resolutions

I wasn't really planning on making resolutions this year. Because I tend to be the constant-correcting type, always striving to do things better anyway, and practicing yoga has taught me to enjoy self-acceptance. So instead of making resolutions, where I resolve to do or not do certain things, I went ahead and changed my habits before the end of the year, almost effortlessly. Tired of the extra weight I had put on over the past couple of years, I started practicing yoga (online and free!) through yoga today, every day to every couple of days. It really is great. The classes are taped in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at the base of the Teton Mountains. There is a rotating schedule of class levels and topics, taught by three different teachers. I love that I can take one hour out of my day and feel like I've done something. Also, yoga is the type of exercise where you can learn something different from each teacher. There are so many different styles and ways of teaching, that learning is unending.

Meshing well with my yoga practice is my return to being (mostly) vegetarian. I'm not going to freak out about it, but I am going to make it a major part of my diet. I thought this would be a good time to start cooking more and buying fewer prepared foods. I always feel guilty about the amount of plastic waste from hummus, and it truly is one of the easiest things to make. I'm also a sucker for veggie burgers, and the frozen packs of four seem to disappear before I know it. I found a recipe online a few months ago for bean and grain burgers, and it seemed like the same recipe was all over the web. I tweaked it a bit while making them tonight, and I'll share with you the recipe.

I really prefer to cook dried beans, rather than using canned. They're less expensive, lighter to carry home from the store, and you get many more servings from the package. Plus, they're just beans- no salt or other additives. I cooked one cup of garbanzo beans and it was enough to make a batch of burgers, and I'm saving the rest for hummus. Cooking beans is easier than you might think- it just requires some forethought:

Place one cup of beans in a large pot and cover with a few inches of (filtered) water. Let soak overnight, or start soaking in the morning. Drain off water, and fill pot with fresh water, to an inch or two from the top. Bring to a boil, then lower temperature to a mild, rolling boil. You want the beans to cook, but not for all of the water to boil off or the beans to fall apart. Check and stir a few times, and the beans should be done in an hour to an hour and a half.

My modified bean and grain burger recipe: (I cut it in half)

1/2 med. onion, finely chopped
1 T oil (or less)

1 c. cooked garbanzo beans
1/2 c. fine bread crumbs (I crumbled one slice of 100% rye bread)
1/8 c. tahini
1/8 c. tamari (or a little less)
2 cloves garlic, minced

1/8 c. chopped parsley (I was out of parsley so I used one grated carrot)
1/2 c. cooked brown rice (or a bit more)

•sauté onion in oil till soft.
•mash garbanzos.
•add next 4 ingredients and mix.
•stir in onion, parsley, (carrot) and rice.

at the last minute I threw in some (1/4 -1/2 c.) raw sunflower seeds.

form into patties, sauté and enjoy.