The burger to end all food struggles! Kids either love or hate meat. So if your challenge is to up the meat intake for more protein and iron or to add more vegan options for a more balanced diet than these burgers or meatballs are your answer.
Lucky me, I have one kid who loves meat and one who does not, so I came up with this recipe to satisfy both. I’ve raised them in the same environment with the same food options in basically the same way…well I’m sure I was a little less stressy with the second, but for the most part it was the same. My kids are opposites in many ways, so I’m not surprised their eating habits are completely different too. My oldest could care less about food and I have to do a bit more convincing when it comes to trying new foods. And my little one will eat pretty much anything including blue cheese, olives and even spicy daikon. Weird I know.
When coming up with new recipes, I try to keep it exciting for Luca, my youngest, to continue to expand her crazy little palate, while also keeping it simple enough for my older daughter Evy so that she won’t totally hate it. Texture (which I think is the primary reason she is not a fan of meat) plays a big part in her preference of food. Adding some beans to this burger recipe really helped with the texture and made it softer and easier to chew. I notice that if she has to chew something too long, she’ll just spit it out. But with this nice combo of beans and bison it makes it much softer and for lack of better words more swallow”able”. So if you have a meat lover or a vegetarian on your hands try these “not so” vegan meat balls. They are the best of both worlds.
Bean & Bison Burgers
Course: Food, Lunch & Dinner4
servingsIngredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 onions, diced
1/2 cup kale, finely diced
1 tsp salt
1 clove garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 lb ground bison
1 egg
1/2 can refried beans or 1/3 cup dried beans cooked and blended
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease or line a baking sheet.
- Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and kale and sauté until soft.
- Add salt, garlic, cumin and coriander and continue to sauté for about a minute until the heat releases the fragrance from the spices.
- In a large bowl beat the egg then add the onion and kale mixture with the bison meat and combine. It’s easiest to use your hands. Make sure the mixture is fully combined, then form into balls and place them on a baking sheet.
I like to make mine small as the kids seem to like them best this way, but you can make them larger if you don’t have the time to roll out a ton of little ones or even make into patties. Just adjust your time and cook longer to ensure they are fully cook through. - Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. If you made them into larger meatballs or patties add 10 more minutes.
