Looking For A Lunchtime Alternative?

I'm all about routine and such, even with my meal planning, but sometimes I just cannot bring myself to eat yet another peanut butter and honey (we prefer honey to jelly here at the Hive) sandwich. I also started to feel a little guilty serving the same lunches to my kids every. single. day.  I decided a couple of weeks ago that I was going to commit to adding a little variety to our lunches, and discussed it with my girls. I asked them what they would want to try and mix into our lunches so that we were only eating 2 or maybe 3 sandwiches a week. They gave several suggestions, one of them being chicken nuggets. I told them that I was not going to be giving them chicken nuggets on the regular. Every once and awhile I'll treat them to it, but remember...we're vegan over here.

So I started brainstorming, and making a mess in my kitchen. Today I give you my recipe for "Chickpea Nuggets." Believe me when I say that my kids devoured these. Essentially this was going to be a "Chickpea Burger" for lunch, but then I got the bright idea to cut them into small bite sized pieces (after they were cooked) and voila...nuggets! I also apologize for the lack of pictures throughout this process, but we currently have a broken camera. You can read all about that here.

This is the recipe I use to make about 20 burger patties (about 2 inch patties). I cook some for the day I'm using them and then freeze the rest. You can certainly half the recipe if needed. In fact, the next time I make it I will probably make half in my food processor at a time. It works fine to do it all at once, but requires you to scrape down the sides of your food processor several times, as it is so full. I think it would be easier to manage if I cut the recipe in half and then just run the food processor twice. Hope that makes sense. :)

Ingredients:

2 15oz cans Chickpeas

1 15oz can Whole Peeled Tomatoes

1 cup Breadcrumbs

1 cup Walnuts

1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

1 teaspoon Sea Salt

1 teaspoon Onion Powder

1 teaspoon Nature's Seasoning

Canola Oil for pan frying your patties


Directions:

1. Drain and rinse your Chickpeas and put into a food processor.

2. Add your breadcrumbs, walnuts, lemon juice, sea salt, onion powder, nature's seasoning, and pulse.

3. Add in your whole tomatoes...no juice...just the actual tomatoes. I like to add these in 1 at a time to monitor the consistency of the mixture, but I usually end up using 4 tomatoes. (Remember if you are halving your recipe to only use half the tomatoes in the can.)

4. Make your patties. I usually make about 2 inch patties, maybe it's because I have small hands, but you can certainly make larger patties if you prefer.

Yes, I know there are only 15 patties in the picture...trust me there were more. :)

5. Heat your skillet over medium heat. Add oil to about 1/2 standing and heat. Cook your patties about 3-5 minutes on each side or until desired brownness.

6. Serve as burgers if you'd like. On a bun, without a bun, toppings galore! OR cut into quarters to serve as "nuggets"

These are quick and easy to whip up...we're talking 20 minutes start to finish. They make the everyday boring lunch more delicious and healthy! What's not to love? My girls like to have a little dipping sauce (ketchup, honey mustard, etc) along with them too. Let me know if you tried this recipe and how you liked it!

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