Meatless Monday (Zucchini Cakes)

I didn't actually set out to have a Meatless Monday, but since I've been trying to eat less meat, it happened that way!

For breakfast, I had Whole Foods peanut butter balls cereal with vanilla almond milk. I was kind of worried that the milk and cereal wouldn't go well together but ermahgerd, it's unbelievably good. I will eat a box a week of this easily. The milk I use is Whole Foods 365 AlmondMilk Vanilla (FYI, it is not unsweetened). That brand doesn't have the known carcinogen carrageenan in it as many other brands do, such as Silk and Almond Breeze. (Read more about why carrageenan is bad on Oh She Glows)

Lunch was the last leftovers from my Black Bean, Sweet Potato, and Red Quinoa soup. The black beans were gone, so it was just soup and quinoa, and I forgot to bring the corn chips to the office. It was still good, but is so much better with all the right parts!!!  This didn't fill me up enough, so about an hour later, I had a clementine and a Kashi bar. This is the kind I like, Kashi TLC Chewy Granola Bars - Cherry Dark Chocolate. I'm not big on bars. I know some people can't get through the day without a Larabar or a Clif bar. But I'm trying to learn to like them more since they are a healthier option than what I usually go for (ahem, Rice Krispie Cakes, ahem).

For dinner, we had tons of the  slow cooker chicken left, so I decided to take a risk and make something that might be awful. That way, if it was horrible, I'd just eat leftover chicken! I had been going through old bookmarked blog posts (before I discovered Pinterest, I suppose!) and found this recipe for Zucchini Burgers on Beth's Journey. I thought they sounded really interesting, and I love zucchini, so I just had to give them a try!

First, I hate grating, so I busted out my ginormous food processor. I used the grating wheel to grate the zucchini (I also used it to grate the carrots, then used the regular blade to chop the onion). I used two zucchini since they were medium sized.

I added the teaspoon of salt and let it sit while I prepared the other veggies. Then I used a piece of cheesecloth (that had been in my pantry for about five years!) to squeeze out all the liquid. Then I added the grated carrots and chopped onion, flour (I used all purpose whole wheat), and feta.  

Formed them into patties (five large patties, though only four fit in my pan!) and put in a sprayed pan.

Served them in pita. I realized as I was serving them that I didn't have any kind of sauce and wasn't sure what to use. We used bleu cheese dressing which was good but the flavor of the dressing overpowered the flavor of the patties. I think next time I would use ranch. My husband also commented on how they look a lot like crab cakes (the feta looks like crab chunks!), so I call them Zucchini Cakes instead. :)

That's the world's worst photo, but these are incredibly delicious!!!

As I was brushing my teeth last night, I took note of the fact that I haven't been craving sweets as much as usual. I'm not sure why, and it may be a coincidence, but worth noting. :-)

Do you practice "meatless Mondays"? When you eat better, do you notice your sweet tooth less?