Pecan Sunflower Burger and Walnut Hemp Burger

One of the easiest raw foods to make in a hurry that is very filling is the Thrive Diet's burgers.  I previously listed the Almond Flaxseed burger and liked it very much, however, today I made the other two recipes listed in Brazier's book:

Pecan Sunflower Burger (my personal favorite because they are spicy...)

1 cup raw pecans
1/2 cup ground raw sunflower seeds
2 TBS apple cider vinegar
2 TBS coconut oil, hemp oil, or EFA Oil Blend (sold by Brazier's company: Sequel Naturals)
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp sea salt

Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and blend.
The recipe says to shape into two burgers but I find they are too big so I make the recipe into three burgers.  Still very filling but not over the top, particularly if you are going to have a small salad with it.

I enjoyed this burger raw.  The first time I made the Almond Burger, I cooked it for 35 minutes at 300 degrees, however, he suggests eating them raw and honestly, they have a lot more flavor and are very moist if they are not cooked.

The second burger I made today was Walnut Hemp Burgers.

Walnut Hemp Burgers

1 cup of raw walnuts
1/2 cup hemp seeds
2 TBS apple cider vinegar
2 TBS coconut oil, hemp oil, or EFFA Oil Blend
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp sea salt

Follow the same directions as the burgers above.  I decided that since I used the food processor already, I would make the additional burgers and put in the fridge for another day.

Brazier suggests serving them with a bun and burger condiments.  I have not tried that as I just prefer to eat them raw with a salad.

Spicy Sun-Dried Tomato Marinara Sauce and Chili Kidney Bean Pizza

This recipe has great flavor ( from Brazier's Thrive diet) which is entitled “Chili Kidney Bean Pizza”; always keep in mind that Brazier says his pizzas are in shape only, not necessarily standard-type pizza. I will definitely make it again! When I do make this again, I will put it in a casserole pan and not on a pizza pan. The reason is that the flavor is fabulous (I'm sure it is the Marinara Sauce), but the brown rice is not sturdy enough for a standard-type crust and it was impossible for me to cut the pizza in the normal way and hand out slices. It broke apart.  The only other option would be to have an extra large pizza serving utensil. We all agreed that the taste was excellent but the pizza pan did not work. Next time, casserole dish and the recipe will be a complete success. Here is the recipe:

Chili Kidney Bean Pizza

1 ½ cups cooked brown rice

1 ½ cups kidney beans (I used white)

¼ cup coconut oil

1 TBS chili powder

1 tsp chili flakes

sea salt to taste (I used 1/8 of a tsp)

Using a food processor, blend up all crust ingredients and press into a pan (casserole dish preferred)

Spicy Sun-Dried Tomato Marinara Sauce (EXCELLENT!)

1 cup sun-dried tomatoes

1 clove fresh garlic

1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes

1 cup water

½ cup grated cucumber

3 TBS hemp oil

1 TBS balsamic vinegar

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp rosemary

¼ tsp thyme

Sea salt to taste (1/8 tsp)

Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in the water for 20 minutes.

In a food processor, process all ingredients until smooth.

Top pizza with sauce or you can use it for any other recipe that asks for Marinara Sauce. 

Cook at 300 degrees for 45 minutes.  Brazier says that by cooking at 300 degrees or less, you retain all of the original nutrients from your food.  He also states that through his research, he believes  you should either eat your food raw or never cook it higher than 300 degrees. 

Thrive's Almond Flaxseed Burgers

Tonight, I made Thrive's Almond Flaxseed Burgers.

The photo to the left is the burgers after being cooked at 300 degrees for 35 minutes.  The option was to eat them raw or cook them at a low temperature.  For me, eating raw garlic bothers my stomach so I preferred to cook the burgers.  I thought they were very good raw, except for the overwhelming garlic taste.  When I make them again, I'll leave out the garlic and eat them raw.  I did enjoy them cooked and they reminded me of the crust on the Sun-dried Tomato Pizza that I made last night.  I read on another blog that a couple made the burgers and commented on how good they were but said they were VERY filling.  The recipe was to make two burgers; I made the ingredients into three burgers to decrease the size per serving. 
Here is the recipe:

Almond Flaxseed Burgers

2 cloves garlic (I used one)
1 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup ground flaxseed (I ground the whole flaxseed in a coffee grinder.)
2 TBS balsamic vinegar
2 TBS coconut oil
Sea salt to taste (I added 1/8 of a tsp)

Here is the photo of the burgers prior to cooking:

Brazier suggests topping with Black Bean Salsa and putting them in hamburger buns.  I ate them without any toppings since this was my first experience at this recipe. 

I personally liked them.  I just would not call them a burger; just burger shaped.  :-)

Dinner: Thrive Diet Style

Tonight, we made a few new items from the Thrive Diet.  The first item was Sweet Potato Oven Fries, using the recipe from the book entitled: Garlic Oregano Yam Oven Fries.  I wanted to try these fries without the added spices first, using only the coconut oil.  All of Brendan Brazier's recipes are either raw or cooked at 300 degrees or less.  For that reason, if you are cooking, you must allow extended time for cooking as lower temperatures take a bit longer than you may be used to.  Our variation was to shred the sweet potatoes then spread a little coconut oil into the bottom of the baking pan. Oven was preheated to 300 degrees.  We sprinkled the shredded sweet potatoes into the pan and cooked them for 35 minutes.  They were delicious. 

The reason I decided to make the oven fries was because I first wanted to make the Sweet Potato Sesame Pizza for dinner.  It was also cooked at the same time in the 300 degree oven.  The pizza has a crust which you make in the food processor. 

Crust:
1 cup of ground sesame seeds
1 cup of grated sweet potato
1/2 cup chickpea flour
1/4 cup coconut or hemp oil
1 TBS garlic
1 tsp dried basil
and sea salt to taste

Topping:

The topping was excellent.  It was his Spicy Sun-Dried Tomato Marinara Sauce.  1 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 cup water
1/2 cup grated cucumber
(I added 1/2 cup nutritional yeast for the cream-textured sauce)
3 TBS hemp oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp thyme
Sea salt to taste

Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in the water for 20 minutes.  Retain the water.  In the food processor press all of the ingredients, including the sun-dried tomatoes water, until desired consistency is reached.  Simmer for ten minutes. Add to top of pizza crust.
(In my photo of the pizza, you will see that I did not blend the toppings.  I thought it was great!)

Brazier explains that the term "pizza" is a loose one but it looks similar.  I thought it was very good.  I forgot the sea salt but will remember it next time.  I made half the recipe and I cut it into four quarters.