Asian Edamame Burgers (Vegan & Gluten-free)Asian Edamame Burgers (Vegan & Gluten-free)

It’s the first official working day of 2018 and everyone (including myself) will be faced with the struggles of going back to reality and a normal routine. This year is proving to be even more of a struggle for me than previous years. I wasn’t even supposed to be taking time out during the Christmas period. I had planned on spending the last 2 weeks of December studying, but guess what? I didn’t even touch any of my study material! I ended up ‘unintentionally’ taking the 2 weeks off, which was nice, only it didn’t feel like a proper break. Every evening I would go to bed with the intention of waking up and spending the day with my nose in my books and notes, but then the hubby and I ended up doing something else. I felt so guilty and uneasy during most of it because I knew I was meant to be studying! 

Now that the festive season is over, I’ve come back not feeling like I’ve had a fully relaxing break away and on top of that I have so much college work to get through as well as client work. To say I’m feeling overwhelmed is an understatement. Don’t you sometimes wish you could go back to being a kid without any worries and adult responsibilities? I do most of the time! 😛

On top of all of that, I’m bombarded with diet and fitness talk everywhere I turn, most of it coming from social media of course. A part of me wishes I could stay away from social media this whole month because the last thing I need now is the added stress and pressure of being made to feel I should be going on a diet, starting a detox cleanse or a crazy fitness regime. I know I’m not alone in feeling this way. 

Even if you have eaten your body weight in chocolate over the last 2 weeks, what’s done is done. You had a very much needed break and hopefully made plenty of fun and happy memories. You don’t need someone shaming you into buying into fad diets that you probably won’t be able to stick to because they’re so unsustainable. 

If you want to be healthier this January and maybe lose the extra weight you put on, all you need to do is eat more fresh home prepared foods, eat less processed junk and move more. You’ll soon notice the weight fall off. Stressing about losing weight is probably worse for your health than the weight itself! 

If you’re taking part in Veganuary or are considering the idea, I have a yummy recipe for you that’s healthy and much more exciting that a salad or any fad diet out there! Packed full of colourful vegetables, fibre, healthy fats and  delicious Asian inspired flavours. 

Although burgers are considered as a junk food, they can be really healthy if made at home, especially ones packed with vegetables. You can make them even healthier my baking instead of frying (although they taste so much better shallow fried!). And if you’re trying to cut calories, leave out the bun and serve your burger with a huge side salad, vegetables or roasted sweet potato wedges. 

Asian Edamame Burgers (Vegan & Gluten-free)

Ingredients

300g frozen edamame/soy beans, defrosted
1 medium carrot, grated
4 spring onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves
65g cashews
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
A handful of fresh coriander leaves
Juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp tamari
60g oat flour – plain oats ground up into a flour in the food processor. Use gluten-free oats if allergic/intolerant.

Method

Allow the frozen edamame beans to defrost at room temperature. Alternatively microwave on high for 2-3 minutes.
Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until you have a smooth paste, and then shape into burgers.
You can either fry by heating coconut oil in a frying pan and cooking the burgers for a few minutes on each side, or you can bake them in a pre-heated oven at 200ËšC for 20-30 minutes.
Serve with shredded carrots, purple cabbage, chopped spring onions, peanuts and a drizzle of Sriracha or dressing/sauce of choice.
Enjoy!