Edie Shaw-Ewald is a Registered Dietitian and Personal Trainer, and a regular contributor to the Bedford Beacon.

She coaches clients to use real and natural foods to achieve their healthiest body and mind.

She runs her own business called Nova Scotia’s Nutrition Coach:

MMMMmmmmmm Burgers!

Apparently when I say the word “burger’ in our home, some family members get a little excited. They start to salivate and almost smell beef grilling on the bbq. They should know better- in our home a burger could just as easily be made with lentils, grains, nuts, beans or…quinoa.

When I announced that dinner was Quinoa Burgers…they chose to selectively hear only ‘burgers’ (teenagers are experts in selective hearing, aren’t they?!). They experienced the ‘Pavlovian response’ and looked forward to the burger of their imaginings.

When I served the quinoa burgers a complaint was expressed that it was inappropriate to call them burgers when they were clearly not made of beef.

So we tossed around some more ‘appropriate’ names:

“How about Patty?” “No…still makes me think of beef”

“What about Quinoa Cake?” “Well, we might start thinking of chocolate cake…” “I promise I will never serve a chocolate cake for dinner” “alright”

…So we settled on Savoury Quinoa Cakes…hope your mouth doesn’t water for fish cakes or crab cakes.

But this does bring up a good point…if you expect a ‘meat alternative’ such as beans or tofu to taste like beef or chicken, you might be disappointed. They aren’t supposed to taste like meat. Enjoy them for the taste that they are… even if they are in the form of a burger…er…cake.

SAVOURY QUINOA CAKES

adapted from Alive Magazine

1 cup uncooked quinoa (don’t forget to rinse it first!)
1 cup carrot, shredded
1 cup bread crumbs ( I used oats ground up in my coffee bean grinder)
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley (I forgot the parsley!)
2 tsp ground black pepper
2 large eggs
extra virgin olive oil

Cook quinoa as directed on package.

Put the cooked quinoa, carrot, bread crumbs, parsley, pepper and eggs in a food processor.

(My food processor was very full – I took some out and did it in batches)

Process until mixture is combined but still chunky

Put the mixture into a bowl and form patties…I mean…cakes, with your hands. Place burgers…uhhhh, patties on a plate, cover and chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or more.

Heat oil in a skillet and add patty-cakes…for about 10 minutes per side.

Serve in a whole grain bun…or not…with a big green salad.

These freeze well(before cooking). Thaw in fridge and cook as usual.

Source: http://www.bedfordbeacon.com/savoury-quinoa-cakes