My son, Leo, had his 18 months checkup recently and he is growing very well. Because he is on a gluten-free diet, his pediatrician was concerned about his iron level due to the lack of enriched flour and whole-wheat flour in his diet. She suggested including iron rich foods such as lentils, gluten-free oats, and green leafy vegetables in his diet.
I recently posted a lentil butternut squash soup that my family enjoyed very much. I like the idea of combining shredded dark green vegetables with lentils to make the soup a well-balanced meal. This time I used Swiss chard, lentils, and quinoa as the main ingredients to make these burgers. Quinoa is a natural gluten-free grain that is also a complete protein. Not only do they provide extra protein and carbohydrates to the burgers, but they also give the burger a very chewy texture. These burgers make a fantastic snack for those little fingers to pick up in addition to being a great source of iron to supply their fast growing bodies.
After combining shredded Swiss chard, cooked lentils, and quinoa together, the mixture was too crumbly to form a burger. To fix that problem, I added some gluten-free oat flour and corn starch to help the burger mixture stick together and make it easy to work with. I added some chopped cilantro and a few tablespoons of tahini that livened up the burger with a refreshing and fragrant nutty taste. After baking the burgers at 375 °F for 25 minutes, they turned out just perfect, crunchy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside. I knew these burgers where a great success when Leo clapped after his first bite and then quickly finished off the rest.
Topping these burgers with some tahini or guacamole and then stuffing them in hamburger buns will make them a mouth-watering lunch for both kids and adults instantly.
- 1½ cup cooked quinoa
- 1½ cup cooked lentils rinsed and drained
- 1½ cup shredded Swiss chard
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup oat flour gluten-free if desired
- ¼ cup corn starch
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- a pinch of black pepper
- 1 tbs canola oil
- 2 tbs tahini or sesame seeds paste
- Preheat oven at 375 °F.
- Combine all ingredients. Use a quarter cup to scoop out the burger mixture and place on a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Turn them over half way through the baking time.
- Remove the baked burger from oven. Cool on the cooling rack for 5 minutes before serving.