Black Bean Veggie Patties

I was dreaming of Kerbey Lane in Austin. It is one of the most memorable Diner style meal I've had, and better yet it was vegan. It is almost impossible to get a table most mornings and not wait more that an hour for it, and so well worth it once your'e seated and you get to order the vegan breakfast platter with a vegan pumpkin pancake which I highly recommend. Not everything there is vegan, and it is very popular for both vegan and non vegans, but they have an amazingly tasty vegan menu. Everything I have had there has been so good.
That brings me to todays post. I wanted to make a black bean sausage patty. And it turned out really good. In trying to avoid soy, wheat, and processed foods, that cuts out many vegan patties you can buy at the store. These taste 10 times better than most of those and they are pretty easy to make. I always try to have brown rice, and some sort of bean (I usually alternate between black, pinto, great northern and Cannellini) cooked up in the fridge for quick and nutritious meals, so I made sure I had some black beans on hand. I dont really like canned, and once you start cooking your own you will feel the same way. The taste is incomparable.

In the blender I threw in: 
1 carrot
1 tomato
1 stalk celery
1 green bell pepper
1/4 cup diced red or yellow onion
2 tbsp red chili
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder, or a few cloves fresh garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp yellow curry powder 
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup black beans
3/4 cup brown rice

Blend on low to med so it is still a little chunky.

Then in separate bowl add:
3/4 brown rice
1 cup black beans
3 sprigs chopped green onions
1 cooked potato mashed
1 cooked sweet potato mashed
2 Tbsp Flax seeds
1 cup brown rice flour (add more if mixture is too loose)

Stir together with the mixture from the blender.

Form into patties to order. This makes a good amount so we've been eating them for breakfasts with toast and eggs, lunches, my husband eats them as a taco since he is off of wheat. I think with the next batch I will make them all up and freeze them.

Banana Bread Flax Crackers

You will need: 4 ripe bananas 1/4 tsp sea salt 1/8 tsp vanilla or 1 vanilla bean 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1 2/3 c pitted dates, or 15 dates 1 14 oz bag of flax seeds (or 2 1/3 c.) Makes 4 1/2 trays Blend all ingredients together until smooth except for the flax crackers. Then in a separate bowl add the banana mixture to the flax crackers and mix well. Add about 1/4 of the mixture, or using a spatula take a couple of scoops onto a tray and spread evenly with the spatula. Once well spread, gently score the crackers into the size you would like your crackers to be. Place into the dehydrator and set timer for 10 hours on 105 degrees. After 4 hours they should be ready to flip. Simply flip onto a clean tray with no liner, peel off liner, and put back into the dehydrator for the remaining time. We usually let it go over night, Your crackers will be ready in the morning! Enjoy with a breakfast smoothie. YUM!

RAWvolution: Raw Food Cuisine

I found this to be a really good book by Matt Amsden. I picked it up at a yard sale for $2! Tons of great and do-able recipes that taste and look great. Check out his website for more inspiration. He even has a service that delivers raw meals right to your door. Of course learning yourself is the best and more budget friendly way to go. This is a great book to have in your library.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-STzXUgKX4

Thrifty Tips:

It is essential that you keep your refrigerator cleaned out! How many times have you gone through it weeks after purchasing that interesting vegetable only to find that you completely forgot about it since it was buried in the depths of your refrigerator? Not anymore. Think of how much waste and money can be avoided if every purchase is utilized.

Tips to prevent waste and help keep food costs down:

* Clean your refrigerator weekly.

*Any items unused and you are not going to any time soon, chop up and freeze-either fruit or vegetable. Keep this in mind too if you have grown it. 

* Plan your Friday meal as clean-out-the-refrigerator-night. More on that later.

* Dont over buy. It is so easy to do. Perhaps only buy for 3 days worth of meals and snacks, you will probably find you still have enough for a fourth day.

*Meal Plan. Buy only what you need unless...

*there is a SALE. I have found it is amazing to buy tons of tomatoes, squash, bell peppers, or other produce when there is an amazing sale on them, especially right now in the late summer when harvesting is at its peak. You will find great competitive prices even if you have to travel to a few stores, it will be worth it. I promise you will love pulling out a bunch of already prepped (cleaned and cut to size) food from the freezer, throwing it together with your stir fried rice for an easy, inexpensive and healthy meal.

*Buy in Bulk. search internet prices for certain items. I hope to keep an updated guide of where to purchase specialty items for less and better quality. See my buying guide.

*Take advantage of any co-ops in your area. Even the upgraded organic basket we get is a great deal. As soon as you get it, plan out a few meals around the contents. Utilize everything. We use Bountiful Baskets and for the most part we are pleased with what we get, and they are available in many areas. 

* Grow a garden.

Do you have any good money saving ideas? We'd love to hear them.