Noshtopia

Sweet Potato, Cranberry, Turkey Burgers

For a fun, simple holiday-themed burger, try these Turkey burgers with sweet potato, dried cranberries, fresh thyme and rosemary.

These burgers are dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, and gluten-free.

Ingredients (makes 4 medium patties):

• 1/2 lb turkey
• 10 Alexia brand Sweet Potato Puffs or 1/2 cup finely chopped cooked sweet potato*
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1/4 cup chopped sweet onion (or red)
• sea salt
• pepper

*I used the Alexia Sweet Potato Puffs for ease, and to bake some puffs on the side to complement my burger instead of French Fries.

Let's cook:

In a small food processor, chop the sweet potato puffs until finely chopped.

In a mixing bowl, blend the turkey, sweet potato, cranberries, thyme, rosemary, onion together. Add a few shakes of salt and pepper for taste.

Form patties, and cook turkey burgers in a frying pan until well done.

To enjoy your turkey burgers, use gluten-free buns, whole wheat buns, or go bun-less like I did and place burger on a bed of greens and top with avocado, tomato, and extra cranberries.

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$1.15 Side Dish: Tenderstem Broccoli With Almond Slivers

 

One place to find some cheap healthy eats is the clearance section at Fresh and Easy market. I found these Tenderstem Broccoli for $1.15 and it had one more day before its expiration date.

 

To make a simple side dish, a sauteed the broccoli in a wok with some chopped red onions and sea salt in 3/4 tbsp of olive oil for a few minutes until the broccoli was slightly tender. I like some crunch. I topped my dish with some almond slivers for added protein and voila, here we have a simple, cheap, healthy, and tasty side dish.

 

Ingredient Idea: Scallions

I like scallions because they add a nice subtle onion taste in a decorative way. Cut the scallions diagonally and they make for a cool splash of green slivers to any dish like in the Farro, Butternut Squash Pilaf we posted yesterday.

And did you know, scallions are rich antioxidants? Oh yes!

For some scallion inspiration, here are some dish ideas from awesome food bloggers around the noshosphere:

• Smoked rice salad with shrimp, peppers, cucumbers, scallions, and lime juice dressing [Sea Salt With Food]
• Somen noodles with scallops, vegetables, and scallions [Bev Cooks]
• Simple scallion pancakes [Sophisticated Gourmet]
• Asparagus salad with mint, scallions, peanuts and a chili, lime and ginger dressing [The First Mess]

What's one of your favorite scallion dishes?

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Meatless Monday Idea: Farro, Butternut Squash and Cranberry Pilaf

I found this recipe for Farro, Butternut Squash and Cranberry Pilaf in Rachael Ray's magazine, and it's a fantastic hearty dish. I used pre-cut butternut squash from Trader Joe's. The pumpkin seeds not only add a nice crunch but also protein.

Farro has a nutty flavor and is similar to wheat berries in texture. This pilaf is great as a side dish or main dish, and is vegan and soy-free.

I loved it! This pilaf is one of my new fvorite staples.

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Ingredient Idea: Squash

$2.50 Dish: Watercress With Quinoa, Butternut Squash, Cranberry, and Almond Salad

Happy World Vegetarian Day and Meatless Monday Idea: Semi-homemade Butternut Squash Chili

Allergy-friendly Semi-Homemade Pecan Sweet Potato Pie

I love pumpkin and sweet potato pie. For Thanksgiving this year, I made this vegan pecan sweet potato pie modifying a recipe from Dr. Andrew Weil's squash pie recipe.

For my pie, instead of squash, I used 3 cans of Farmers Markets Foods brand organic sweet potato I got at Whole Foods.

I omitted the brandy to make the pie alcohol-free.

I used arrowroot because I like it better as a thickener and it's GMO-free. With cornstarch, unless you get organic, it's most likely going to be made from GMOs because corn is one of the top GMO crops in the world.

Instead of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, I used 2-3/4 teaspoons of Pumpkin Pie spice because it's sold in one jar and easier.

I bought a pre-made organic vegan pie crust by Wholly Wholesome because Whole Foods had it on sale for $3.50 for two pie shells - a bargain and less work. On a side note, Wholly Wholesome also makes whole wheat and spelt pie shells, and a gluten-free pie shell. Over at Oh She Glows, there is a wonderful post on three ways to make vegan pumpkin pie including a nice vegan, gluten-free crust recipe.

Back to my pecan sweet potato pie, after pouring the filling into the pie shell, place all the pecans on top. I tented the pie crust edges with aluminum foil to help prevent burning. Make sure to bake the pie in the middle rack and not too close to the top heat source of your oven so the pecans won't burn.

At the 35 minute mark of baking, check on your pie to make sure the pecans aren't blackening. Mine started to darken a little so I laid a piece of foil on top of the pie. I didn't seal the foil, I just let it rest on the pie.

It's important to make this pie a day ahead of time before eating because the time overnight in the fridge is crucial to the filling firming up.

For the dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, soy-free whipped cream, here's our recipe.

Enjoy!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

[illustration]

 

We are so grateful for our readers, for your kindness and support! Spreading much love to you and the world. Peace :-)

 

10 Allergy-friendly Thanksgiving Dish Ideas

 

This year, for the family Thanksgiving dinner, I'm responsible for cooking the side dishes which is fantastic because I know I'll be able to eat everything. Score! If you're like me, I'm a last minute Thanksgiving planner. In fact, I'm doing my shopping today.

For some allergy-friendly Thanksgiving dishes, here are some ideas from us and from other delicioso foodies around the noshosphere:

• Roasted Brussel Sprouts With Pecans and Pea Shoots: dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, soy-free [Noshtopia] 
• Crunchy Garlic, Rosemary, Sage Croutons To Make Dressing: dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, soy-free [Noshtopia]
• Roasted Heirloom Carrots With Sweet Potato, Rosemary, and Leeks: dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, soy-free [Noshtopia]
• Creamy Kale and Spinach Gratin with Jalapeno Garlic Havarti: dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free (use GF bread crumbs), soy-free  [Noshtopia]
• Whipped Cream: dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, soy-free [Noshtopia]

• Farro and Roasted Squash Pilaf: dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free [Rachael Ray]
• Cranberry Orange Quinoa Stuffing With Pecans in Acorn Squash: dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free (use GF croutons), soy-free [Fake Food Free]
• Oat and Almond Drop Biscuits with Herbed Olive Oil Gravy: dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, soy-free [Sweet Roots]
• Chickpea Caulipots- a healthy, and high protein alternative to mashed potatoes [Keepin' It Kind]
• Squash Pie: dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free (use GF graham crackers), soy-free [Dr. Andrew Weil]

Got any last minute Thanksgiving dish ideas to share?

Meatless Monday Idea: Fava Hummus Sandwich With Avocado, Arugula, And Tomato on Ezekiel

At one of my local Whole Foods, they were sampling Fava brand fava bean hummus and I fell in love with their hearty Roasted Red Pepper fava hummus. I've never had a hummus made with fava beans before. I was easy to convince to try it because I have an affinity for Roasted Pepper flavored hummus. 

Silence of the Lambs made fava beans with chianti thrilling, but no need to fear here with this hummus. Fava beans are nutrient-dense, high in fiber, and high in protein. From Livestrong, here are some of the health benefits of fava beans.

For Meatless Monday, I have here a half Roasted Red Pepper fava hummus sandwich with avocado slices, tomato, and arugula with Brianna's Poppy seed dressing on Ezekiel Sprouted Whoe Grain bread. The chips on the side are Enjoy Life's new Margherita Pizza flavored Plentils which are awesome and free of the 8 common allergens.

Dipping Time: Sweet Roasted Red Pepper, Smoky Peach Hummus Salsa

I experimented and combined hummus with salsa and bam! I found myself a new favorite dip. Besides, a palate win, this hummus salsa requires zero cooking! I just used pre-made hummus and bottled salsa, and mixed the two together.

I've never seen a hummus salsa before because it almost seems odd to combine the two dips together. I think the key to my palate success was the flavors I combined.

For the hummus, I used Tribe brand Sweet Roasted Red Pepper Hummus. Whole Foods has a similar hummus. For the salsa, I used Trader Joe's brand bottled Spicy, Smoky, Peach salsa. I love that peach salsa because of the sweet and mild heat combo. The flavors of the Sweet Roasted Pepper with Spicy, Smoky Peach combined together is just awesome. I love using this dip as a sandwich spread as well.

To make my hummus salsa, I used 1 part hummus to 2 parts salsa. As an example, that would be something like 1 tbsp hummus with 2 tbsp salsa. To make the hummus salsa a little thinner, I'll add more salsa.

The chips in my photo are Late July Organic and Sweet Potato Multi-grain chips which are also, gluten-free, vegan, peanut/tree nut-free, soy-free, and GMO-free. I like that there are Chia seeds in these chips.

Have you ever had a hummus salsa? What flavors did you try?

 

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5 Ways To Eat Healthier In A Mall Food Court

Mall food courts are notorious for being fast food hubs which usually means lots of highly processed foods. But all is not lost. There are ways to find healthier options or minimize the nutritional overload. Here are some tips.

• Look for vegetables. In every Mall food court, there is always at least one Asian place like a Panda Express or Thai Now. The Asian places always have multiple dishes with vegetables in it like my meal above which is Thai food - broccoli beef with sriracha sauce, and eggplant with tofu over steamed rice.

• When ordering Asian food, get steamed rice over fried rice or noodles. Get a meat entree that is not breaded and fried like grilled Black Bean chicken with green beans versus Honey Lemon Chicken.

• For sandwiches, nix the mayo or any mayo-based spreads, and stick with mustard or vinaigrette as your spread. Eat your sandwich open-faced so that you are essentially only eating half the bun. Instead of cheese, get guacamole or avocado slices.

• Meal deals always sound great because you usually get three things for cheap like burger, fries and fountain drink, or taco, burrito, and fountain drink. The overall meal deal may be financially cheap, but it's nutritionally expensive denting your calories, fat, sodium, and sugar intake for the day.

Nix the meal deal and order two things a la carte. Thing one will be either a burger or a burrito, and thing two will be unsweetened iced tea or a bottle of water. Lemonade or juice is not necessarily healthier than soda because it has as much as and sometimes even more sugar than soda.

• Order small sizes of everything. Smaller portions mean you get to enjoy without overloading. Again, it's very tempting to buy the bigger sizes because the chains do that on purpose. They tempt you to buy the next bigger size for just 5o cents more, and it always seems like an easy sale at the time. Resist and stick with the smallest portion size available.

• Get your food in a to-go container. It's easy to overeat because you don't like to throw away food. I'm the same way. I don't like to waste. To solve that problem, get your food in a to-go container so that you can eat to satisfy your hunger and then take the rest home to eat later.

• If you are at the mall with a friend, order one meal that the two of you can split. Most food court portion sizes are big enough for 2-3 people. By splitting the meal, you save on both nutritional factors and cost.

What are some other ways you eat healthier at the mall?