RAW FOOD STYLE VEGGIE BURGER WRAPPED IN LETTUCE WITH CHIPOTLE MAYO

Nothing beats eating raw food, as it is so healthy and delicious. It is the perfect food on summer days because its neither hot nor heavy. Plus all the enzymes in the food remain intact as the food is kept under a temperature of 115 F. Unfortunately, we can lose up to 80% of those enzymes when we cook at a temperatures over 115 F.  Obviously our bodies work better when we get the maximum nutritional benefits from our food. Which is why eating a raw strong, unprocessed diet is so vital. 

This recipe calls for a dehydrator, but if you live in a place that gets over 100 F outside in the summer time like it does in Vegas, you can just leave your patties in the sun, and let nature do the work.  After all, raw food is sun food.  I have done it many times before owning a dehydrator, and it works great. Plus, the sun is free, and a great source of vitamin D that the food will absorb as a nice bonus.  Just remember that depending on the outside temperature, you might need to dehydrate for an extra hour.

This raw burger was so delicious,  and if you have never tried raw food style cooking, this would be a good recipe to get you both started and hooked. I promise you will love it, and also feel energized after eating this way.

RAW FOOD STYLE VEGGIE BURGERS WRAPPED IN LETTUCE WITH CHIPOTLE MAYO

Ingredients:

For the burger patties:

• 1/2 cup of ground flax seeds 
• 1 cup of walnuts
• 1 cup of gluten free old fashioned oatmeal 
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, sliced
• 8 oz of mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tablespoon of Bragg liquid aminos
• 2 tablespoons of chickpea miso (regular soy miso would work too, just make sure it is organic to avoid GMO's)
• 1 tablespoon of dried basil
• 2 teaspoons of dried sage
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

For the chipotle mayo:

• 1 cup of raw cashews, (preferably soaked for two hours to release enzyme blockers, but that's optional)
• 1 small roma tomato
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of sun-dried tomatoes, chopped  (if they are hard, pre soak them in warm water for 30 minutes to soften)
• 1 tablespoon agave
• 1 teaspoon of raw apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of chipotle chili powder (depending on how spicy you prefer)
• 3/4 cup of filtered water
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

For the toppings: 

• 1 head of romaine (to wrap burgers in)
• 2 tomatoes, sliced
• 2 avocados, pitted and sliced
• 1 small red onion sliced

Preparation:

For the patties:

1. Put the walnuts in a food processor and grind into a coarse flour.
2. Put the walnut flour in a bowl along with the ground flax seeds and the the old fashioned oatmeal, reserve.
3. Using the same food processor, put all of the other ingredients in, and process until you get a chunky puree (you might need to do this in two batches depending on the size of your food processor)
4. Put the pureed veggies in the bowl with the flax seeds, ground walnuts, and old fashioned oats. Mix well
5. Using a 1/3 of a cup measuring cup, scoop the mixture one by one and place into a tex -flex sheet over your dehydrator tray (parchment paper will work as well), 
6. Press on the patties to make them into about 1/2 inch thick. The patties are going to be mushy but do not worry, they will harden as they dehydrate. Leave at least one inch between each patties.
7. Dehydrate at 115 F for 3 hours, flip the patties around, and dehydrate another 2 hours.
8. You should get 9 patties total. 

For the chipotle mayo:

1. In a high speed blender, put all of the chipotle mayo ingredients together, and blend until very smooth

To assemble:

1. Place a leaf of romaine lettuce on the bottom of a plate, then place the burger patty on top.  Add some of the toppings to your liking (tomato slices, avocado slices, red onions)  and some chipotle mayo on top of the patties.
2. Cover with another lettuce leaf .

Enjoy!

This will make 9 burgers (I usually eat two at the time)