Healthy Eating Tip: Build Food Traditions

In honor of National Nutrition Month®, my colleague Sharon Palmer shares two tips and a delicious recipe to help you savor the flavor of eating right. Plus, download Sharon’s free seasonal produce guide and her plant-powered phytochemical rainbow guide on her website.

Don’t be afraid to use herbs and spices

Once upon a time, health experts recommended a bland diet as one that was healthful. Those days are long gone! You’re better off including a variety of vibrant, flavorful herbs and spices in your diet every day. These plant-powered ingredients are packed with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds, which—along with a healthful diet—can help you fend off chronic disease. Include generous amounts of herbs, such as basil, rosemary, and parsley, in soups, salads, casseroles, and vegetable dishes, and spices, such as turmeric, cumin, and black pepper in stews, grain dishes, and vinaigrettes.

Enjoy your meals

Don’t become overly worried about all of your food choices so much that you lose sight of the enjoyment and pleasures of wonderful food. Enjoy your meals in the presence of friends and family. Try to shake the habit of eating at the computer or TV—eat at the dining room table where you really gain the sense of pleasure and mindfulness of eating. And build food traditions that you can share with your family and friends.

Here’s a surefire way to enjoy your meals. Check out Sharon’s recipe for Farro and White Bean Veggie Burger.

Farro and White Bean Veggie Burger

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Cuisine: Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time: 29 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours 59 minutes minutes

Servings: 10

Calories:

Author: Sharon Palmer, RDN

Ingredients

• ¾ cup uncooked farro
• 3 cups water
• 1 teaspoon reduced sodium vegetable broth base
• One 15-ounce can cannellini beans no salt added, rinsed and drained (liquid reserved), or 1 ¾ cups cooked
• 1 medium onion finely diced
• 1 cup finely chopped mushrooms
• 1 cup grated carrots 2 medium
• ¼ cup chopped walnuts
• ¼ cup chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
• 1/3 cup uncooked old-fashioned oats
• ½ cup whole grain bread crumbs see note
• 1 teaspoon low-sodium herbal seasoning blend
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• Pinch of sea salt optional
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Ten 1 ½ ounce whole grain buns
• 10 lettuce leaves
• 3 medium tomatoes sliced into 20 slices
• 2 avocados sliced into 20 slices

Instructions

• Place the farro in a pot with the water and broth base. Stir well, cover, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, cook for 35-40 minutes, and drain any leftover liquid.
• Place the cannellini beans in a mixing bowl and mash slightly with a potato masher, until thick and lumpy. Mix in the cooked farro, onions, mushrooms, carrots, walnuts, oregano, chives, oats, bread crumbs, herbal seasoning, black pepper, turmeric, and sea salt, if desired. Combine the ingredients using clean hands, then add 2 to 3 tablespoons of the reserved bean liquid to make a thick yet moistened mixture that sticks together. Chill for about 1 hour.
• In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat. Form patties out of ½ cup of the bean mixture with your hands, mashing the ingredients together so that they do not crumble. Carefully place 3 to 4 patties at a time into the hot oil and cook for 6 minutes on each side, turning carefully. Repeat, adding 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet with each batch of patties, until all the patties are done.
• Serve each patty with 1 bun, 1 lettuce leaf, 2 tomato slices, and 2 avocado slices.

Notes

-Whole grain bread crumbs: To make your own bread crumbs, toast whole grain bread (gluten-free, if desired) for 10-15 minutes in a 400 degree F oven, until dry and brown (use 1 slice to make about ¼ cup of crumbs). Remove and let cool slightly, then place in a blender or small food processor and process into crumbs.
-If you don’t want to serve all of the burgers at once, prepare and cook them according to the directions and refrigerate in an airtight container up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a skillet and serve as directed.

Sharon Palmer, RDN, aka The Plant-Powered Dietitian, has created an award-winning profession based on combining her two great loves–food and writing. As a registered dietitian with 16 years of health care experience, she channels her nutrition experience into writing features covering health, wellness, nutrition, and cuisine. Her second book, Plant-Powered for Life, is in stores now.