Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers

It's hard to find a veggie burger that has the taste you want and that stick-together consistency-- this is it!  I love the slight sweetness from the sweet potato along with the zest from the jalapeño, scallions, and lime.  Sunflower seeds and hemp seeds provide some texture and crunch! These burgers are easy to make and perfect for anything from a quick weeknight meal to a dinner party.  They're both vegan and gluten free and pack 8 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber per burger!

Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers

Serves 5

--Ingredients

Burgers:
2 Tbsp ground flax seed + 2 Tbsp water
1 can (15 oz) black beans rinsed and drained
1 cup grated sweet potato (about 1 small/medium sweet potato)
1 finely diced jalapeño (about 3 Tbsp)
2 Tbsp chopped scallions
2 Tbsp unsalted sunflower seeds
2 Tbsp hemp seeds
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Pinch of salt/to taste
Cracked black pepper to taste

For the pan:
2 Tbsp olive oil

--Instructions

Combine the flax seed and water in a bowl and set aside for a minimum of 5 minutes while preparing the other ingredients.  Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until the mixture is well combined, but completely pureed.  Form into patties.  In a frying pan, add the olive oil and heat the pan to medium heat.  Cook the burgers for about 6-7 minutes on each side.  For maintaining the best burger shape, make sure to only flip the burgers once.  I like serving mine with a mashed avocado!  Hope you enjoy!

--Nutrition Facts per serving:

205 calories
19 g carbohydrates
6 g fiber
11 g fat
1 g saturated fat
8 g protein
185 mg sodium

Vegan, Gluten Free

Super Moist Banana Bread

This oaty almond banana bread has been a breakfast staple lately! It's super moist and perfect for a breakfast on the run or even for dessert. With 7 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber per slice, it's a breakfast bread that will stay with you! The base is oats and almond flour which makes this bread gluten free if you make sure to buy certified gluten free oats/oat flour. (It's also vegan!) Hope you enjoy this one as much as I do!

Super Moist Banana Bread

Serves 8

--Ingredients

Dry:
1 cup oat flour (or process 1 cup old fashioned oats to make your own)
3/4 cup finely ground almond flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cardamom

Wet:
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed
1/4 cup water
3 large extra ripe bananas
1/3 cup agave nectar (or sub honey)
2 tsp oil (I use hazelnut oil for extra flavor)
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract

Fold in:
1/2 cup toasted pecan pieces

--Instructions

Heat your oven to 350 F.  Grease a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2- inch loaf pan.

You can either buy the oat flour pre-made or make your own by processing 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats in a food processor or blender until finely ground.  If you're gluten free, make sure to buy certified gluten free oats/oat flour.  Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.

In small separate bowl, combine the ground flaxseed and water and let it sit for at least 5 minutes as this will form the "flax egg"/binder.

In another bowl, mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher.  Add in the other wet ingredients and mix.  Mix in the flax/water mixture.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.  Avoid over mixing.  Fold in the pecans.  You can either buy these pre-toasted, or toast them ahead of time yourself.

Optional toppings: more pecans, banana slices, oats, etc!

Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350 F.  Enjoy :)

--Nutrition Facts per serving:

250 calories
30 g carbohydrates
5 g fiber
12 g fat
1 g saturated fat
7 g protein
155 mg sodium

Chocolate Coconut Oats with Maple Ginger Walnuts

Even though it's not cold in Florida yet, it's not in the 90's so that means it's oatmeal time! These oats are so chocolatey good. They're extra creamy if you use homemade almond milk, which I've recently started making. The walnuts are definitely addicting. I've been putting them on everything, especially salads. This recipe will make enough to have plenty extra for doing that!

Chocolate Coconut Oats with Maple Ginger Walnuts 

Ingredients

Oats:
1/3 cup old fashioned oats
2/3 cup almond milk
Pinch of salt
1 Tbsp raw cacao powder
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes

Walnuts:
1 1/2 cups raw walnuts pieces or halves
1/4 cup maple syrup
Pinch of salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp cardamom

Instructions

Heat oven to 375 F. Mix all walnut ingredients in a bowl. Spread the mixture out on a pan lined with parchment paper. Cook for about 12 minutes or until it's browned and bubbling. Let it cool on the pan for a few minutes.

Work on the oats while the walnuts are cooking. Combine oats, almond milk, and salt and cook either in the microwave or stove top. I cook mine in the microwave in 1 minute increments, and it usually takes from 3-4 minutes. Then add the cacao powder, maple syrup, and coconut flakes.

Pumpkin Parfaits

I've re-purposed my Coconut Pumpkin Pie Milkshake (recipe below) to make parfaits! The milkshake is thick enough to create perfect layers. I used unsweetened vanilla coconut yogurt and toasted coconut flakes and walnuts. So simple and feels like a decadent dessert!

I toasted the coconut flakes and walnuts at 350 F for 5 minutes. Next time, I'm going to add a crumbled graham cracker layer :)

Coconut Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

I can't believe it's already fall, although it's still quite hot here in Florida! This milkshake is helping me get into fall spirit though. It truly does taste like pumpkin pie in a glass!

Coconut Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

Ingredients

• 1 frozen banana
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 Tbsp natural peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp/dash of pumpkin pie spice
• 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• Sweetener of choice-- I used 1 tsp maple syrup

Instructions

Simply blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. I topped mine with coconut flakes and pumpkin pie spice. Hope you enjoy!