Friday links

Not much going on this week, I’ve just been training for my 10k and trying to eat better for energy and performance (more on that in my next blog post). What have you been up to this week?

• The best spring Farmer’s Market produce.
• Some good tips to remember or learn in 25 ways to lower your grocery bill.
• A few weeks ago I mentioned Serious Eats’ vegan month, and here is a list of all the recipes they shared.
• The best Pinterest accounts for food lovers.
• Greens could play a role to aid in digestion. And while we are at it, comparing spinach and kale.

‘How About Orange’ makes Pantone Easter eggs

 

Chocolate coffee shake

Runner’s World tweeted a link to post-run smoothies. One particular smoothie jumped out right away: Crunchy coffee fix. This blends (get it??? Instant rimshot time.) the two things I want after a run: Coffee and a smoothie.

Truth be told, I didn’t have this after a run. I had this as an afternoon treat during a running off day. But it worked really well for that. Especially since I had a salad for lunch, it was nice to have a little sweet treat in the afternoon. And that’s what is great about this smoothie. The chocolate, banana and almond are all present in this smoothie, giving it a nice balance and texture. It has things I always have on hand and can whip up after a run or as a healthy afternoon snack. And the foods work well together, as described in the Runner’s World post. The post also have recipes for a few other smoothies, including smoothies that are each savory, green and dessert-like. So check out the article yourself!

Crunchy coffee fix

1 large smoothie

Ingredients

• 4 ounces chilled coffee
• 4 ounces fat-free milk
• 1 banana (preferably frozen), sliced
• 2 tablespoons whole almonds
• 2 teaspoons natural cocoa powder

Directions

1. Blend all ingredients until smooth.

What do you crave after a good workout?

Beet burgers

I recently posted about not liking beets and asked for suggesting on how to use beets so they didn’t have that “beet” flavor. (Good unprocessed food vegetarian I am, right?!) Well, AgriGirl was kind enough to suggest beet burgers. Since I’m a sucker for any veggie burger, I thought I would give it a shot. Thanks for the suggestion, Tammy!

I modified the burgers using Tammy’s suggestion (shred the beets and add flour, walnuts, rosemary and feta and saute) and remembered I had this beet and beet green fritters recipes. I love not wasting the greens and adding them to get a little more nutrition.

I combined the recipes to make a super recipe. I used beets, walnuts, caraway seeds, the greens and feta and it made a nice, naturally salty and flavorful patty with great texture. In the end it still tasted beet-ish, but it was a great patty I would make again. And I haven’t tried this beet, bean and rice burger, but it sure looks great, too.

Beets and greens burger

Makes 12, depending on size

Ingredients

• 1 bunch beets, with greens, peeled and grated
• Salt
• Greens from 1 bunch beets, stemmed and washed in 2 changes of water
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup walnuts, crushed
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground caraway
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• Freshly ground pepper
• 4 ounces crumbled feta
• Corn meal to coat the  burgers (optional)
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Greek yogurt to serve (optional)

Directions

1. Salt the beets generously and leave them to drain in a colander placed in the sink or in a bowl for 1 hour, tossing and squeezing the beets from time to time. After an hour, take up the grated beets by the handful, squeeze out as much liquid as you can and transfer to a bowl.
2. While the beets are draining, heat a large pot of water over high heat and stem and wash the beet greens in 2 changes of water. When the water comes to a boil, salt generously and add the beet greens. Cook for about 1 minute, until tender, and transfer to a bowl of ice water. Let sit for a few minutes, then drain, squeeze dry and chop fine.
3. In a large bowl, beat the egg and add the grated beets, walnuts, cumin, caraway, beet greens, bread crumbs, salt and pepper to taste and feta. Mix together well. Put it in the refrigeration about 30 minutes to firm.
4. Combine the oils in a large frying pan and heat until rippling, about 275 degrees. Take up heaped tablespoons of the beet mixture and form patties. Lightly dredge in corn meal. Carefully transfer to the pan, taking care to fry them in batches so you don’t crowd the pan, and fry until patties are golden brown on both sides. Remove from the oil and drain briefly on a rack or plate lined with paper towels. Serve with yogurt in a pita.

Friday Links

The big stories this week are horse meat and watered-down Budweiser, but you already know better than to find news here about meat and big-name beer.

• Andrew Zimmern brings bizarre foods to Iowa
• I’m probably slow to this, but stumbled across typewhich, drawings of sandwiches in typography, which you I love since it’s typography and sandwich!

• 25 household uses for food. Good list to keep around.
• Michelle Obama brings her My Plate recipes to Pinterest. Tons of great recipes, with magazines I love as contributors.
• I know the world is going crazy with Harlem Shake videos, but I still haven’t and don’t care to see one. I can, however, watch this video over and over.

Trying Miami’s Mushaboom food truck

This weekend was the 7th Annual Yoga Day in downtown West Palm Beach. Although I didn’t partake in the yoga since I had to work, I did partake in the healthy eating part of the event. Several food trucks were at the event, including one I love, Veggie Xpress, and one I have wanted to try, Mushaboom, a vegan food truck based in Miami.

When I saw the chickpea Parm burger on the menu, I knew I had to seek out this food truck. So when I saw they were going to the yoga event, I made a point to have lunch here before work. All the burgers look great, but I was intrigued by the chickpea Parmigiana. How would it taste? So I ordered that and a side of mushroom kebabs. I was very surprised how good this tasted, and how much it actually reminded me of what might be chicken or certainly an eggplant parm-type meal.

The burger is a chickpea patty with marinara and melted Daiya mozzarella. I hadn’t had Daiya, a popular vegan cheese, but I was very surprised how good it tasted and how stringy it was, melting and holding together as well as any mozzarella. And the patty was really good, not overly flavorful, but not bland. It was good. So good that I kept trying to dissect the burger to see how they made it stick together and what else might be in the patty so I could try to make it at home. The marinara sauce was light and fresh. I was really pleased with the sandwich, and the mushrooms (it is called Mushaboom after all, and they are one of my favorite foods) were seasoned and grilled great, adding a nice balance to the burger.

I want to try the other burgers, as I love to compare homemade black bean patties and I’m in love with falafel, but that will have to be another trip. I’m not sure how often Mushaboom travels this far north, but a great way to track this truck and any other is to follow them on Facebook or Twitter. I will be back and am excited to have tried another vegan food truck on the South Florida scene.

Spicy chips

Seeing the commercial for the new Sriracha Lay’s made me really want to try them. These Lay’s were decided from submissions for new chip flavors to Lay’s Facebook page. This is a finalist among Chicken and Waffles (I hear they taste like syrup) and Garlic Cheese Bread (tastes like Parmesan).

Being a fan of sriracha (Thai hot sauce), I was seeking out this flavor. My kind coworker, also into hot foods, found them and brought in them AND a different type of hot chips, Uncle Ray’s Hot potato chip. Awwwesooome!

First, I like things hot! Like, feel the heat in my face, make my eyes tear up hot. Then it’s good.

So when Uncle Ray’s looked really red, I knew they would be good. The first chip I had sent a cayenne flavor up my nose. And not fake cayenne saltiness, like pepper pepper. The other chips had a subtle flavor that had lingering heat on the back of the tongue  Eat enough of these, and you will feel the heat. And the chips themselves were crisp and thin. A solid chip.

The sriracha is not spicy. but that’s not to say it isn’t good. It almost has a slightly sweet and strong garlic flavor. It carries a subtle heat here and there, a great balance overall. It’s a good chip for sure, but one everyone can enjoy as it’s not hot. I would probably get it again as it’s a novelty and the taste is good.

I don’t have a favorite chip, as I kept going between the two for different tastes. I could recommend each in the right time and place.

Friday links

• The designer in me is loving this:  Foods and their matching Pantone colors.
• The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food is a long read. I haven’t read it all. I will. And the Internet is buzzing about it.
• This is what 200 calories looks like is a photo essay showing 200 calories worth of common food. Interesting view, but I was bummed to realize 200 calories give you more doughnut than bagel.
• 10 breweries about to blow up in 2013 including Funky Buddha in good ole Boca Raton (represent!). My fave beer of theirs is Bonita Applebum, even love the name. And an Iowa beer makes the list.
• And an awesome tip: