Janis's fake sausage quandry + recipe

[Guest guest]

Okay. Talk about a ridiculous ending to a bizarre problem. DH slept

through breakfast (I knew he had to be overtired to react that way), so I never

even made the " real " sausages. My " long drink of water " skinny,

borderline vegetarian younger boy, whom I expected to love the Morningstar

sausage,

thought they were edible, but didn't much care for them. He found them too

sweet for his taste. My older boy, the obese dedicated carnivore, LOVED

them, although he also pronounced them to be sweet. He just liked them that

way. Neither boy noticed that they were not meat.

 

Then, I made them Morningstar veggie burgers for lunch in low carb wraps

with reduced fat velveeta and avocado slices. One bite and they knew they

weren't eating meat, but both boys loved them, especially my OLDER boy who

asked me to go back to the store and buy lots more! You don't understand.

You can SEE the carrot in Morningstar burgers and my older boy HATES cooked

carrot (he'll eat them raw, though). When I saw those orange bits, I

thought it was all over. Nope. He ate two burgers.

 

True, that's more than an eight year old should eat, but he screams that

he's still hungry and, thanks to vegetarian products such as Morningstar

(which is going to see more of my business), it's just easier to control the

fat and calories in the food he eats than the actual quantity. I draw the

line at two (he would have eaten all four in the box, had I let him), but he

stops screaming that he's still starving after two. And the fat and

calorie content in the two veggie burgers added up to about half the fat and

calories of one beef burger, so everyone wins.

 

Glad I still have 3 more coupons for Morningstar products. Um.... why

didn't I take more? I'm such an idiot! Anyway... I haven't tried these black

bean burgers yet, but I have lots of black beans in the house, so here's a

yummy-sounding recipe that I found this morning...

 

ZESTY BLACK BEAN PATTIES

Yield: 9 to10 very tasty patties.

 

1/4 cup (60 ml) pine nuts

1/4 cup (60 ml) coarsely chopped walnuts

1 small onion, coarsely chopped (I'd use half a Vidalia)

2 cups (480 ml) cooked black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup (120 ml) oat bran or wheat germ

2 to 3 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

3/4 teaspoon ground coriander

3/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (Gas Mark 6) and lightly oil (I'd

use cooking spray) a large baking sheet. Combine the pine nuts and walnuts

in the food processor

and process until they are finely ground (Trader Joe's sells already

ground nuts of several kinds). Transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Put the onion into the food processor and pulse chop until it is minced.

Transfer to the bowl with the nut meal.

Measure 1/2 cup (120 ml) of the black beans, and add them to bowl with

the nut meal. Put the remainder of the beans into the food processor.

Add the oat bran, water, salt, cumin, coriander, chili powder, garlic

powder, and pepper and process until well blended. Spoon the mixture

into the nut meal and mix well.

Drop the mixture from a large spoon onto the prepared baking sheet to

form nine or ten 3-inch (7.5 cm) patties. Flatten the patties slightly

so they will bake evenly.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. Turn the patties over with a metal spatula

and bake 10 to 12 minutes longer.

Note: If you prefer to use canned beans rather than cooking beans from

scratch, 1 1/2 fifteen-ounce (450g) cans will give you the 2 cups (480

ml) of beans needed for this recipe. Rinse and drain the beans before

using.

Note: I'd saute some mushrooms in cooking spray, veggie broth, and maybe

a bit of dry red or white wine to go on top of these burgers. I'd slice up

some avocado to go on them, as well.

 

In Vino Veritas,

*´¨) Janis Abbe

.. ·´ ¸.·*¨) ¸.·*¨) ¸.·*¨ )

(¸.·´ (¸.*´ ¸.·´ `·-* *

Oenaphile, Logophile, Ailurophile, Bibliophile

" Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre

minds. " ~Albert Einstein

" A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest. " ~Paul Simon

" I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints; the sinners

are much more fun. " ~ Billy Joel

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Which variety of morningstar burgers did you get? I love the chikn

grillers patties.

Audrey

[Guest guest]

I love the vegan grillers. 

 

 

Never try to catch two frogs with one hand.

~Old Chinese Proverb~

 

--- On Sun, 5/2/10, Audrey Snyder <AudeeBird wrote:

 

 

Audrey Snyder <AudeeBird

Re: [veg_grp] Janis's " fake " sausage quandry + recipe

 

Sunday, May 2, 2010, 12:24 PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

Which variety of morningstar burgers did you get? I love the chikn

grillers patties.

Audrey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I'm still in transition to being totally veggie (not everyone here is interested

in totally changing, which is fine, they're at least willing to try the things I

make!). I find if I put non-meat products in my recipes then just serve them,

my family doesn't even think about it or know (i.e. I put TVP in chili, spag

sauce, other casserole type dishes for example like shepherd's pie...I'll add a

little ground turkey and mostly TVP, gravy, onions, mushrooms...). The first

time my husband tried a premade veggie burger I just put it on a bun (with

cheese, ketchup etc etc) and handed it to him....he knew it wasn't meat but he

ate it! And he really likes the chick'n type patties.

 

Keep trying different brands. (oh and I add finely shredded carrots to many

things like spaghetti sauce, chili etc)! I add the fake bacon to dishes

sometimes too, it gives the flavor...I also have made sausage crumbles out of

tempe that can be added to scrambled eggs etc..I think I posted it and it went

in the files...

 

Does your 8yo eat fast? It takes 20 mins or so for our brains to catch up with

our bellies to tell us we've eaten enough...just a thought....

 

The premade burgers are convenient, but I LOVE black bean burgers! I've found

several in the files, and I'm going to try yours too!

 

The hardest thing for me is changing how I cook...it's easy to just whip up the

things you've made for years....I have to think about making veggie meals. But

I keep at it, and really do enjoy how I feel when I make the effort!

Jann

[Guest guest]

Dear Audrey,

 

I bought the plain and simple ones... the ones that didn't advertise a

special flavor... because I thought I'd have the best shot at getting my kids

to eat the plain ones. Honestly, though... they were also the lowest in fat

and calories.

 

In Vino Veritas,

*´¨) Janis Abbe

.. ·´ ¸.·*¨) ¸.·*¨) ¸.·*¨ )

(¸.·´ (¸.*´ ¸.·´ `·-* *

Oenaphile, Logophile, Ailurophile, Bibliophile

" Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre

minds. " ~Albert Einstein

" A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest. " ~Paul Simon

" I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints; the sinners

are much more fun. " ~ Billy Joel

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Dear Audrey,

 

I saw the chicken patties. I wanted to try them, but I was afraid my

picky kids wouldn't' eat them. I opted for the plainest veggie patties they

offered... and it worked. My kids liked them!

 

In Vino Veritas,

*´¨) Janis Abbe

.. ·´ ¸.·*¨) ¸.·*¨) ¸.·*¨ )

(¸.·´ (¸.*´ ¸.·´ `·-* *

Oenaphile, Logophile, Ailurophile, Bibliophile

" Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre

minds. " ~Albert Einstein

" A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest. " ~Paul Simon

" I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints; the sinners

are much more fun. " ~ Billy Joel

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I didn't see anything marked " grillers, " but I'll look next time. I still

have three more coupons, after all. LOL

 

In Vino Veritas,

*´¨) Janis Abbe

.. ·´ ¸.·*¨) ¸.·*¨) ¸.·*¨ )

(¸.·´ (¸.*´ ¸.·´ `·-* *

Oenaphile, Logophile, Ailurophile, Bibliophile

" Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre

minds. " ~Albert Einstein

" A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest. " ~Paul Simon

" I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints; the sinners

are much more fun. " ~ Billy Joel

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Dear Jann (from Jan),

 

Yes, my 8-yr-old eats at lightening speed. If I let him, he would devour

a meal for four adults in under ten minutes. He could be a competitive

eater! For this reason, I give him only a small portion, maybe a quarter of a

normal 8-yr-old portion (equivalent to 1/8 of an adult portion, which is

what he'll ask to eat) and make him ask for more over and over again (I drag

my feet in refilling his plate) before I replenish his plate.

 

I understand his dilemma. As an semi-ex-fat person myself (I'm now a

medium, not a stick figure), I know that it's very hard to stop eating when

you're still hungry and only the very top of your stomach tells your brain that

you're full. If his stomach, as mine was, is oversized, no one can help

that, but I can control what he fills it with! Hence my intense interest

in vegetarian recipes even though I'm not truly a vegetarian, despite what so

many people think (because I eat vegetarian so often, most people believe

that I'm a true vegetarian, even though I admit that I'm not).

 

However, both my son and I love black beans, so that burger is going to be

tried! As for my little boy, if you don't over-cook or over-spice his

food, he's good. He doesn't care if it's a vegetable or not. He has no

anti-vegetable biases... yet. His only issue is that if you overcook food into

cardboard, or so spice it that you can't tell what it originally was, he

won't eat it. Otherwise, he's good. I call him my raw food boy. He likes

best what nature provides.

 

Who can argue with that?

 

In Vino Veritas,

*´¨) Janis Abbe

.. ·´ ¸.·*¨) ¸.·*¨) ¸.·*¨ )

(¸.·´ (¸.*´ ¸.·´ `·-* *

Oenaphile, Logophile, Ailurophile, Bibliophile

" Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre

minds. " ~Albert Einstein

" A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest. " ~Paul Simon

" I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints; the sinners

are much more fun. " ~ Billy Joel

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

It sounds like your son had good taste......that is a good thing. Maybe you

could try some fun ways to slow down the actual eating of a meal. Try having

him put down his fork between EVERY bite.....everyone else do it too.....and do

not drink any beverages during meals......get him to actually count every single

chew and see how high he can get on one mouth of food and see if you can engage

him in conversation during the meal. Mrs. Michio Kushi, the wife of the man

who brought the macrobiotic diet to the US, told a group of people I was a part

of at a symposium, that she could chew one mouth full of rise for half of an

hour before swallowing the rice......amazing.

 

It takes the human brain 20 minutes after starting a meal to register that

your stomach has consumed enough food.......so it is imperative to help your son

LEARN to slow down while eating. A lot of people would benefit from slowing

down during a meal. YOU have to help your brain help your stomach help you

feel full at meal times. Slowing down can help you to eat less and lose

weight.

 

Sounds like you are off to a good start to help your son.....THAT is just what

a MOM who loves her children does......good for you!

 

Nancy C.

East Texas

[Guest guest]

Jan,

Sounds like you're doing what works for you and your family. I struggle with

weight too (and now with recently diagnosed arthritis in both knees, probably

eventual knee replacements! I really need to lose more, but it's hard if you

can't walk far and exercise...pool would be great but that's difficult...) so I

TOTALLY understand!

Jann (Janet...Jann is my nickname from long ago!)

[Guest guest]

They're a lot like the fast food breaded chicken patties which is why my husband

was receptive! They're ok and helped me when I first was trying non-meat

" burgers " etc....and the veggie burgers that are more like meat burgers are OK,

quick and convenient. But as time goes on I'm really enjoying patties made from

other things, it's just taking the time to put them together. I have frozen

some so I'll be trying that too.

Jann

[Guest guest]

Sounds like you're doing what works for you and your family. I

struggle with weight too (and now with recently diagnosed arthritis in

both knees, probably eventual knee replacements! I really need to lose

more, but it's hard if you can't walk far and exercise...pool would be

great but that's difficult...) so I TOTALLY understand!

 

 

I do enjoy shopping at Trader Joe's even though I am not a " total "

vegetarian. My cat, 16 yrs. old, loves Trader Joe's cat food and I

love their wines.

 

However, I have to say when I " taste tested " their " fake " Italian

sausage with peppers, it was very, very good.