a true happy meal

You go to Burger King and get a burger and small fries and end up eating over 500 calories of greasy, cheap, assembly line-made food. It's bad for you, makes you feel gross afterwards, and doesn't keep you full very long due to the lack of nutrients left in the oily foods! Well, here's a problem that I can solve with my very own happy meal :)

Chickpea-Rice-Veggie Burgers:
(inspired by the lovely ohsheglows)

Ingredients:

Patties:

• 1.25 cups of cooked brown rice
• 2 cups of cooked garbanzo beans (after sitting in boiled water for one minute and left to sit for one hour to soak)
• 3 tbsp ground flaxseed
• .5 chopped zucchini (small pieces)
•  1 diced tomato
• some balsamic vinegar and optional little sesame oil
• 2 cloves diced garlic
• .25 cut up onion
• salt (to taste)
• some chopped up cilantro

First, knead the brown rice (make sure it's hot and sticky) and the garbanzo beans... it's difficult, find something with a large surface area to smash it all up! Maybe add a little bit of warm water if it looks too dry! Then just add in the veggies and mix them up. Roll into individual patties and cook in a pan with a little olive oil.

Bun: I sliced up eggplant in semi-thin slices and sauteed with a little olive oil and garlic powder and stuck the patty in between two cooked slices! I topped each burger with sliced avocado, honey mustard, and lettuce and created a perfect burger!







Sweet Potato Fries:

1.  preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. get two sweet potatoes and heat them up for 3 minutes each in the microwave
3. thinly slice them into french-fry sized pieces
4. throw slices into an oiled flat cookie sheet
5. spray a little canola oil on top of the sweet potatoes, top with basil, garlic powder, and salt
6. throw in the oven for 15-20 minutes (depends on how crispy you want them) and that's it!

 This is a true happy meal, making you feel happy from the tip of your tongue to the toes on your feet. This is a great combination of protein (rice and chickpeas), fiber (greens and veggies), fats (avocado and olive oil), and complex carbohydrates (sweet potato). Made from all whole foods, it keeps you happy on the inside and on the outside, tasting amazing and feeling healthy and satisfied!