Vegan Recipe & Chat with Oh Dear Drea

My days vary depending on 1. if my daughter has school. 2. if my daughter has work. I try to make it so that the days they are home, I’m away from the computer as much as possible, or completely— if I can! On the days when they’re working and school, we usually wake up at 8 am. Get the kiddo off to school by 9. Then I spend a few hours on the computer or around the house getting blogging and/or photos done. I usually break for lunch with my husband. We may or may not get out of the house for a minute together. Then I get back to work until 3, when my daughter is out of school. After school we usually go out for smoothies, the park, the beach, whatever the weather allows or just spend a quiet day at home. We have dinner together around 6. Some more playtime or clean up time. At 8, she’s off to bed and I’m on my computer getting work done until about 11 pm or midnight, when my husband comes home from work. Then off to bed to do it all again the next day 🙂

My biggest tip is to work on good eating habits as early as possible. Another good rule is to try to make eating big, healthy meals a habit. Meal time is meal time— for sitting and eating, not playing, no distractions, just food time together. I also recommend getting in the kitchen and cooking with your kid! They’re more likely to want to try it if they spent the time making it too! Also, make them try something, if they don’t like it, try to prepare that dish or vegetable a different way!

 I just want a fun, and comfortable space people can relax in. For me that means color, light, and more color 🙂

India was amazing! I can’t wait to go back! I loved the cities, the villages, all of it. I loved being able to eat delicious food for every meal. I loved the noises, and color, and just about everything. Favorite memories would include crazy tuk tuk rides, block printing, and delicious meals 😉

I like to read a lot of health and self care books mostly! Everything from Ayurveda books to mindfulness books, to books on medicinal plants. For listening, I’ve been listening to the band Poolside, on repeat 🙂

I just wanted a healthy veggie burger option. The store-bought ones don’t tend to be the healthiest— especially the soy ones. So I added something easy, with veggies and it’s fryable and delicious too. 🙂

Veggie (Chickpea) Patties via Oh Dear Drea

One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
2 garlic cloves
⅓ cup fresh or frozen corn
½ cup fresh or frozen and thawed peas
Large handful of fresh herbs (I like to use basil, oregano, and/or thyme)
One to two large handfuls of spinach (optional)
2 medium carrots, shredded
1 small onion, small diced
½ teaspoon spicy smoked Spanish paprika (optional)
½ teaspoon cumin (optional)
3 tablespoons dried bread crumbs
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Salt and black pepper to taste
Olive oil for cooking
1. In a food processor, blend together the chickpeas, garlic, corn, peas, herbs, and spinach (if using) for a few minutes, until smooth.

2. Add the carrots, onion, spices, bread crumbs, and flour to the food processor and blend together. Turn out the mixture into a large bowl and season with salt and pepper.

3. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.

4. Form the mixture into patties (we like to make 3½-inch [9 cm] patties) and fry until golden, 3 to 5 minutes per side. You can cook a few at a time, but keep in mind that they’re much easier to flip when you have more space! Do not fuss with the burgers while they’re cooking; flip them just once, very carefully.

Makes 6 large patties.

TIP: These are great for freezing—you’ll never need to buy a processed veggie burger again! Once the patties have fully cooled, individually wrap each one and place in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for later. When you’re ready to enjoy them again, reheat on the stove in an oiled pan or in the oven on low heat until heated through.