Burgers are often not considered the healthiest food, but they can be! Ok, so the teriyaki sauce component itself isn’t the healthiest, but the rest of this recipe is, and with all the fiber this contains, it’s a net positive healthwise, even before considering the protein, vitamins, minerals, and assorted phytonutrients.

You will need

• 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or 2 cups of chickpeas, cooked drained and rinsed)
• ¼ cup chickpea flour (also called gram flour or garbanzo bean flour)
• ¼ cup teriyaki sauce
• 2 tbsp almond butter (if allergic, substitute with a seed butter if available, or else just omit; do not substitute with actual butter—it will not work)
• ½ bulb garlic, minced
• 1 large chili, minced (your choice what kind, color, or even whether or multiply it)
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 1″ piece of ginger, grated
• 2 tsp teriyaki sauce (we’re listing this separately from the ¼ cup above as that’ll be used differently)
• 1 tsp yeast extract (even if you don’t like it; trust us, it’ll work—this writer doesn’t like it either but uses it regularly in recipes like these)
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 1 tsp fennel powder
• ½ tsp sweet cinnamon
• ½ tsp MSG or 1 tsp low-sodium salt
• Extra virgin olive oil for frying

For serving:

• Burger buns (you can use our Delicious Quinoa Avocado Bread recipe)
• Whatever else you want in there; we recommend mung bean sprouts, red onion, and a nice coleslaw

Method

(we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)

1) Preheat the oven to 400℉ / 200℃.

2) Roast the chickpeas spaced out on a baking tray (lined with baking paper) for about 15 minutes. Leave the oven on afterwards; we still need it.

3) While that’s happening, heat a little oil in a skillet to a medium heat and fry the shallot, chili, garlic, and ginger, for about 2–3 minutes. You want to release the flavors, but not destroy them.

4) Let them cool, and when the chickpeas are done, let them cool for a few minutes too, before putting them all into a food processor along with the rest of the ingredients from the main section, except the oil and the ¼ cup teriyaki sauce. Process them into a dough.

5) Form the dough into patties; you should have enough dough for 4–6 patties depending on how big you want them.

6) Brush them with the teriyaki sauce; turn them onto a baking tray (lined with baking paper) and brush the other side too. Be generous.

7) Bake them for about 15 minutes, turn them (taking the opportunity to add more teriyaki sauce if it seems to merit it) and bake for another 5–10 minutes.

8) Assemble; we recommend the order: bun, a little coleslaw, burger, red onion, more coleslaw, mung bean sprouts, bun, but follow your heart!

Enjoy!

Want to learn more?

For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:

• Three Daily Servings of Beans/Legumes?
• Hoisin Sauce vs Teriyaki Sauce – Which is Healthier?
• Sprout Your Seeds, Grains, Beans, Etc
• Our Top 5 Spices: How Much Is Enough For Benefits? ← we scored 4/5 today!
• Monosodium Glutamate: Sinless Flavor-Enhancer Or Terrible Health Risk?

Take care!

Today we have a recipe we’ve mentioned before, but now we have standalone recipe pages for recipes, so here we go. The dish of the day is shchi—which is Russian cabbage soup, which sounds terrible, and looks as bad as it sounds. But it tastes delicious, is an incredible comfort food, and is famous (in Russia, at least) for being something one can eat for many days in a row without getting sick of it.

It’s also got an amazing nutritional profile, with vitamins A, B, C, D, as well as lots of calcium, magnesium, and iron (amongst other minerals), and a healthy blend of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, plus an array of anti-inflammatory phytochemicals, and of course, water.

You will need

• 1 large white cabbage, shredded
• 1 cup red lentils
• ½ lb tomatoes, cut into eighths (as in: halve them, halve the halves, and halve the quarters)
• ½ lb mushrooms sliced (or halved, if they are baby button mushrooms)
• 1 large onion, chopped finely
• 1 tbsp rosemary, chopped finely
• 1 tbsp thyme, chopped finely
• 1 tbsp black pepper, coarse ground
• 1 tsp cumin, ground
• 1 tsp yeast extract
• 1 tsp MSG, or 2 tsp low-sodium salt
• A little parsley for garnishing
• A little fat for cooking; this one’s a tricky and personal decision. Butter is traditional, but would make this recipe impossible to cook without going over the recommended limit for saturated fat. Avocado oil is healthy, relatively neutral in taste, and has a high smoke point for caramelizing the onions. Extra virgin olive oil is also a healthy choice, but not as neutral in flavor and does have a lower smoke point. Coconut oil has far too strong a taste and a low smoke point. Seed oils are very heart-unhealthy. All in all, avocado oil is a respectable choice from all angles except tradition.

Note: with regard to the seasonings, the above is a basic starting guide; feel free to add more per your preference—however, we do not recommend adding more cumin (it’ll overpower it) or more salt (there’s enough sodium in here already).

Method

(we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)

1) Cook the lentils until soft (a rice cooker is great for this, but a saucepan is fine); be generous with the water; we are making a soup, after all. Set them aside without draining.

2) Sauté the cabbage, and put it in a big stock pot or similar large pan (not yet on the heat)

3) Fry the mushrooms, and add them to the big pot (still not yet on the heat)

4) Use a stick blender to blend the lentils in the water you cooked them in, and then add to the big pot too.

5) Turn the heat on low, and if necessary, add more water to make it into a rich soup

6) Add the seasonings (rosemary, thyme, cumin, black pepper, yeast extract, MSG-or-salt) and stir well. Keep the temperature on low; you can just let it simmer now because the next step is going to take a while:

7) Caramelize the onion (keep an eye on the big pot, stirring occasionally) and set it aside

8) Fry the tomatoes quickly (we want them cooked, but just barely) and add them to the big pot

9) Serve! The caramelized onion is a garnish, so put a little on top of each bowl of shchi. Add a little parsley too.

Enjoy!

Want to learn more?

For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:

• Level-Up Your Fiber Intake! (Without Difficulty Or Discomfort)
• The Magic Of Mushrooms: “The Longevity Vitamin” (That’s Not A Vitamin)
• Easily Digestible Vegetarian Protein Sources
• The Bare-Bones Truth About Osteoporosis
• Some Surprising Truths About Hunger And Satiety

Take care!