Homemade quinoa veggie burger with Tzatziki on Rosemary Foccacia Bread

I promise this is the last you'll see of quinoa for a week or so haha.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked Quinoa*

1 large carrot

4 scallions

1 egg

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1 medium sized garlic clove

1 load of Rosemary foccacia bread

1 tomato

1 can of Organic Fava beans

ANY VEGGIE IS WELCOME!

*For this used leftovers from the chive-infused quinoa (see previous post, this quinoa included spinach, roasted red pepper, spinach and onion so for the full taste add those ingredients to this mix or also make the other dish and use as leftovers like I did!)

1 cucumber

1 cup of Oikos Greek yogurt

Juice from one lemon

Fresh dill sprigs

Optional: I served this with a summery black plum and kiwi fruit salad

Directions

Quinoa veggie patties

1. In a blender or food processors combine cooked quinoa, egg, veggies, beands, and breadcrumbs. Smush, mush, and blend until the mix becomes somewhat sticky and a lil bit dry.

2. Form 3-6 patties (depends on how thick and big you want them, I think next time I'll make 6 smaller thinner patties vs. 4 thicker patties)

3. Cook on the stove top with olive oil until browned on each side

Tzatziki sauce

1. Homemade Tzatziki sauce is so delcious! I combined Oikos greek yogurt with fresh dill, minced garlic, thinly sliced cucumber, and lemon juice. You can either blend or mix but you'll get different outcomes.

Blended: this turns out a lil more watery because it liquifies the cucumbers, which makes it a fun dressing but less of a sauce

Spoon mixed or whisked: I recommend this because the Tzatiki will maintain a thicker, more yogurty consistency.

Assemble

1. Halve a loaf of rosemary Foccacia bread and line the inside with Tzatziki sauce

2. Place sliced tomatos and sliced cucumber in the pocket as well if you wish!

3. Add the cooked veggie patties

4. Drizzle with more Tzatziki

5. Serve warm or cold with fruit!

So what's in it for you?

I've raved about Cannellini beans and Quinoa let's talk about fava beans, organic Greek yogurt Tzatziki sauce, and rosemary!

Favas are a favorite: Organic fava beans high in fiber, low in sodium, and fat and cholesterol free. Fava beans are also very high in iron. Thanks to iron, oxygen is carried from your blood to your muscles to make sure you get enough of it. So it is true! You can obtain a lot of iron from other sources than red meat! In fact, one cup of chick peas contains 13 mg's of iron whereas one slice of sirloin contains only 3.1 mg's.

Interestingly, fava beans are full of L-dopa (dopamine), an amino acid and neurotransmitter in the brain. Dopamine plays many roles in the brain having to do with mood, memory, energy, and sex drive.

Greek yogurt Tzatziki-OPA! Tzatziki sauce is a guilt-free way to incorporate a creamy dressing into your sandwich or salad. So much healthier than Ranch, here's why:

Yogurt promotes intestinal health, improves lactose intolerance, improves immunity, and may have anti-cancer and weight-loss effects. Other yogurts have 170 calories (of which are from fat) whereas Oikos Greek yogurt has only 110, NONE OF WHICH ARE FROM FAT! Other yogurts packs 27 grams of sugar, Oikos only 16. Plus, Oikos uses only organic sugar, milk, and fruits.

RANCH IS 91% FAT! No wonder it's so delicious. However, 2 tbsp's of Ranch packs 140 calories and 14 grams of fat! Tzatziki has only 54 calories and 0.5 grams of fat....sooooo when you pig out on veggies and or chips think Tzatziki! There's a reason why the Grecians are so good looking. Greeks say that "yogurt is an aphrodisiac!".

Ra-ra for Rosemary! It tastes delicious, what else? Dried rosemary can improve concentration by increasing blood flow to the brain, improves immune system, circulation, digestion, and also contains anti-inflammatory compounds.

Earth friendly tips.

Hidden preservatives and things I don't know what they do....

CHOOSE Tzatziki or a home-made ranch dip vs. buying bottled chain brand Ranch

Ranch:

Vegetable oil, egg yolk, sugar, salt, buttermilk, spices, garlic, onion, vinegar, phosphoric acid, xanthan gum, modified food starch, MSG, artificial flavors, disodium phosphate, sorbic acid, calcium disodium EDTA, disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate.

Why so many names of substances I don't understand?

Also, for this recipe I bought beans distributed by the a West Brae Natural vegetarian, a brand of the Hain Celestial Group--a "responsible" company that distributes greenly.

Links:

http://eating.health.com/2008/02/01/worlds-healthiest-foods-yogurt-greece/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12396676

http://www.hain-celestial.com/press/hcg_csr_2009.pdf