Runner-friendly recipes: Flaxseed squares, butternut squash burgers

When the going gets tough, the tough get cooking. Go shopping. Get … oh, whatever. During times of stress, I frequently find myself in the kitchen—not only eating frozen cookie dough by the spoonful (what kind of woman trusts herself alone in the house with a huge vat of homemade chocolate-chip cookie dough?), but chopping, slicing, sifting and simmering my way back to sanity.

The downside: Some stressful stuff’s been going down recently. The upside: Stressful stuff led me to two new recipes, which I’m happy to pass along to you. (Stay tuned for photos. This week’s stresses included, but are by no means limited to, the death of my beloved Canon PowerShot S2).

Flaxseed squares – adapted from Weight Watchers magazine

1/3 cup honey

2 eggs

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup instant nonfat dry milk

1 cup dried fruit (I used apricots and cherries, as Weight Watchers suggested. Next time, I’ll try dates)

1/2 cup ground flaxseeds

1/3 cup sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-by-9-inch baking dish with nonstick foil.

Whisk honey, eggs, and salt.

Combine the rest of the ingredients in a food processor, pulsing until mixture is finely chopped. Add the egg-honey mixture.

Spread dough into dish. Bake for roughly 20 minutes, until edges are browned.

I took Weight Watchers’ suggestion and added dark chocolate chips to the top. I also drizzled the whole mess with a glaze of confectioner’s sugar and nonfat milk.

I picked up the idea for butternut-squash-based veggie burgers from Liz Runs D.C.’s terrific recipe. Since I’m a bit obsessed with butternut squash (see black bean-butternut squash chili and other adventures with this wonderful orange veggie), I usually have some pureed from some wintertime farmer’s market trip.

Lots of pureed butternut squash lives in my freezer.

I mixed about a cup of pureed squash with 1/2 c chickpeas, 1/4 c rolled oats, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp maple syrup and a bunch of spices (coriander, cumin, chili powder), and ground the whole mess up in my food processor. Then, I shaped the mess into two patties, and baked them at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Delish. Liz suggests goat cheese, which I’m sure would have sweetened the deal even more.

4 responses to “Runner-friendly recipes: Flaxseed squares, butternut squash burgers”

Alexis

April 22, 2011 at 1:24 pm

Wow, I’m definitely going to try those! Thanks for sharing and Happy Earth Day!

liz

April 22, 2011 at 2:59 pm

mmm glad I gave you the idea…I wish I had the foresight to freeze squash. I’m going to miss it this summer.

Renae

April 22, 2011 at 3:18 pm

I have to try the burgers! I have an obsession with squash too…can’t get enough and am always looking for new ways to eat it!

katie

April 22, 2011 at 4:12 pm

this post made me go “MMMMMM” out loud.