Bean and Quinoa Burgers

A great vegetarian burger using two varieties of beans and quinoa. The added time required for drying out the beans and chilling the mixture in the fridge is worth it so that the burgers don't turn out all mushy.

Check out the other home-made burgers on my blog. I often use beans in my veggie versions and quinoa is a nice alternative to oats or potatoes.

Bean and Quinoa Burgers
Makes 4

Ingredients:
- 43g / 1.4oz quinoa, dry (~120g cooked)
- 840g / 30oz / 2 cans beans (I use black beans and black eyed peas), no salt added
- 40g / 1.5oz oats
- 30g / 4 spring onions, chopped
- 1tsp cumin
- 1/2tsp chili powder
- 1/2tsp paprika
- 1/4tsp garlic powder
- 1/4tsp ground black pepper
- 1 egg, beaten
- 45ml / 3tbsp aquafaba / bean liquid

Method:

• Cook the quinoa and transfer to a bowl and allow to cool.
• On a baking sheet lined with paper towels, dry out the beans and then roughly pulse in a food processor, leaving a little texture.
• In the bowl with the quinoa, add the oats, spring onion and spices.
• Combine the egg with the aquafaba and add to the bowl. 
• Add the bean mixture and stir everything together.
• Chill in the fridge for a few hours and then form into patties.
• Grill for 10 minutes until cooked. Serve with green vegetables, whole wheat burger buns and tomato paste. ENJOY!

Nutritional Information:

Red Kidney Bean Hummus

This hummus/dip recipe is just like my original hummus - which uses chickpeas - but I used a can of red kidney beans instead.
Other varieties I've previously made use black beans, black-eyed peas and cannellini beans (aka white kidney beans).

Red Kidney Bean Hummus
Makes 5 (65g per serving)

Ingredients:
- 440g / 15.5oz / 1 can red kidney beans
- 15ml / 1tbsp bean juice
- 15ml / 1tbsp oil
- 45ml / 3tbsp lemon juice
- 1tsp paprika

Method:

Drain the can of kidney beans, retaining 1 tablespoon of juice.

Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend together.

Spoon into a container for storage.

Serve with chopped vegetables or baked corn tortillas. ENJOY!

Nutritional Information:

Black-Eyed Peas Hummus

Another 'hummus' dip but instead of using chickpeas or black beans, this recipes uses a can of black-eye peas and lime juice. I also had some fresh cilantro which I added instead of spices.

All three kinds of hummus dip featured in this blog are quite similar in their nutritional content - about 100 calories per ~65g / ~2oz serving. They don't have any cholesterol and contain less than 1g sugar, if any at all! 13g carbohydrates and 4-6g protein, with black-eyed peas offering a little more protein than chickpeas or black beans. The chickpea hummus has a little more fat, due to the 2tbsp olive oil. 1tbsp oil can be replaced with a tablespoon of bean juice or water to keep fat at 3g per serving.

I prefer to use canned beans with no added salt but sometimes I can't get all varieties of beans with low sodium. The black bean hummus only has 7mg sodium per serving whereas the other two dips have ~170mg per serving. No added salt makes a big difference in nutritional health and very little difference in flavour.

Black-Eyed Pea Hummus
Makes 5 (67g per serving)

Ingredients:
- 440g / 15.5oz / 1 can black-eyed peas
- 15ml / 1tbsp black-eyed peas juice
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 15ml / 1tbsp olive oil
- 45ml / 3tbsp lime juice
- 5g / 1/4cup cilantro, fresh and chopped

Method:
Drain the can of black beans, retaining 1 tablespoon of juice.
Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend together.

Spoon into a container for storage.
Serve with chopped vegetables. ENJOY!

Nutritional Information: