Black bean burgers

June 3, 2019 | Food | 8 Comments »


Black bean burgers

It’s been a while since I took advantage of the lifestyle portion of my blog. While I mainly focus on beauty, I labeled my blog as more of a lifestyle type leaving me the option to explore other topics. I have quite a few hobbies. I wouldn’t say I get sick of either, but I do tend to jump around a lot and favor one over the other for a while. Lately I’ve been less into makeup and more into home organization and cooking.

So I figured I’d share one of my favorite vegetarian recipes with you all today. For those of you who don’t know, I was vegetarian turned vegan for about 7+ years. I stopped eating plant based shortly after moving here due to certain food allergies. Soy being one of them. I do still mainly eat plant based, but not exclusively. It’s just too much with having to worry about allergens all the time. Seriously, why is soy in everything? Very small quantities don’t seem to bother me. Like if it’s in bread and very low on the ingredient list. However, soy milk and tempeh are a no go these days. And that makes me sad because I relied on both.

Since most veggie burgers contain soy or other allergens I’m supposed to stay away from, I usually end up making my own. Which is no big deal. They are super easy to whip up. My absolute favorite is this Mediterranean Black Bean Burger. The original recipe is from another former vegan who ran the blog The Voracious Vegan. I remember the controversy that followed when she publicly announced that she was no longer vegan. I can’t speak for her, but I can say for me it was very challenging when my health issues got in the way. I hope she’s doing much better these days. Thankfully I screen capped her recipe years ago. I’ve had it saved in my recipe file ever since. It’s a staple around here. I make them for me and my son at least once a month. We enjoy them more often during the Summer months.

I mostly follow the original recipe as is. I did make a few changes. I use all-purpose flour in place of chickpea flour. I use sun dried tomato pesto in place of the sun dried tomatoes marinated in oil. I just feel like the pesto is easier and adds more flavor. And I cook my quinoa in non-chicken broth because it’s so much tastier than using just water. My mixture is usually pretty wet. She suggested refrigerating the mixture for about 30 minutes before forming patties. I usually refrigerate my mixture for about 15 minutes. I’m always afraid the mixture will dry out too much. To form the patties I use a 1/4 cup ice cream scoop. I then scoop the mixture onto a lightly oiled skillet and gently press down forming a nice round patty. You can follow this link to the full recipe.

After cooking the burgers I allow them to come to room temperature. Then I stack them in an air-tight container with parchment paper squares separating the burgers. Whenever I need a quick, healthy lunch or dinner I just pull one out of the freezer and heat it up on the skillet. I always try to keep a batch of these in the freezer. It makes life so much easier.

If you give these a try, please let me know. I’d love to know what you think.

Salted caramel bites

July 14, 2016 | Food | 16 Comments »


Salted caramel bites

Salted caramel bites

I’m a little bummed that I got so behind on the blog these past 2 weeks. I have so much lined up, but haven’t had the time to sit and write up the posts. I should have been a month ahead of schedule, but life happened. I’ve also been dealing with some health issues. Nothing serious, but still pretty bothersome at times. I’ve had to change my diet drastically. At the moment I have to stay away from gluten and dairy. Fun times. It’s all good though. I’m making it work!

So while I work on getting all of those fun posts scheduled I figured I’d share a new recipe of mine. A few weeks ago I was scouring the supermarket for things I CAN eat and my husband stumbled upon these delicious Salted Caramel Bites. They were so good! And perfect for snacking on the go. Especially now that I can’t eat anything if I’m out and happen to get hungry. The problem? Well, I only purchased the one bag so that I could try them out and I ran out within a few days. The nearest store to purchase these delicious bites is over an hour away! And when I finally made it to the supermarket again they were sold out! So I tried to make my own.

It’s usually pretty easy to find copycat recipes online, but I couldn’t find a single recipe for these bites anywhere! So I went into my kitchen where I had everything on hand and dumped it all into my food processor and ended up with something VERY similar! I think lightly toasting the coconut brings these bites to life. I know it doesn’t look like much, but these sorts of bites/balls usually don’t yet still taste great! This recipe is a keeper for sure! You can follow this link to my recipe. Enjoy!

Heavenly Coconut Bliss Balls

September 8, 2015 | Food | 10 Comments »


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If you’re reading this and you saw my mention of starting a Whole30 on Twitter last week you’re probably thinking ‘Uh, you’re already cheating, bruh!’ I should have said that my FRIEND is doing a Whole30 and I’M doing a version of it. While all of the ingredients in these delicious Heavenly Coconut Bliss Balls are technically Whole30 approved (aside from the protein powder and honey which I omitted), the ball itself counts as a frowned upon SWYPO (Sex With Your Pants On). I really want to give my diet a bit of a ‘Spring cleaning’ and I like the idea of Whole30. Eating real whole foods without all that processed, chemical laden garbage. But the thing is I exercise A LOT and get really snacky throughout the day. And I’m sorry, but there’s only so many carrot and celery sticks I can nom on. So to keep from getting hangry I whipped up a batch of these balls.

I’ve got a few recipes for raw balls and DIY Lara Bars that I love. But these? These truly are heavenly! The lemon and coconut compliment each other nicely making for a refreshing almost sinful treat. It’s like a healthier truffle. Ok I guess I get the whole SWYPO thing now, but I gotta do me, man. Anyway, they’re super easy to make and keep well in the fridge. I did alter the recipe a bit. I didn’t add the protein powder or honey. I also found that I only needed about 1/4 cup shredded coconut for coating the balls. Perfection!

Even if you’re not eliminating everything under the sun from your diet, I highly suggest giving these balls a go. I’m already planning to make some more almond meal so that I can make a batch for my mother-in-law. She loves these types of snacks. And it’s much healthier for her than the usual pastry she asks me to make. These balls are a keeper!

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And can I just say how happy I am that I can finally eat nuts again? For the past 2 years I was convinced that I was allergic to peanuts/tree nuts because of some health issues I was experiencing. I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am that I can make and enjoy things like this once again. It’s the little things.

What kinds of things do you like to snack on throughout the day?

Welcome

Welcome to Midwest Glam! My name is Lisa Marie and this is where I blog about all things beauty, food, and photography. While I mainly focus on beauty topics, I do weekly photography posts as well as the occasional recipe. Thank you so much for visiting!

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