Quinoa Veggie Burgers and Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Happy Monday! Before we get into Meatless Monday, let’s discuss the Olympic time trials on Saturday. Who watched?! I can’t believe how glued I was to the tube. And despite watching some of these competitors run before, I’m always humbled at how fast they are. Cragg and Flanagan, for example. They cruise like it’s just a training run. Yet their average paces were 5 minutes and 30 seconds per mile. For 26.2 miles! That’s faster than I could ever dream of running one mile. I’m humbled by these athletes time and again.

All this talk of running has made me hungry… so let’s talk food! Recently on a long run, I was talking with my friend about eating habits. She’s been suffering from inflammation recently, and oddly enough, so have I. We were talking back and forth about the various things we do or ways we eat to stave off symptoms. One of the things we both agreed on is that what we eat directly affects how we feel. We both aim for plant-based, whole food diets. But we both have kids and husbands. Lucky for me, my husband eats the way I do. Hers, notsomuch. But the kids — those guys are another story. Kids can be maddeningly picky, even when it’s one of their self-proclaimed “favorite meals!” Because let’s face it, next week it won’t be. So despite our best efforts, cooking a plant-based, whole food meal can be a huge challenge at times.

There are some studies that suggest oils and added fats may contribute to inflammation. As such, my friend has worked toward eliminating everything “added” to her diet. She recently made sweet potato fries without oil for her family and it was a huge success. I decided to see if it would work for my family as well so I gave it a whirl.

Oil-free cooking to reduce inflammation? Yes, please! #meatlessmonday #wholefood #plantbased

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Unfortunately my experiment wasn’t nearly as successful as hers, but the fries were amazingly delicious nonetheless. My husband and I sure enjoyed them, and we will definitely be making them again! We paired these delectable orange sticks of sweet and salty with an amazing quinoa-based burger. I’m including both recipes for you below. I’m sure you’ll enjoy them both.

Quinoa Veggie Burgers

adapted from Andie Mitchell

Ingredients

1/2 C uncooked quinoa
1 carrot, diced
4 scallions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
15 oz black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 C dried breadcrumbs
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2-3 Tbsp water, as needed

Directions

Cook quinoa according to package directions (about 14-15 minutes).

In a food processor, finely chopped the carrot. Add the scallions, garlic, beans, breadcrumbs, egg, and spices; pulse until combined. Stir in the cooked quinoa. The mixture will be crumbly. Form into 6 burgers.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add water to the pan until just sizzling. Carefully add the patties and cook until browned and crisp, about 8 minutes per side. If it seems the patties are cooking too quickly on the outside, turn down the heat. If the patties seem to stick, add a little more water throughout the cooking process.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into “fry” strips
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 425˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay sweet potato fries in a single layer, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 20 minutes, turning the fries halfway through.