Hello, lover. Basic veggie burgers be gone because I’m some kind of sweet for these vegan and gluten free sweet potato burgers. Loaded with quinoa and Cannellini beans for a protein packed patty of sweet, sweet goodness. 

With Memorial Day coming up, I’ve got burgers on my mind, veggie burgers, that is. While anyone can make a good burger, veggie burgers are a bit trickier to navigate and the frozen ones are generally loaded with all kinds of fillers or isolates to amplify the protein. And let’s be honest, the Morning Star burgers are good, not great. When I want to sink my teeth into a burger, I want big juicy greatness to make it worth the while. Enter, the the sweet potato burger.

These sweet potato burgers can come together in less than 20 minutes if you follow a few hacks. First, microwaving a sweet potato is totally righteous and will save mega time. Pierce with a fork, place on a microwave safe plate and heat for 5-7 minutes. Baking might be better, but ain’t nobody got time for that. Second, make the quinoa in advance so you can just throw it right in. I usually make a big batch of quinoa every Sunday and throw it in everything from stir fries to burrito bowls and salads. These two hacks will save you upwards of an hour! Hello, I have things to do and people to see!

Now my one precaution with this recipe is that it is very sticky. Two things can help: 1.) consider refrigerating the mixture in the fridge for 10-15 minutes and 2.) option to coat the patties in panko bread crumbs, which also gives it a nice crisp on the outer edge. Honestly, I don’t usually do either, but you do have to be very careful when flipping and make sure to have a nice sear on the bottom before you flip so they don’t fall apart.

Other than that, these are a piece of cake and re-heat super well. If making on the grill, I highly suggest placing them on a sheet of tin foil. Happy flippin’ burger season, friends!

Sweet Potato Burgers with Quinoa
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
– 1 sweet potato
– 1 15 oz. can of Cannellini beans
– 3/4 C cooked quinoa
– 1/4 white onion
– 1/2 tsp garlic powder
– 1 T nutritional yeast
– 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Step 1: Cook the sweet potato. Poke holes around the sweet potato with fork. Place on a microwave safe dish and heat on high for 5-7 minutes, depending on the size of your sweet potato. The sweet potato is done when you can easily pierce through the center with a fork. Let cool, then peel away the skin and place the flesh of the sweet potato in a medium mixing bowl.

Step 2: Add the onion to a food processor and pulse on high until medium diced. Rinse the Cannellini beans and add to the food processor. Pulse with the onions until you form a rough paste, allowing for some lumps of partial beans, which give the burger texture.

Step 3: Add the bean mixture and the remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl with the sweet potato flesh. Mix well. Form the mixture into 4 patties.

Step 4: Heat a skillet to medium and grease with coconut oil or your favorite oil/spray. Add the patties to the skillet, 2 at a time, if needed. Brown each side for about 5 minutes, being careful when you flip.

Step 5: Assemble the burgers with your favorite fixin’s! Shown: avocado, tomato and purple daikon on a pretzel bun.

*Recipe adapted from Popsugar.

The post Sweet for Sweet Potato Burgers appeared first on The Shooks Life.

Finally time to put away the sweaters! Hurrah! And, it’s the start of a new month, which means a roundup of my April favorites. See below for the top 10 and if you’ve got places, products or workouts that I should check out, let me know in the comments!

Drumroll, here’s the top 10 places, products and pastimes from April!

1.) Favorite coffee shop:

Ipsento Coffee in Bucktown is my go-to for a Saturday afternoon perk-up post dog park excursion with Moose. They always have unique seasonal beverages like this lychee match tea latte and the best tiny sweet potato-based donuts that don’t even make you feel guilty because they’re so adorably tiny.

2.) Favorite workout:

Climbing indoor mountains at First Ascent bouldering gym made me feel like a serious spiderwoman ready to conquer the world. For more info, check out my blog post on this bad ass experience.

3.) Favorite restaurant:

True Food Kitchen is seriously the bomb diggity (aging myself) when it comes to fresh, seasonal and chef-inspired deliciousness. It’s rapidly expanding with 1 location in Chicago. I finally visited and had to hold myself back from ordering absolutely everything on the menu. I settled on this inside out quinoa burger with two crunchy quinoa patties buns filled with loads of veggies and oozing with hummus and creamy tzatziki sauce. Served with a sweet potato hash to round out the ultimate vegetarian burger experience. Run, don’t walk there…now.

4.) Favorite afternoon pick-me-up:

Four Sigmatic mushroom cacao is the answer to the sugar demons that perk up mid-afternoon. This chocolately delight is “like a warm hug from grandma” and tempers stress with superfood reishi. Plus, there’s only 2g of sugar per serving!

5.) Favorite snack:

Trader Joe’s Organic Fruit & Seed Granola will make you forget that gluten ever tasted good. Pop it, snack it, top salads and yogurt.

6.) Favorite snack:

(can you tell I like snacks?) Another winner from Trader Joe’s is this Seed and Bean Medley filled with crispety crunchety edamame, roasted pepitas, whole kernel corn, fava beans and green peas.

7.) Favorite snack:

(call the police, this snackaholic is on a real binge) I discovered these vegan chocolate bars from Tabal Chocolate when at The One of a Kind Show last weekend and practically had to be dragged away.  TBH, I’ve only tried the Coconut Mylk bar thus far because I’m trying to savor every last delectable bit until I can make my way back to the shop in Wauwatosa, WI. Yes, I could order online, but it’s just. not. the same. Call me old school.

8.) Favorite self-care products:

This new shaving cream compliments of eos is super smooth and soothing. It’s filled with natural ingredients like cucumber seed oil, lavender butter and wild oat to calm sensitive skin. I love that it’s easy to take on the go to the gym with these sleek Venus Platinum razor to make shaving feel a bit more luxurious vs the usual chore. I received both products compliments of @influenster  but always provide honest opinions and don’t write about products that aren’t worth your time (or mine).

9.) Favorite indulgence:

This crackerjack donut from Mordecai Chicago is everything your nostalgic heart remembered about that salty sweet snack with the rando toys. Topped with freshly popped popcorn and a caramel crunch, but the real delight is the creamy filling reminiscent of a Butterfinger. Still drooling over this. Next game at Wrigley, this is a must-visit.

10.) Favorite recipe:

Not to toot my own horn, but these Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos were off the charts firey deliciousness. Got Cinco de Mayo plans? You do now. Recipe here!

That’s a wrap on my April favorites, friends! Remember to send any requests my way for new things to check out in May!

The post April Favorites appeared first on The Shooks Life.

I dip you dip we dip…for vegan chocolate avocado mousse. Droppin’ strawberries like it’s a bad habit into this sweet treat with the rich flavors of  @navitasorganics cacao. Try to stop at one dip. I triple dog dare ya. Get the dEATs below!

So here’s the deal, no need to count those dips with this little delight. The base of the mousse is healthy fats like avocado and coconut cream, sweetened with maple syrup and vanilla, with a super rich chocolatey flavor derived from superfood cacao.

Hold up, chocolate is a superfood? Yes ma’am. But there’s a difference between traditional cocoa and cacao. Two different things, not a spelling error (hello, I was a journalism major).

So here’s the deal. Cacao is the purest form of chocolate, produced by cold-pressing unroasted cocoa beans. It maintains a majority of the nutrients from the cacao beans while removing the fat (serious magic). In this whole form, it delivers an abundance of jam-packed nutrients such as magnesium, flavanoids (antioxidants that support the immune system), iron and phenylethylamine (PEA) – often called the “love drug” since it boosts mood and energy levels. Yes, please.

Cocoa looks like same, but don’t be fooled. Cocoa powder is raw cacao that been roasted at high temperatures, reducing the overall nutritional value (womp womp). In addition, many companies will add sugars to cocoa mixes, so watch those labels!

Now that you’ve discovered all the goodness of superfood cacao, dip on into this delectable mousse! P.S. Bonus points if you get the song reference from this post!

Vegan Chocolate Avocado Mousse
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
– 4 large, ripe avocados, peeled and pitted
– 1 1/2 C coconut cream
– 1 1/4 C Navitas Organics cacao powder
– 1 C 100% pure maple syrup
– 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
Serve immediately with fresh fruit or store in the fridge.

Happy dipping, friends!

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