I rambled on about dates in my last post.. but that's not the only thing I've discovered this week. The other is chickpeas. Now pick your jaw up off the floor and let me explain myself. I LOVE hummus. I never used to, but in the past couple years, I've grown to love it. For dipping, on salads, any way that it comes. I've even made my own several times. That being said, the actual chickpeas sort of freaked me out. I have consistency issues with beans (aka I hate them), which is pretty unfortunate. I've always categorized chickpeas as being exactly like red or cannellini beans.. blech. I never even gave them a chance on their own. Wouldn't even try them.
This week, I decided to give them a chance. What did chickpeas ever do to me? I like them ground up, so maybe, just maybe, I would like them whole. I found a recipe for a "mashed" chickpea salad, with tons of hearty ingredients that sounded great. I made it this weekend for lunches this week. Let's just say my life has been changed forever.
I was thinking about what else I could have for lunch with my mashed chickpea salad. I knew I was going to make lettuce wraps with the salad, but I also know my body and knew that there was no chance just those would fill me up. Over the weekend, I decided I'd make some turkey burgers for the freezer (I always have some variety of turkey burgers frozen for emergency purposes). I found another recipe for sweet potato turkey patties, which I didn't even have to think about. I love sweet potatoes in any meal and just knew I'd be alright with this combo.
I think we can all say that we've had those undeniable cravings for a big juicy burger. And there's nothing worse than having that craving, and biting into a burger that's dry. My prayers were answered with this one. Super juicy. It wasn't until I was assembling my lunch for the day when the lightbulb turned on. All of a sudden, it dawned on me: if I put pieces of this burger in the lettuce wrap, and top with the chickpea salad, it will be almost like a burger...
AND IT WAS. It was a flavorful, fresh, and freakin' AMAZING burger. I don't think I would ever need a hamburger bun (gluten free of course) again after creating this magical meal. I know some people are reading this and rolling their eyes at me, but before you go saying "it's not the same", you should give it a try. You never know when replacing bread with green stuff will end up making your entire week! Both the salad and the patties were easy to whip up and I know I will end up making them on the reg for an easy workday lunch.
Mashed Chickpea Salad
vegan // gluten free
Ingredients:
1 15 oz. can of garbanzo beans, drained
2 celery stalks, chopped (I left mine pretty chunky)
1/3 of a granny apple (also chunky)
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
5 or 6 baby carrots, chopped
1/2 cup kale, torn up in baby pieces
2 tbsp cilantro, fresh
2 heaping tbsp of organic stone ground mustard
1 small clove of garlic, minced
juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
sea salt and pepper to taste
Directions: Mash chickpeas in a bowl with a potato masher. Combine all ingredients and mix. Refrigerate.
Recipe from Shannon at The Glowing Fridge (theglowingfridge.com)
Sweet Potato Turkey Patties
gluten free
Ingredients:
1 pkg lean ground turkey
1 sweet potato, cooled after roasting
1 cup fresh spinach
1 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
Directions: Roast sweet potato at 400 degrees for 45 mins-1 hour (until fork tender). Split open and let cool. Once cooled, combine all ingredients and mix well. Form into patties and freeze or refrigerate if using immediately.
Recipe from Katie at diningdish.com
To assemble the burgers: I used Boston lettuce leaves, cut my burger into some bite sized pieces, and laid those in first. Then I piled on that delicious chickpea salad. BOOM. Amazing.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Questions? Comments? Stories? Feel free to share them!