A Happy Plate on the Run-Sweet Potato Chickpea Cakes

Hi. I'm Jes, last winter my family started out on a crazy nutritarian journey that turned out to be one of the greatest decisions we've ever made...well, aside from getting hitched and dividing cells and learning to play the ukulele. Nutritarianism has made us happy, but it isn't always easy, especially with a two-year-old who screams, literally screams, at anything leafy and green in her personal space bubble (more about that later). But I digress...we make it work, some days better than others. Like yesterday when THIS happened:

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For Dan I made a chickpea sweet potato cake while Mim got some regular kid fare (Ezekiel cashew butter sandwich with a little touch of maple syrup to curb her Herculean sweet tooth) that they ate on their way to Mim's gym class. I realize there is nothing extraordinary about either of these (although the chickpea cake was thebomb.com), but they ate each bowl in its entirety and I felt a little more awesome for nourishing my family...like a boss. Here's the rundown:

Chickpea sweet potato cakes

1-2 tbsp coconut oil divided

1 yellow onion, chopped (I like a bit of onion so I cut it in a rustic manner)

5 cloves of garlic, minced

2c grated sweet potato (raw)

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 tbsp lime juice

1 "flegg"  (flax egg : 1 tbsp flax meal in 3 tbsp warm water and left to rest 15m before using)

1  1/2 c whole wheat Panko breadcrumbs

2 cups chickpeas (I used dry that I soaked and cooked for an hour but canned will so)

Several hits of hot sauce to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven 400. Heat a pan on medium. Once heated add coconut oil and shift the pan to coat. Add onion and a dash of salt. Stir for one minute and turn heat to low,. Caramelize for 20-30 minutes until browned and sweet (for ease you can skip this  caramelizing step and simply proceed with step 2 once onions are translucent...although I highly recommend the former)

2.  Turn up heat to medium. Add garlic  and red pepper to pan and cook for 3 minutes.. Add chickpeas and sweet potatoes and cook for five minutes or until sweet potatoes start to brown.
3. Throw it all into a food processor with your breadcrumbs, lime juice, flegg, hot sauce and salt/pepper. Pulse until it forms a nice dough. There should still be some solid bits for texture. 
4. Heat pan on medium heat...once hot add 1 tbsp oil to pan and tilt to coat. Form dough into 4 patties. Cook on each side for 2 minutes or until brown. Put patties on a cookie sheet and cook in oven for 10 minutes.
5. Yum. 
6. Double Yum.

The rest of the roll call: Mim has diced firm tofu, mushrooms sauteed in coconut oil with a pinch of salt, steamed carrots and Ezekiel bread with cashew butter mixed with a touch of maple syrup. Dan gets the chickpea patty in half a whole wheat pita with sliced Jersey tomato (if it isn't from Jersey and isn't in season it has no business in the pita) and raw broccoli with store-bought (stop it with the smh) garlic hummus.

While a bit tedious, we enjoyed these cakes for two dinners. Gosh I just love a chickpea. Swoon.

Love,
Jes