Grain Free Veggie Burger Stacks! GF, BED, SCD & Paleo w/ Vegan Opt'n!

Hey Happy Tummies!

So as promised, I'm delivering to you an AWESOME new recipe! 

Grain Free Veggie Burger Stacks!

So for our last night in Wisconsin, we had a BBQ! My family enjoyed beer-boiled-brats (a classic in the Northwoods)

 and I had a marvelous Veggie Burger over Zucchini Ribbons! Holy Cow guys...hold onto your hats! These were FAAABULOUS! 

I topped it with a roasted beet, fresh tomato, and delicious pesto!

Most veggie burgers are made with lots of grain or beans. Well, on the Specific Carb Diet, grains and beans are not allowed. :/ Soooo I used Almond Meal instead!! And LOTS of veggies! The great thing about this recipe is that you can literally add in any veggies you want! It's a "clean out the fridge" recipe!

And they're Gluten Free, Vegan, Specific Carb Diet & Body Ecology Diet friendly & Paleo w/ a Vegan option!

Here's what you need: (makes 4 patties -- serves 1-2)

2 baby carrots
3 mushrooms (BED use shiitake)
1/2 red pepper
1 cup sugar snap peas
1/4 cup almond flour
2 egg whites (vegan option: 2 flax/chia eggs)
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 onion
1 garlic clove
1 Tbsp EVOO

1 beet (BED omit)

1 cup basil
2 Tbsp pine nuts
Juice 1 lemon
1 garlic clove
1 Tbsp EVOO
salt and pepper

1 zucchini - made into ribbons
1 tomato (BED omit - substitute roasted red pepper)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrub and dry your beet. Cut it into 1/4 inch rounds. Place the rounds on a tin-foil-line-olive-oil-sprayed baking sheet. Spritz them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 50 minutes, flipping once halfway through.

Meanwhile, throw your carrots, mushrooms, red pepper, sugar snap peas, onion, garlic, and oregano into your food processor. Process until minced. (Don't let it get soupy). Place the chopped veggies into a clean kitchen towl (or several paper towels) and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. This is a very important step! Rinse out your food processor and set aside (you'll use it again in a minute).

Place your dry, minced veggies in a medium sized bowl. Combine with your egg-of-choice, oregano, olive oil, several cracks of black pepper, and almond flour. *Note: I did not add salt to the mix, as I didn't want the veggies to release any more liquid. Proceed with caution if you choose to:) .

Form patties out of 1/4 cup of the mixture and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (Makes 4 small patties). Mist the tops with olive oil and bake for 35-45 minutes at 400 degrees, until golden brown. 

While they are baking, make your pesto by combining all the pesto in your food processor. Process until smooth. (You'll need to scrape the sides several times.) 

Also, create your zucchini noodles by taking a vegetable peeler and carefully peeling the zucchini to create ribbons. Also, slice a tomato with a serrated knife into 1/4 inch rounds. Finally, chiffanade some basil for garnish.

To assemble: Place your zucchini ribbons on a plate. Place your veggie burger patty on top. Top with a beet, a slice of tomato, and another beet, seasoning each layer with salt and pepper. Top with 2 Tbsp of pesto and garnish with basil and pine nuts. I also dotted the zucchini noodles with some of the extra pesto as a sauce.

Wow oh wow. What. A. Meal! This was so fun to eat! The veggie burger had a complex flavor from all the different veggies and was complimented by the nutty almond flour. I love when almond flour is baked in the oven - it becomes so toasty and really brings out the nuttiness! 

The beet gave it an earthy sweetness, and the tomato was wonderfully juicy and delicious! But my faaaavorite part was the pesto! It was bright and fresh and really livened up the dish! It created this luxurious sauce for both the burger and the zucchini noodles!

I passed around my plate for everyone to take a bite and they all LOVED it! They said the flavor was delicate and fresh!

This is a repeat meal for sure!

Coming up this week, I'm really excited to do a restaurant review for you guys! I found out about this great SCD/Paleo/Vegan restaurant from this guy at the health food store I shop at. I can't wait to try it out and let you know all about it! 


Want more GFHT?  You can now get my e-cookbook, The Best of GlutenFreeHappyTummy for only $2.99 on Amazon!