Lunchbox Guacamole

This is a 2-minute guacamole for those times when you want to balance a fun snack (chips) with something healthy (avocado). While I can happily chop and mince my way through traditional guacamole on Friday or Saturday night, that’s not realistic after school when my kids need to eat right this second (which is literally what Hammie says). This recipe is made for those times. It can also be made in the morning for a school (or office!) lunchbox. This recipe can easily be scaled up.

Avocados, as you likely know, are incredibly healthy. They are full of heart-healthy fats, and they are high in fiber, vitamin K, folate, vitamin B6, vitamin E and vitamin C. They are great for supporting children’s growth and development. In the timeless words of Michael Scott, win win win :)

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Lunchbox Guacamole

1/4 large ripe avocado
Sea salt
Garlic granules
Freshly squeezed lemon juice

With a fork, lightly mash the avocado on a small plate (I leave quite a few chunks in it). Season with sea salt and add a good pinch of garlic granules. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the whole thing and lightly mix it all together. Play with the proportions. I like to go a little heavier on the garlic granules and lighter on the lemon.

Serve or put into a lunchbox container.

Serves 1

Quinoa Patties

These patties can be eaten anytime of the day and are one of my most requested recipes.

Most patties and fritters (including the recipe these are adapted from) have a good amount of breadcrumbs, but I make mine without them. For one, I haven't found a gluten-free source I'm happy with and baking a loaf of bread only to stale it for crumbs is too much even for me. So instead I use a bit more quinoa (this keeps the starch content lower) and a small amount of sprouted sorghum flour.

As long as you already have cooked quinoa in the fridge, this mixture comes together quickly and can be stored - refrigerated - for the better part of a week. I wouldn't use freshly cooked (read: hot) quinoa to make these as it could start to cook the egg a little. When you are ready to cook, they take about 20 minutes, which is mostly hands-off.

These are great for a to-go lunch. At home I usually serve them with a bit of mashed avocado, sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Salad, cultured or roasted vegetables on the side make them a complete meal.

Enjoy!! :)

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Quinoa Patties
Adapted from these Kale Quinoa Bites on 101Cookbooks.com.

Notes: I start with unsalted quinoa in this recipe. If your quinoa is salted, decrease the added salt a bit. As fas as onion goes, if I have a very large yellow onion, I use about 1/4 of it. For a medium one I’ll use about 1/2, and for a quite small yellow onion I’ll use the majority of it. Also, this recipe was originally written using brown rice flour. I’ve since moved to using sorghum flour as I find the patties stay together a bit better in the pan and stick less. Either one will work just fine. If you are not GF and use all-purpose flour, please leave a note in the comments about how it worked!

One last comment, this recipe was last updated to make a slightly larger batch using 3 eggs instead of two and 2 cups of quinoa instead of 1 1/2. The slightly higher egg to quinoa ratio makes them stay together better in the pan and it also makes 8 full patties.

Recipe updated 7/23/2020

3 large eggs, beaten
2 cups cooked, unsalted quinoa (I gently pack it into the measuring cup)
1/2 cup sorghum flour (I use sprouted)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 - 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped (see note)
3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
3-4 kale leaves, chopped into small-ish pieces
Olive oil, for cooking

Combine the eggs, quinoa, flour and sea salt in a medium/large mixing bowl and stir well. Add the chopped onion, garlic, kale and crumbled feta and stir again. You can either cook the patties right away or keep the mixture in the fridge until you need it.

To cook, you'll need a nonstick pan. I use my well-seasoned cast-iron pans. The small ones are perfect for making one patty at a time, or I make four patties in the big one. You will also need a lid to cover whichever pan you're using.

Preheat your pan at medium-low heat. When it's warm, add olive oil and heat for another few moments. Then, for each patty, plop some mixture onto the pan and use your spoon to shape each one so it's round and flat on top (see pictures). I generally make them about 3.5-4 inches in diameter. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes one one side, flip, cover again, and cook for another 8-10 minutes on the other side. You'll quickly get a good sense of how long you need to cook them on your particular stove.

This recipe makes 8 round patties that are about 4 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick.