spicy

Beet Burgers

In celebration of 4th of July I had to keep the tradition going with a veggie burger recipe!

These burgs are seriously filling. Loaded with brown rice, black beans, beets, oat bran, and jalapeños to add a little heat! They’re also gluten-free, vegan, low-fat, and will give your average beef burger a run for its money.

I hope that everyone has a fun and safe holiday!
For all of my international bunnies, happy Thursday to you tomorrow!

Beet Burgers
Beet Burgers
Beet Burgers
Beet Burgers
Beet Burgers
Beet Burgers
Beet Burgers
Beet Burgers
Beet Burgers
Beet burgers
serves 4

1 can low-sodium black beans
1 cup cooked brown rice
1/4 cup finely chopped beets (I used canned)
2 Tbsp diced jalapeños
2 Tbsp oat bran
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp Medjool Date BBQ Sauce or BBQ sauce of your choice

Toppings:
4 slices of Monterey Jack cheese or vegan cheese
1 Tomato, sliced
1 Red onion, sliced
Kale or lettuce

Strain beans but do not rinse. Place beans in a food processor and pulse until mashed but not puréed (you want some texture/chunks in there. Transfer beans to a mixing bowl. Strain beets and place beets in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Measure 1/4 cup and add to the mixing bowl. Add the diced jalapeños, brown rice, oat bran, chili powder, paprika, and salt and fold until well combined. Divide the mixture into four and form patties. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Place the patties on the foil lined baking sheet and place in the fridge for 1 hour. This is an important step in getting the right consistency. After the patties have been chilled, Preheat oven to 375. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the patties from the oven at the half-way mark (15 minutes) and baste with barbecue sauce (do not flip the patties). Place the baking sheet back in the oven and continue baking for the remaining cooking time. If you wish to add cheese, set the oven to broil during the last minute of cooking, place cheese on each patty and broil for about 30 seconds. Serve on a whole grain bun, in a fresh lettuce wrap, or on “grilled portobello buns” and enjoy your holiday!
Note: Make sure to chill the patties in the refrigerator before baking.
Spicy Tip: Beet Burgers aren’t super spicy, but if you want them a little more mild, remove seeds from the  jalapeños or try using green chillies.
Shortcut: I used precooked brown rice and heated it in the microwave before adding to the recipe to save me a few minutes. I also used canned beets and black beans!
Warning: Do not grill on a barbecue, they can fall apart!

Looking for other veggie burger recipes?
Chickpea Patties
Black Bean Burgers

Spicy Korean Tacos

RFFMBT was down for about an hour today due to extremely high traffic! I was so worried that I would lose some of my content or even contest entries for the DOLE Salad Circle Party Giveaway! All is good and no content was lost! I took care of the server issue and am back up and running and hit 2.3 million views OMG! No wonder my server was freaking out! Thank you so much to everyone who reads, shares, likes, follows, tweets, pins, or comments on my blog. You are AMAZING!

I really wanted to recreate a dish that I once had from a food truck called Calbi. The Calbi truck is always driving around different areas of LA serving up some amazing Korean BBQ and Asian fusion treats. They serve up tons of delicious Korean style dishes with an awesome twist: filled into tortillas making Korean burritos and tacos! Ummm can you say brilliant? Burritos and tacos are awesome, and next up, I really want to try the Jogasaki truck which makes sushi burritos! I’m drooling now. I want sushi for din!


Here is my take on the Calbi truck’s Tofu Tacos! Made with my favorite Asian hot sauce: Sriracha. Sriracha, originally from Thailand is very popular among Asian cuisines such as Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean. If you’re like me Sriracha is not limited to Asian foods, and goes on practically anything and everything!  Made from chili, sugar, salt, garlic, and distilled vinegar, Huy Fong Foods’ Sriracha (also knows as “Rooster Sauce” in the US – due to it’s iconic label) sauce adds a nice fiery kick of spice and flavor to your dish.

Any other Sriracha fans out there?!



Spicy Korean Tacos
Serves 1

2 soft taco sized whole corn tortillas
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
1/5 package extra firm tofu
1 Tbsp Sriracha
1 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce or Tamari
1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
1/2 Tbsp sesame seeds

Remove tofu from packaging. Remove as much water as possible by pressing/squeezing firmly with paper towel to absorb excess liquid. Cut the tofu into 1 inch cubes. Pour the sesame oil, soy sauce, and Sriracha into a pan/skillet and mix together. Set stove to medium/high heat. Add the cubed tofu into the pan and cook on each side for about 3 minutes until edges become firm and center is warmed through. Once the tofu has finished cooking, remove it from the pan and set aside. In the same pan, add the low sodium vegetable broth, cabbage, and carrots. The vegetables will pick up the flavoring from the broth and extra sauces left in the pan. Cook the vegetables over the stove for about 2-3 minutes or until they have reached your desired firmness. Strain any excess vegetable broth from the pan. Heat the corn tortillas with a damp paper towel (to avoid cracking) for 20 seconds. Place the tofu and vegetable mixture onto the tortillas and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Note: If sesame oil is unavailable, olive oil will still give great results.


The Rabbit Food Pyramid Breakdown
Produce: cabbage & carrots
Whole Grain: whole corn tortillas
Protein: tofu
Plant Based Fat: sesame oil & sesame seeds
Free Extras: vegetable broth, Sriracha, and tamari

Chili Lime Roasted Chickpeas

Chickpeas can make a great low-fat, high-fiber snack, and there is more to them than just hummus! If you love the texture and crunchiness of corn nuts, then you will love snacking on this healthy alternative of roasted chickpeas.

Chili Lime Roasted Chickpeas
Makes about 6, ¼ cup servings

15oz can chickpeas
3 tsp chili powder
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread chickpeas out on a foil covered baking sheet. Bake for 45-50 minutes, stirring and flipping every 15 minutes or so. While chickpeas are roasting, combine oil, chili powder, lime juice, sea salt, and cumin in a bowl and whisk together. When chickpeas are near the end of their cooking time and have become golden and crunchy, remove them from the oven and let them cool for one minute. Pour chickpeas into the oil/seasoning mixture and stir to ensure they are evenly coated. Place the chickpeas back onto the foil covered baking sheet. Bake for a couple more minutes until the mixture has dried onto the chickpeas.
Note: cooking time varies, so pay close attention to their color, and sample for crunchiness.