Veggie Cakes

Outcome:

A great variation on crab cakes! Also a clever and tasty way to get the kids to eat their veggies!

These veggie cakes were absolutely delicious (although the reheat the next day didn't have the same"wow" factor).

Because I am trying to keep these recipes as raw and natural as possble, I chose to skip the traditional mayo or egg add-in. Normally, either of these ingredients would help hold the cakes together. Instead, I was liberal with the bread crumbs. As you can see from the picture, there was some breakage, but not enough to ruin the dish.

Another important step not to skip is the type of bread crumbs to use. Do not use ready-made bread crumbs. Instead, throw a couple pieces of whole grain bread into a coffee grinder. These fresh bread crumbs will be much more effective in acting as the "glue" in this dish. (And keep the coffee grinder out. You'll need it to grind the almonds and sunflower seeds.)

Use any fresh veggies you like. Just be careful with the amount of seeds and nuts you use. Making this dish again, I would use less than I did here. They tended to overpower the taste of the cake.

Husband-approved: Yes

Kid-approved: Yes (yipee!!!)

Pet-approved: 2 Yeses

Me-Approved: Yes

Leftover-Approved: Not so much.

Ingredients:

raw carrott, shredded

raw zuchinni, shredded

fresh thyme

garlic powder

sunflower seeds, ground and whole

almonds, ground

bread crumbs, freshly ground

salt and pepper

coconut oil

Preparation:

1. Shred 2-3 carrotts and zuchinni, each. Place in mixing bowl.

2. Add fresh thyme and garlic powder to taste.

3. In coffee grinder, grind 1/4 cup sunflower seeds and almonds, each. Add to mixing bowl.

4. Prepare 2-3 pieces of fresh whole-grain bread in coffee grinder. Add to mixing bowl.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste.

6. Add whole sunflower seeds to taste.

7. Using hands, mix ingredients until well combined. Form veggies cakes by gathering a tennis-ball-sized amount of mixture, and pressing down to gently flatten the top and bottom of the cake. Set aside.

8. In medium-sized pan, heat coconut oil over medium-high heat.

9. Add veggie cakes to pan, cooking 4-5 minutes on each side. Adjust heat not to burn cakes and add more oil as the pan dries. (This will give the cakes their golden-brown color.)

10. Optional: add raw onions to pan in last minutes of baking time. Serve on top of veggie cakes.