red lentil burgers

Is life just busier? I feel the days are going faster than ever and any spare time that I have gets filled up pretty quickly. I don't mind though, I love fitting as much into life as possible that's just living, right?!

After a busy weekend and a full day at work I came home, chopped the fire wood, started the fire, then got started on these beauties.

Luckily there were heaps more burgers than I anticipated which means I can stock the freezer for a quick lunch option on work days. Sometimes with all the rushing, it's good to have a healthy back-up meal that you can defrost for a quick satisfying lunch or dinner and this is surely one.

Ingredients

(makes 20)

1 1/2 c split red lentils, soaked for 6-8 hours

1 c walnuts

2 carrots, grated

1 brown onion, grated

1 c besan flour

1 tsp bi-carb soda

1 tblsp savoury yeast flakes

2 eggs, lightly whisked

olive oil, for greasing

salt and pepper, to taste

Heat oven to 180 C and line a large baking tray with parchment paper then lightly grease with oil.

Bring lentils to boil in a heavy based saucepan.

Cook for 15-20 minutes until soft, then drain and set aside to cool.

Add walnuts to a food processor/blender and pulse until crumbled.

Mix walnuts, carrots and onion in a medium sized bowl.

Next add in the lentils and remainder of ingredients, mixing until well combined.

Using wet hands, scoop small handful sizes of the mixture then roll into a ball.

Place on tray and push down lightly to flatten out.

Repeat until all the mixture has been used.

Place tray in oven for 25 minutes, then flip the burgers and bake for a further 15 minutes.

Serve!

walnut, chia and rhubarb cookies

I’ve been utilising the dehydrator a bit more lately, can you tell?

This time is a fruity healthy cookie cracker. Gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, vegan, no added sugar, low-gi, mostly raw.. they are the perfect on-the-go snack.

Joel says they are more like fruit crackers than cookies. But I think he had greasy, buttery cookies on his mind when I produced these for him to try.

His verdict: they are really tasty, but you spend the next couple of minutes picking chia seeds out of your teeth.

I know this would bother him, because, Joel is a minimal effort kind of guy when it comes to food. He won’t eat muesli because it takes too long to chew. Yep, he is a different sort.

These ‘cookies’ (and I use the term loosely) are an impromptu idea I had to use up a bunch of rhubarb that was sitting in the refrigerator.

What?! Use up rhubarb! Like it is some kind of space waster.

It is not like that at all. Honest.

I love rhubarb, but because we are leaving in a couple of days for the snow (for a week) and I couldn’t justify baking it into something that would not keep – or that doesn’t travel well.

Alas! Dehydration.

Ingredients

(makes 20+)

1/4 c chia seeds

1 1/2 c water

1 bunch rhubard, chopped into inch long lengths

1 tblsp water

1 c walnuts, soaked for 12 hours and drained

2 bananas, mashed

1 tsp cinnamon, ground

1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix chia seeds and water and set aside for 20 mins so the seeds can activate.

Next, place rhubarb and water in a small pot and heat until the fruit is soft.

Remove from heat and cool.

Empty walnuts into a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.

Next add the bananas, cinnamon, vanilla and rhubarb to the walnut mixture and process until well combined.

Then, gently fold through the chia seeds.

Line dehydrating trays with parchment or teleflex sheets.

Place a cookie cutter on the tray and spoon in 2 tblsp sized portions - or whatever will fit.

Gently remove the cookie cutter and repeat until the mixture is all used up.

Dehydrate on 40 C for 20 hours.

activated vanilla walnuts

I love productive days.

My hours at work have gone back to normal, which means I was finally able to get on top of the house work. I'm not one to feel comfortable if there are lingering jobs waiting to be done.

But, now, I am at ease.

Tidying, sorting, washing, cleaning, ironing etc - all done! I've got the incense burning, fresh bunch of lilies from the garden and the fire on full blaze.

Not only all that, but I was able to catch a movie with my best friend (whom I love dearly).

So, after a busy day, it's time for a well deserved snack.

I've had these walnuts on to dehydrate for 24 hours, so now is as good a time as any to dig in.

Walnuts are super high in Vitamin E which has been found to significantly protect against heart problems. Also high in calcium, manganese, omega 3, copper, potassium and magnesium; walnuts provide so much of the good anti-oxidants that our bodies thrive on.

To properly engage these nutrients, I have activated these walnuts by first soaking them in water for 12 hours. This enables the nut to come alive again - literally. The enzymes in the nut start to break down as if it were about to grow. In doing this, your body is absorbing pure live nutrients rather than trying to break down the tough nut first. What better way to nourish your body than with living foods.

Even though they have been dehydrated, they are still activated as they have not been dried out too much to become dormant again.

Ingredients

(makes 3 cups)

3 c raw walnuts, soaked for 12 hours

2 tblsp malt extract

2 tsp vanilla extract

Thoroughly combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

Lay out on dehydrator trays and place on 40 C setting (level II for me).

Dehydrate for 24 hours.

Store in an airtight container for up to a week.