!)

Cilantro
Crimini mushrooms
Jalapeno
Zuccini

Salt & pepper
Cayenne pepper
Smokey paprika

Soak beans (and wheat) overnight/8 hours. Drain and cover beans again with water in pot or slow cooker and cook for 4 hours or until soft.
Put vegetables of choice into food processor or chop finely with a knife. Mix all ingredients together well in a large bowl.
Line baking sheet with parchment or foil. Shape patties and place on prepared sheets.

Bake at 300 F for 40 minutes
You can also bake them for only 30 minutes if you want to cook them on the grill for the additional few minutes.
Serve with Mayo & chipotle in adobo sauce or favorite condiments.

When the Moon hits your eye...that's amore´....

Sometimes you just gotta have a big pizza pie!

What a great vehicle for your favorite veggies, sauce and bread...well, okay I added a few slices of pepperoni to please my husband.

I started by making some homemade bread dough...but wait! Don't be held back if you're not into making bread. Just pick up some Rhodes dough and use it for your foundation. In fact, you can use the Rhodes rolls and make individual pizzas. Set out various toppings and let everyone build their own pizza. FUN! [Let's face it, not everyone is gonna love spinach, tomatoes and chopped basil under their layer of grated parmesan and mozzarella.]

When the dough is ready, just roll & stretch it out and place it on a baking sheet or pizza stone. For the sauce you can use any pasta sauce from a jar or can or make your own. I started by brushing on some of my herbed olive oil. Top with your favorite toppings and bake in a 450F oven for about 15-20 minutes and build a big salad while it's baking.

YUM!

WE had a few slices leftover so when my husband heated them up and ate them the next day for lunch he commented "that's good pizza!"

I say, "...that's amore´!"

Rawsome!

It has been a while since I posted on this blog, and here's why...

I found out (as a result of routine mammogram and subsequent testing) on May 12 this year that I had breast cancer. It wasn’t a huge shock because I have a family history on both sides of breast cancer. My sister had it at age 46 so I felt I dodged the bullet longer than she did.

A year or two ago my daughter told me about making green smoothies and about a blog greensmoothiegirl.com. She and her husband and 3 children have green smoothies at least once a day. [I've mentioned this in earlier posts on this blog]In the past I had shunned “smoothies” because I thought they usually used dairy in them and I have an allergy to dairy. She told me about using carrot juice and such so I gave it a try and liked it, but I had a pretty shallow understanding of the health benefits.

After my cancer diagnosis I started a journey of looking for natural treatment options to augment my fight with cancer. A friend I work with loaned me a copy of a Suzanne Somers book, Knockout which got me pretty worked up about the drug company and conventional medicine approach but it was just a beginning. I started reading The China Study which opened my eyes more to governmental controls on information about diet and cancer and the negative effect of animal protein. Next I reconnected with my “rawsome” friend and college roommate, Lynn, who has been eating 60% raw/whole foods for 25 years and looks and feels fabulous! She inspired me and connected me again with the green smoothie girl and with WISH (Women's International Summit on Health and Raw Divas) calls which has furthered my education and motivated me to start to make changes.

My choice/decision was to combine conventional treatment with natural.
I had lumpectomy surgery May 31 and have been eating more vegetarian and raw and exercising more. I was thrilled when the second oncologist I went to said I didn’t have to have chemo!!! It was an answer to many prayers!

On Monday I begin six and a half weeks of daily (5x/week) radiation therapy. But what I wanted most to share with you and some of you younger followers was something my radiology oncologist said to me when I told him I was combining natural diet and exercise changes to help prevent a recurrence of cancer. After his initial recoil at my statement. He told me that it could help improve my health but it wasn’t going to prevent me getting cancer again. He said that here in the US, if you don’t die of heart disease or an accident, you’ll most likely die of cancer and there is no avoiding it. Now I understand his bias and I may not agree with him but what he also said was that I’d have had to be eating like this (raw/vegetarian) my whole life for it to make a difference. He also said that if I taught my children to eat this way it could make a difference for them. Well, although I think it will still help me at my age, I’m glad he at least validated the teaching of young people how to eat healthy!
If we can spare our children and grandchildren the misery of cancer and prescribed treatments, then LET’S DO IT!

By the way, since I started making changes, and I’m talking baby steps, I’ve lost about 10 pounds and feel more optimistic and healthy. I'm a living testimonial to early detection so be sure to get your mammograms and do self-exams.

Start by adding a green smoothie or 1-2 fresh fruits, veggies and legumes to your diet everyday and cutting back on the amount of animal protein in your diet. Increase your exercise too. We can do it!

Sorry for making this so personal but I wanted to give you some background behind the direction I may be going with this blog.

Eat well and prosper!