I was working on a completely different post when I realized, that its Independence Day tomorrow.  While we celebrate our Freedom, we also get to enjoy the summer.  What is better than a great barbeque as part of the festivities?  Being a vegetarian, I’m not a big fan of the packaged veggie burgers on the market.  I’ve been experimenting at home for a while now, which you may know if you’ve been at The Ranch recently.  I’ve been working on perfecting my recipe for a while.  I’m trying to find a good way to bind the veggie burger without eggs.  Eventually, I’ll have it figured out, but I thought I’d share what I made for my Fourth of July. 

As a follow up to my last post, I started experimenting with Homemade Sports Drinks and I think I found my preference.  (I even measured for you!)  So, you have two recipes to play around with.  Enjoy!

Quinoa and Kidney Bean Burger

Kate’s Quinoa and Kidney Bean Burger
Makes About 8 Patties

1 ¼ cup cooked Kidney Beans
1 ¼ cup cooked quinoa
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 cups finely chopped yellow onion
½ cup finely chopped celery
1 cup finely chopped carrots
2 Tablespoon chopped jalapeño
1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
2 teaspoons Cumin
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons Dulse
½ cup Bread Crumbs (or Oat Bran)
2 Organic Free Range Eggs

1. Prepare the Kidney Beans by soaking overnight. Rinse and place in a pot with plenty of water. Cook until soft. Drain and place aside.
2. Preheat Grill or Oven to 350˚ F.
3. Prepare the Quinoa. Measure ¾ cup dry quinoa and toast in a dry pot. Continue stirring while toasting for a 2-3 minutes. Add 1 ½ cups of water or vegetable broth. Cover and stir occasionally until all the water has been absorbed.
4. Add Olive Oil to a frying pan. Add and Sauté Onion, Celery, Carrot and Jalapeno. Add spices, excluding Dulse.
5. Combine Kidney Beans and Quinoa in a large bowl. Mash together. (I like using a small cup to do this.)
6. Add Dulse, Bread Crumbs and Sautéed veggies. Mix.
7. Add eggs and mix thoroughly.
8. Form a patty using your hands.
9. Cook. Grill: Place a sheet of aluminum foil on the grill and the burger on top to cook. Cook until brown on one side. Flip and cook until the second side is browned. Oven: Place burger on a cookie sheet. Cook until brown on one side. Flip and cook until the second side is browned. Approximately 20-30 minutes. I have found that over cooking them slightly helps to keep them together better.

You can keep any extra mix in the fridge for a week. 

Options: Replace the Kidney Beans with Black Beans or any other bean of your choice.  If you opt to use canned beans, remember to rinse them off first.  I’ve also done this without soaking the beans and just cooked them.  Add other chopped veggies, such as zucchini, broccoli, red pepper, ect. 

Serving Size 1 Burger, Calories 143 kcal, Carbohydrates 21g, Fat 4g, Protein 7g
Total Mix, Calories 1147 kcal, Carbohydrates 167g, Fat 33g, Protein 53g

Serving Suggestion: As you can see from my picture above, I opted to have a burger on a bun.  I had Red and Green Oak Lettuce, about 2/3 of a tomato and 1 Tablespoon of a Garlic Mustard Aioli. 
Serving Suggestion Size 1 Burger, Calories 387 kcal, Carbohydrates 63g, Fat 8g, Protein 16g
Serving Suggestion Size 1 Burger without bun, Calories 187 kcal, Carbohydrates 27g, Fat 5g, Protein 7g

Homemade Lime and Honey Sports Drink

Kate’s Homemade Sports Drink

I never liked commercial sports drinks and was excited to discover I could make my own that actually had taste other than fake sugar.  I find that a sports drink is best when working out for 4 hours or more and less on really hot days. 

2 Limes, juiced equals about 1/3 cup
1.5 Tablespoons Raw Honey
¼ teaspoon Alaea Pink Hawaiian Sea Salt
Enough water to make a Quart (32 oz.)

Place lime juice, honey and salt in a quart sizes jar.  (If you don’t have one, a Liter Water Bottle works as well.)  Add water to fill.  Cap and shake until all ingredients are combines.  Drink and enjoy!   Refrigerate any leftovers. 

Options: For different flavors, mix up your citrus juices.  Try lemon, oranges or a combination.  You can also use agave, coconut syrup or maple syrup.  If it’s too sweet for you, reduce the honey. 

Note: The serving size is the entire quart, but I find I drink only about a quarter at a time. 

Serving Size 1 Quart, Calories 109 kcal, Carbohydrates 32g, Fat 0g, Protein 0g, Sodium ~480mg (I can’t find official info, so this might be off)

How does this compare to Gatorade and Powerade? 
Gatorade: Serving Size 1 Quart, Calories 200 kcal, Carbohydrates 56g, Fat 0g, Protein 0g, Sodium 440mg
Powerade: Serving Size 1 Quart, Calories 240 kcal, Carbohydrates 66.7g, Fat 0g, Protein 0g, Sodium 213.3mg