WIAW #30 - Homemade Milks + Veggie Okara Burgers

I don't know about everyone else, but it I am positive the temp rose in conjunction with the first day of Fall. We were basking in the almost-perfect 80 degree weather last week, and now we're back in the mid-90's here in Texas. What gives?

Oh well, I shouldn't complain, I choose heat over cold any day.  I'd rather sweat pools, not shiver like stiff, rigid tree on a windy day.  Yeah, that was the analogy that came to mind, so I'm using it.

Besides the lack of Fall feeling in the air, I still feel like it's Fall when I go to the store. There is winter squash and Fall decorations place across the store I go to.  The squash catches my eyes more so than any decorations; you can't eat those!

This Fall, I'm predicting I'll use my new Soyajoy G3 Soy Milk Maker for a lot of things. Of course, I'll make soy milk, but you can make milk for anything that's a nut, seed, grain, or bean, so why limit myself to just soy?  I've already made quinoa milk and a mix of soy and pistachio milk which both created a creamy, tasty milk perfect for smoothies, cereal, or drinking alone.

But soy milk isn't all you can make with this handy kitchen tool; it makes juice, smoothies, soup, and a base for veggie burgers/patties too.  The pulp leftover after straining the fresh-made soy milk is called okara and is similar to tofu but less processed and has more fiber.  Yay, fiber makes you "move"!

My first attempt at using the pulp/okara to make vegetarian burgers turned out fantastic.  I'm not a fan of using the traditional bun, so I made an open-faced portobello bun burger instead. As you can see, I had to try before I felt it was picture worthy, but it obviously passed.  I'll be making these using different add-ins quite often.

When I don't have time to use the okara for patties, I can just make thick, protein filled smoothies instead. I haven't tried, but wonder how it would do in a microwave protein cake recipe like my chocolate layer cake.  Hmmm, stay tuned.

Old, recycled pic. Like the red tint everywhere? There's nothing actually red in there!

I need to do some more tampering with the burger recipe and then I'll share with anyone who cares.  The next function I am eagerly waiting to use is making soup.  As soon as the fall weather accompanies this fall season, I'll attempt a creamy pumpkin-ginger soup.

I know there's winter squash galore at the store (didn't mean for that to rhyme), but I also have 2 cases of Farmer's Market Pumpkin Puree to use when in a time crunch. You might say I got a little excited on Amazon, but organic and bpa-free cans at a lower that in-store price is hard to turn away. Plus, you can never have too much pumpkin on hand!

Needless to say, the soy milk maker is a healthy addition to the kitchen and you can expect to see several delicious creations I've made using this machine.

Thanks to Jenn at Peas and Crayons as always for putting on this WIAW event! Now, lets get to the eats....

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!

Ok, this is not my typical way of eating (although I do take in most of my daily energy at night when in the comfort of home), but I had to fast all day for a blood test in the afternoon.  After that, I finished my work for the day, struggled through a workout (yes, I'm stubborn....or is it stupid?), and then went about eating to my heart's stomach's content.

This is my breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, etc. all in one. Since my stomach has limits, I'll make up for the lack of food tomorrow, I'm sure of it!

I'll admit, I did have this in the morning with a little homemade soy milk.

Then, in the evening, I started with my usual big salad. This one had a lot of salmon and brussels sprouts drenched in my own lentil salsa dressing.

I snacked on a lot of these peanut butter pumpkin cookies along with a chocolate spinach protein smoothie.

Moving on, I demolished a microwave chocolate protein bread/cake with plain Chobani and peanuts.

Not one to give in to a slightly full stomach, I ended with a generous portion of my coconut peanut butter pumpkin protein dip. This stuff is bliss in edible dip form; so addictive!

Not as much as usual, but I'm sure you all have "those" days...right? Fasting as a foodie is no fun!

Hope you have a wonderful rest of the week!

If you could or do make your own alternative milk, what would you use (besides soy) to make the milk?  Think of all the nuts, seeds, grains, and beans; so many options, I don't know which to choose next.  Maybe black bean milk? Hmmm, sure that would look tasty....