My low oxalate guacamole-stuffed southwest burgers were modified for oxalate content from a recipe on Mark’s Daily Apple. These burgers are fantastic! I have always loved topping my burgers with guacamole, but somehow cooking the guacamole inside the burgers was truly magic. I love these burgers!  Of course, I always stuff too much guacamole in my burgers, so they never look like that fabulous picture on Mark’s Daily Apple. Mine usually look like a big gooey mass of green oozing out of the side of my burger. But believe me, they still taste fantastic.

Since I’m mostly dairy and grain-free, I don’t dress up my guacamole-stuffed southwest burgers. I eat them plain or on a bed of lettuce. But I highly recommend serving these on a skillet-warmed white corn tortilla if you eat grains, and topping them with a piece of cheese and a dollop of sour cream if you do dairy. Add a slice of low oxalate tomato or a tablespoon of salsa and you’ve got heaven on a plate. Try serving guacamole-stuffed southwest burgers with Santa Fe Bean Salad and Cilantro Lime Slaw and seasonal fruit,such a cantaloupe or watermelon, for a Southwest-themed summer cook-out fit for company.  Enjoy!

Guacamole-Stuffed Southwest Burgers

2 avocados
juice from one half lime or to taste (about 1 tablespoon)
2 lbs ground beef (85% lean works well)
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 cup cilantro chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
1 teaspoon msg-free chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
Six slices of cheddar cheese (optional)

In a small bowl, mash the avocados with the lime juice and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, garlic, cilantro, jalapeno, chili powder, cayenne pepper and salt. Divide the meat mixture into six balls. Divide each ball in half and form two skinny patties, one slightly larger than the other. Add 1/6 of the avocado mixture to each smaller patty and spread it out a little, leaving a rim around the edge. Put the larger patties on top and press the edges together well, forming a seal around your burger (This is the part I have trouble with. My seal is never complete and my guacamole oozes out.)

Cook on a medium high grill or in a medium hot skillet for about 5-7 minutes per side or until your preferred done-ness. Add cheese if using, cover with a lid and let the cheese melt for about a minute.

Serve on a bed of lettuce or on a skillet-warmed white corn tortilla with a dollop of sour cream and a slice of low oxalate tomato (Early Girls are just starting to ripen in Missouri!) or a tablespoon of salsa.

Makes 6 burgers

Low Oxalate Info: All of the ingredients in guacamole-stuffed southwest burgers are low oxalate except for chili powder and jalapeno peppers, which are medium oxalate. One guacamole-stuffed southwest burger with jalapeno pepper and cheese served on a bed of lettuce has about 4.5 mg. oxalate. One guacamole-stuffed southwest burger with jalapeno pepper, cheese, one white corn tortilla, 1 tablespoon of sour cream and 1 tablespoon of picante sauce has about  12.5 mg. oxalate.

Picky-Eater Pleaser: I leave out the cilantro, jalapeno and cayenne for a mild-tasting guacamole-stuffed southwest burger without any “green stuff” except the avocado. You could also make a plain burger for your picky eater and let him have a few slices of avocado on the side. Each time I made these burgers for my boys I slowly added a little more spice until they were happy eating my mild version of guacamole-stuffed southwest burgers.

Other Diets: Guacamole-Stuffed Southwest Burgers may be appropriate for Paleo, GAPS, gluten-free, GFCF and dairy-free diets. If you follow the GAPS protocol make sure your chili powder is preservative and MSG-free.

I like to call this simple cabbage and ground beef meal egg roll stir-fry because it reminds me of eating the inside of an eggroll. It’s a really simple, low oxalate dish that I started making fifteen years ago and still make regularly. In fact, it’s one of my stand-bys, especially for lunches. I like to make a double batch of egg roll stir-fry on Sunday, serve it up into five or six pyrex glass left-over containers and take it every day to school for a nourishing, low oxalate lunch.  You can add extra seasonings like ginger, sesame seed oil, or coconut aminos, but I find a little bit of salt and white pepper is still my favorite. Egg roll stir-fry is gluten-free, dairy-free, Paleo approved, and GAPS friendly, so if you are trying to heal gut issues, this simple stir-fry might work for you. Best of all, it’s really easy to make.

One reason egg roll stir-fry is so simple is because it uses pre-washed, pre-shredded, preservatie-free cole slaw mix. You can chop up your own cabbage for egg roll stir-fry if you want, but I almost always opt for cole slaw mix to make this recipe really easy. The mix I like best is the store brand at my local grocery store. It contains mostly green and purple cabbage with a little bit of carrot. Before carrots were retested last fall and found to be medium oxalate (11.39 mg. per half cup raw)  instead of high oxalate, I separated out all the carrots and measured them to see just how much carrot was in my one pound bag of coleslaw mix (yes, totally OCD, I know). I measured less than 1/4 cup carrot and about 3 cups mixed green and purple cabbage, so I decided it was okay to eat. Now we know for sure that it’s okay, and I base my oxalate totals on this break down of the cabbage mix.

Hope you enjoy this simple stir-fry as much as I do.

Egg Roll Stir-Fry

1 lb. ground beef or ground pork
1 onion, chopped (about 3/4 cup)
2-3 cloves garlic
1 one pound package cole slaw mix (or about 3 cups chopped cabbage)
1/2 cup green peas (optional)
Salt and white pepper to taste (UK readers click here)
2 T coconut aminos (optional)

Cook ground beef in a dutch oven over medium heat until it’s about half brown, half pink. Add the onions and garlic and stir-fry for another 4-5 minutes until the meat is browned throughout. Add cole slaw mix and continue to stir-fry until the cabbage is tender (about 8 – 10 minutes).  If you are using a high fat ground beef you may have to drain some of the fat before adding the cabbage. I use ground chuck and it’s about the right amount of fat and steamed meat juices to cook the cabbage nicely. When the cabbage is tender, add the peas and coconut aminos if using and heat through. Add salt and white pepper to taste.

Makes four servings.

Low Oxalate Info: All ingredients in egg roll stir-fry are low oxalate, except for the very small amount of carrots, which are medium oxalate (5.7 mg. oxalate per one fourth cup).  One serving of egg-roll stir fry (made with coconut aminos, peas and 1/2 teaspoon white pepper) has 5.5 mg. oxalate. I eat a serving of egg-roll stir-fry as my entire meal, but it’s also great served over long grain white rice.

Other Diets: Egg roll stir-fry may also be appropriate for gluten-free, dairy-free, Paleo, GAPS and GFCF diets.

Sunbutter Burgers are a fun, low oxalate way for kids (and adults!) to enjoy the “PB&J” experience.  When I was a kid, my family used to visit the beach almost every year for Spring Break.  We often stopped at this burger shack whose specialty was the PB&J burger.  It was weird and wonderful, and as a young kid, I always ordered it with lettuce, hold the pickle and mayo.

Low Oxalate Sunbutter Burger served plain with double the sauteed strawberries -- just the way Cameron likes it!

Fast forward to last month when I came across a recipe for Sunbutter Burgers on the fine Paleo blog,  The Clothes Make the Girl.   I immediately had to see if I could recreate the taste I remembered from childhood.  To make Melissa’s recipe low oxalate and more kid-friendly, I used fresh minced ginger instead of powdered ginger and left  out the black pepper and scallions.  I also let my boys have half of a gluten-free bun each.  It was still weird!  And yes, wonderful — at least my boys thought so.  They’ve gobbled them down each time I’ve served them.

Since then I’ve seen various nutbutter burger recipes all over the internet, and most are similar to this recipe.  I’m not sure who posted first, so I’ll keep the credit with Melissa.  I also couldn’t seem to recreate the taste I loved as a child, but maybe if I add sunburned skin, coconut-scented sunscreen and sand to my recipe, I’ll get a little closer.

Low Oxalate Sunbutter Burgers

1/2 cup strawberries
1 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp fresh, minced ginger
1/2 pound ground beef (I prefer grassfed or omega 3 beef)
pinch of salt
2 T Sunbutter (or other low oxalate sunflower spread)

Place the strawberries, lemon juice and ginger in a small sauce pan or skillet and cook until the stawberries are soft.  Mash the cooked strawberries with a fork if you want a jam-like appearance.  Meanwhile, shape the ground beef into patties after salting to taste.  Grill or fry the patties in a skillet over medium heat.  Melt the Sunbutter in the microwave (or a small saucepan) until smooth and creamy. When the patties are brown on both sides, remove from heat and put 1 T of melted Sunbutter on each patty.  Add half the strawberry mixture to each patty and serve on a bed of lettuce for a grain-free burger.  Alternately, you may wish to serve the burger on a Kinnikinuck Tapioca Rice Hamburger Bun (8.3 mg. oxalate per bun) or Odi’s gluten-free sandwich bread (7.1 mg. oxalate per slice).

Makes two quarter pound burgers.

Low Oxalate Info:  Sunbutter (6.1 mg. per 2 T) and strawberries (7.8 mg. oxalate per half cup) are medium oxalate.  All other ingredients are low oxalate or very low oxalate.  Each Sunbutter burger has about 7.5 mg. oxalate when served plain without the bun or lettuce.

Substitutions:  You may substitute your favorite jam, preserves or fruit spread (made with low oxalate fruit) in place of the sauteed strawberries.  My family’s favorites are Polaner All Natural Blueberry Fruit Spread, St. Dalfour Pineapple and Mango all natural Fruit Spread,  and Crofter’s Organic Strawberry Fruit Spread.

Picky Eater Pleaser:  Try making this without the ginger or add a drop or two of  liquid Stevia to the sauteed stawberries.  One of my sons loves “mommy’s cooked strawberries.”  The other wants  to eat it with only the Sunbutter, although last time he asked for a bun. Then he pulled his burger out and ate it plain, followed by his Sunbutter and Jelly Bun!.

Other Diets:  Low Oxalate Sunbutter burgers may also be appropriate for low carbohydrate, Paleo, gluten-free and dairy-free diets.