What would be nice to warm up with on a chilly winter day? Spicy, hot peppers, ginger, and garlic! I created this vegetarian burger recipe to test for nightshades during Phase 3 of the Elimination Diet, though everyone can enjoy this flavor-packed recipe! When I first made them, Tom said "Wow Al, these are amazing!" I enticed him with a taste while he was working in the home office. Not soon after, he was in the kitchen scrambling around for more.
They are fantastic if placed into a "natural burger bun" such as Napa cabbage leaves or romaine lettuce leaves. Combined with sliced avocado, sprouts, and my spicy coconut cream, these burgers are a crowd pleaser. Though I have to admit my girls won't eat them. My twin toddler boys who will eat just about anything I put in front of them like these to a certain extent but they are not crazy about them. This is one of the few recipes I have posted on this site that is not kid-friendly. I guess it is probably my liberal use of spicy ingredients.
Above Photo: Cooked Mung beans draining in a colander.
Our cookbook states to test nightshades as a group. You can do this or choose to test each individually waiting 3 days in between each food. Tom usually varies the Elimination Diet for each person based on their case history. The general version in our book lasts for 28 days. It may take much longer depending on your health condition and how you want to space out testing. For those with various health conditions, it is better to test each food individually to be able to accurately identify the food that is causing problems. However, if you feel healthy already and would like to do the diet to give yourself more insight into the food you consume and its relation to your well-being then the general plan in our book will be just fine.
Spicy Thai Mung Bean Burgers
If you are following our Elimination Diet then you may already have a container of cooked mung beans in your fridge. If not, refer to the bean cooking guide on page 140 of our cookbook. Mung beans take about 45 to 60 minutes to cook on the stovetop and about 10 minutes to cook in the pressure-cooker. Make sure you drain them very well before using in this recipe. The burgers won't work if there is too much liquid added. When cooking your quinoa cook 1 cup with 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups of water so it is on the drier side. This will help the burgers hold together. And lastly, be sure all of your ingredients are either cool or at room temp before making this recipe.
Yield: 6 burgers
small handful fresh cilantro
4 green onions, ends trimmed
2 hot peppers (1 cherry bomb, 1 jalapeno), seeded
3 cloves garlic
1 small piece fresh ginger, peeled
2 teaspoons lime zest
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups cooked mung beans, drained well
2 cups cooked quinoa
Burger Toppings:
sliced avocado
sprouts
Spicy Pepper Coconut Cream (recipe to come soon)
Using a food processor fitted with the "s" blade process all ingredients except mung beans and quinoa until finely minced. Add mung beans and quinoa and process again until mixture comes together and forms a ball.
With slightly oiled hands, shape into six patties. Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil or coconut oil. Cook patties for about 3 to 5 minutes on each side.
Serve each burger inside two napa cabbage leaves with your favorite toppings. Source: www.NourishingMeals.com
I thought I would share a wonderful site I found: The Food Sensitivity Journal. This site is new, but full of information on health and food sensitivities. Please check it out, and be sure to stop by Megan's blog as well!
If you are looking for a healthy Elimination Diet, Phase 1 friendly dessert recipe then check out this awesome Apple Pie created by Iris of the Daily Diet Tribe!
More Yummy and Healthy Main Dish Recipes:
(not all Elimination Diet recipes)
