Now these veggie burgers, I have made quite a few times because they are good and good for you, filled with protein, fiber and nutrients. Each time we have them, we love them, however, a few times, they’ve been bland. So to try to make them tastier, I decided to try a few things different. It used to have celery, which I didn’t use this time…and I added a lot more seasoning/spices than I did previously.

Along with the burgers, I made the quick-boiled spinach which you can find under the Yummy Veggie Wrap here, as well as some roasted some sweet potatoes (described below).

Lentil Veggie Burger ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)

• 1 cup canned lentil beans
• 1 cup carrots, shredded or finely diced
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
  
• small zucchini, finely diced
• 2 cups quick oats
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup tomato paste (1 6 oz. can)
• 1 TBS Italian seasoning
• 1 TBS Basil
• 1 TBS Oregano
  
• 2 tsp to 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• Ketchup (optional)
• Guacamole (optional)
• Cheese of your liking (optional)
• Sliced tomatoes (optional)
• Sliced whole wheat bread (optional)
  

Turn on the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your vegetables. (For the dicing of the vegetables, I used a food processor. This totally saves a lot of preparation time.) I mixed all the ingredients together and formed into patties. Place the patties on an oiled baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes on each side until a golden brown.

Place your burger on your bread and serve with ketchup, guacamole, cheese and/or sliced tomatoes. This will make about 8-10 patties.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)

• 1 very large or 2 large sweet potatoes
• Extra Virgin Olive oil
• Rosemary
• Pepper

Cut up the potatoes into about 1 inch cubes. Mix together the potatoes with the olive oil, rosemary and pepper. Spread out on an oiled baking sheet. Pretty much the amount of time the burgers are baking at 350 degrees, the potatoes can take just as long to roast. I like my potatoes a bit crispy, but definitely take yours out sooner when you see that they are done to your liking.

Serve with the burger and spinach and ENJOY!

This evening, I made this really delicious dish that I found, again, using the The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook. I have yet to go wrong with this cookbook. This book was recommended by my sister (the one studying in Seattle at Bastyr University), where the authors also attended this school. Definitely worth getting this cookbook, if you don’t buy any other cookbook.

Anyway, this dish has a great flavor and texture with the raw kale, red bell pepper, green onions and cooked wild rice all combined at the end. I typically don’t do seconds with meals, and I totally did with this one. Nice and light and very nutritious!

Wild Rice and Kale Salad ingredients include:
• 1-1/2 cups wild rice
• 3-3/4 cups water
• pinch of sea salt
• 5 curly green kale leaves, washed and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, diced small
• 1 bunch of green onions, cut into thin rounds
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (or I just squeezed a half of lemon)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt and ground pepper to taste

First place the rice, water and sea salt into a pot. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 55 minutes, remove from heat and let stand at least 30 minutes to cool. (Or I just started the next step after the rice was done simmering and that’s how long I let my rice cool.)

Prepare your veggies, and place the chopped kale, diced red bell pepper, sliced green onions, lemon juice, and olive oil into a large bowl and gently toss. It says to add rice and sea salt & pepper and toss again, but I preferred to keep the rice and veggies separate (as pictured). I still combined as I was eating and it tasted amazing, but just wanted the ingredients to be separate on the plate. But totally combine before serving if you so choose.

You can store the extra rice salad in a glass container in the fridge for up to 5 days. (good to know, right?)

Enjoy! I definitely did!

Risotto is a traditional Italian rice dish. It is one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Italy. Having had it a couple of times, once at our favorite local relatives, Jay & Kellie, (who love Italian cuisine) and then the other time, my husband and I had from a box bought at the store…I decided to find a recipe and make it from scratch myself.

This particular recipe I had found in my cookbook called One-Dish Vegetarian Meals. It takes a while to make, esp. given the vegetables that need chopped accordingly beforehand, and then as the rice is cooking, you need to be at the stove stirring pretty much constantly. But be patient! The end result is definitely worth it

Oh, and as a side to the Risotto, I decided to healthy boil up some flat-leaf spinach as well, which you can find out how to do that within my Yummy Veggie Wrap blog here.

Risotto Primavera ingredients include:
• 4 1/2 cups Vegetable Stock
• 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup grated carrots
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1-1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• salt and pepper to taste
• parsley
• 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
(says it serves 4, but it could be more or less depending on how much you eat, obviously)

In a medium-size saucepan, bring the stock to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and keep it at a simmer.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add the bell pepper, carrots, zucchini and garlic, and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the rice, and stir to coat with oil. Add the wine and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until it has been absorbed.

Add 1/2 cup of the hot stock and cook, stirring constantly, until all the liquid has been absorbed. Adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a simmer. Continue cooking, adding stock 1/2 cup at a time and stirring until it is absorbed, until the rice is tender but still firm and the risotto is thick and creamy. This should take about 25 minutes (and you may not even need all of the stock.) Add salt and pepper, then add the parsley and lemon juice. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately.