Finding Balance on the Trail: Plant-Based Hiking Fuel & Oil-Free Veggie Burgers
Finding Balance on the Trail: Plant-Based Hiking Fuel & Oil-Free Veggie Burgers
We’ve been hiking.
If you’ve been wondering where I’ve been for the last month and a half, we’ve either been moving the RV north, or out on the trails. John, the cats, and I left our “basecamp” in South Florida on April 12 and have covered over 1,000 miles in the last month, making our way North for the summer. And we’ve been filling our time with hiking!
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Providence Canyon State Park, Georgia
I’ll be honest: part of the reason I haven’t been behind the computer screen, sharing my journey with all of you is that I’ve been reading a book called Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender by David Hawkins. It’s got me thinking a lot about old programs, pressure, and how we often force ourselves to do thing out of “obligation” rather than joy.
I love sharing my journey and musings with your, but it’s a fine line of balance and alignment to not fall into old patterns driven by “shoulds” and timelines that leave me feeling forced, while still creating inspiration and relevant content to help you Eat, Live, and Move. I love my plant-based life. I love writing, sharing photos, and creating content. I love sharing plant-based living tips, like products, brands, and fun veg-friendly restaurants I find.
But, I also love balance, slowness, and living this life for me. I’m definitely in my “Me” era. Part of letting go, is letting go of the stories I hold around success and what that looks like. Because this hiking life, these slow mornings, and having control over my own schedule — this is what I’ve have been working towards for more than 10 years…
When you wake up one morning and realize the life you are living is the life you’ve been dreaming about… you’ve won. And this is truly a Rich Life. ~Kathy A. Davis
So, I let go of the keyboard for a few weeks. And I replaced it with the trail. What I’ve discovered out there is that, without a shadow of a doubt, I love hiking!
Cheaha State Park, Alabama
Embracing the “Summer of Summits” Across the Southeast
As many of you know, this year is the “Summer of Summits” and prepping for these trails is my number one priority right now. I’ve hiked almost 50 miles since we left Florida. Together we hiked at Providence Canyon State Park in Western Georgia. We tackled the trails at Cheaha State Park and even climbed the tower — the high point of Alabama. We explored Savage Gulf State Park and Fall Creek Falls State Park in Eastern Tennessee, Berea College Forest in Kentucky, and we’ve been hiking and exploring the Red River Gorge Area in Eastern Kentucky, including Natural Bridge Resort State Park.
Fall Creek Falls State Park, Tennessee
I love getting up early in the morning, packing up our snacks and water, slipping into my favorite hiking shoes —Keen Newport H2 — and heading to the trailhead. I use AllTrails to plan and track all of our routes (and be ensure we don’t make a wrong turn). Once on the trail, I love the chirping of the morning birds, the conversations with John, the deep contemplations between conversations, the exertion of the strenuous or challenging parts, and the pause at the lookout or viewpoint to take it all in.
I love it all. Even the blisters, the scratches and bruises, and the messy hair (hahaha).
Savage Gulf State Park, Tennessee
Our viewpoints have been everything from overlooks to waterfalls. The hikes have consisted of simple trails to rocky stairs to flat terrain, to boulder scrambling. It’s been a blast. I’ve hiked in chilly morning temps, humid hot afternoons, and even some rain showers. It truly has become one of my favorite adventure activities.
Natural Bridge Resort State Park, Kentucky
Starch Powered Hiking Fuel: How to Prevent Hitting the Wall
But it does come with challenges, and one of those has been figuring out the foods to eat and pack.
Since I’ve been practicing an intentional digestive break, I often start my hike on an empty stomach, but with lots of starch-based glycogen reserves. The days before a big climb, I fuel up on starches: potatoes, lentils, pasta, rice, and/or sweet potatoes. I load up and eat until I am comfortably full.
This helps fill my glycogen reserves to fuel my morning hikes. Starch based diet for the win! (read the Starch Solution for more on a Starch Based Diet).
On the Trail Plant-Based Snacks & Hydration Tips
A couple miles into the hike (or around 75-90 minutes), I fuel up with dried fruit, nuts, trail mix (like the Coo Coo Cashew from Foods Alive) applesauce, or even boiled potatoes with some salt (to replace burned electrolytes). I keep the water flowing and stay hydrated throughout the hike as well. Tip: always bring more water on a hike than you think you’ll need.
Berea College Forest, Kentucky
Post hike, is usually my time for a fun vegan-friendly restaurant meal, although lately I’ve been hiking back-to-back days, so it’s best to fuel up again and replenish those glycogen reserves immediately.
Red River Gorge Geological Area, Kentucky
High-Starch Meals for Back-to-Back Days
My absolute favorite way to add tons of flavor to my post-hike meals right now is with these Chickpea Basil Burgers. They are packed with fresh herbs, and are completely oil-free. While chickpeas and tahini naturally carry a bit more fat on their own, I use them as a high-flavor addition to a massive, high-starch base. By pairing one of these savory patties with a giant bowl of potatoes or rice, the starches beautifully off-set the macros, keeping my overall daily fat intake around that efficient 5% target. They are perfect for RV meal prep — I make a double batch and pop them in the air-fryer, and chop them up over a mountain of starch or enjoy them in a bun with potatoes on the side.
Easy WFPB Chickpea Basil Burgers
Here is the exact recipe so you can make them too!
Savory and full of flavor, these burgers are sure to have you coming back for more. Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper to keep the recipe completely oil-free. (You can also cook these in your airf ryer on 325°F) Add all the ingredients—chickpeas, carrots, oats, hemp hearts, nutritional yeast miso, tahini, onion powder, garlic powder, and poultry seasoning—into a food processor. Texture Tip: Pulse the mixture about 10-13 times. Do not over-process it into a smooth paste; you want it well-combined but still textured so the burgers have a great bite. Add the basil last, and pulse about 5-7 more times to integrate the basil in without over processing the mixture. Divide the mixture and form it into 4 patties (roughly 3 inches in diameter and ½-inch thick). Place them onto your prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, carefully flip each burger over, and bake for another 10 minutes until the edges are slightly golden brown and crispy. Warm your burger buns (you can toss them in an air fryer for a few seconds to get them perfectly steamy and toasty). Top with your favorite fixings and enjoy!
Chickpea Basil Burgers
Ingredients
Instructions
1. Prep the Oven
2. Process the Ingredients
3. Add the Basil
4. Shape the Patties
5. Bake
6. Assemble & Serve
Whether you are pushing your limits on a strenuous mountain trail, finding your footing through a heavy week, or just learning to slow down and wander at a cat’s pace, remember that true vitality is about alignment. It’s about nourishing your body with clean, starch-powered whole, plant foods so you have the energy to show up for your life, while simultaneously giving your soul permission to rest when it needs it. Letting go of the rigid expectations doesn’t mean you’re stopping, it means you’re finally clearing the path to enjoy the “summit.”
Until our next meander, stay aligned, eat your starches, and let go of the pressure. And live VegInspired!
XO,
