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If you don't eat beef, that doesn't mean you need to give up burgers. No one should EVER have to give up burgers! Burgers are about as American as apple pie - in fact, they're quite wonderful alongside a slice of apple pie. We're mad about "alterna burgers" - burgers made from seafood, poultry, veggies, legumes, etc. If you're a pescetarian, a vegetarian, even a vegan - Feastie has a burger for you. We've rounded up the top 5 alterna burgers on the web this week - and be sure to check out our sandwiches, burgers, and wraps board on Pinterest. There are thousands more alterna burgers on Feastie - this is just a tiny taste of what's out there. So try something new - whether it's for Meatless Monday or just for fun, try an alterna burger! 

Cilantro-Lime Salmon Burgers from Pink Parsley

photo from Pink Parsley

Some of you may remember our Photo Potluck Contest back in March - Kristy Bernardo of The Wicked Noodle took the gorgeous photo that won the most of your votes, and Feastie was so excited to sponsor her to attend the Eat Write Retreat Conference in DC earlier this May. We had an amazing weekend with all of the EWR attendees and sponsors (highlights from Friday and Saturday) and left the conference with new friends, new connections, inspiration, motivation, and, well, swag!

Kristy talked about her experience at EWR 2012 on her blog, and we've posted bits of it here as well so everyone can see what a wonderful time she (and we!) had. So without further ado, here's Kristy Bernardo of The Wicked Noodle!

Did I have you at Almond Joy? Or low fat? Maybe oatmeal. In any case, this is the official debut of my new favorite cookie, the low fat Almond Joy oatmeal cookie. I was inspired by these Almond Joy oats from Running to the Kitchen - after I saw that post it was all I could think about. I already have a low-fat oatmeal cookie that I LOVE, so I tweaked a few things and came up with these guys. They're SO. GOOD. The Mr. hates coconut - like, really hates it - and he ate them. He said, and I quote: "I still don't like coconut. But the chocolate saves them." Which I guess is a testament to his eternal love of all things chocolate. But coconut lovers rejoice, this is super coconutty. If you're an Almond Joy fan, you've got to try these! And guess what? Only 90 calories per cookie. They're 2-3 bites each, a perfect little dessert or treat, so you can have a few without feeling icky. And if you're comfy eating raw cookie dough (let's just say I'm more than comfy), this dough is stellar. If you're worried about the 40 cookie yield on this recipe, take a look at my tips on freezing cookie dough and remember, if you feed your coworkers, they will love you. 

The question of the day is: "Are you an edge person, or are you a center person?" Me, I'm a center person, when it comes to brownies. I know there are a lot of edge lovers out there (case in point), but there's just something about the center cut brownie that's all gooey and chocolately on each side - perfection. Our brownie recipe of choice when I was growing up was the classic Baker's One Bowl Brownies - it's printed on the inside of the Baker's unsweetened chocolate box! And trust me - there's no need to improve on that recipe. But sometimes I want something a bit lighter, something without so much butter or sugar (I'm referring to the one and a half cups of melted butter and the 2 cups of sugar in the Baker's recipe). So recently when I needed a brownie fix, I decided to try these low-fat {almost no fat} fudge brownies from In Sock Monkey Slippers. They satisfy the brownie craving and they're butter-free - but you'd never know it. See that melty chocolate chip in the bottom right of that brownie?! The brownies are studded with warm, melty chocolate chips and have a soft, fudgy center - in other words, pretty incredible for a healthier, lower-fat brownie. 

Strawberry season! It deserves an exclamation point - if you've ever tasted perfectly ripe, just-picked strawberries then you know what I mean. There are so many ways to enjoy strawberries - they're pretty fantastic on their own, but they're delicious in desserts, salads, sandwiches, salsas, drinks, and, of course, jams and preserves. We're rounded up our top 5 strawberry recipes on the web this week - and be sure to take a look around Feastie for thousands of easy, tasty strawberry recipes. 

Strawberry-Lime Salsa with Homemade Flour Tortillas from Fake Food Free

photo from Fake Food Free

Chickpeas. In a cookie pie. I kid you not. I was skeptical - very skeptical - but trust me on this - it's goooood. I've coerced a handful of people into making it, and every single one of them has thanked me profusely and agreed that it's a magnificent, magical dessert. This deep dish cookie pie from Chocolate Covered Katie is one of the most genius recipes I've tried in a long time. I'm sorry if I'm talking it up too much, but it's not often that a can of beans yields a delicious, chocolatey, decadent-tasting VEGAN gluten-free dessert that would fool the most discerning of dessert lovers. I'll fess up and disclose that I make this recipe weekly. So without further ado, here's a deep dish cookie pie made with beans that will blow your mind. Make it. Now.

I love pizza. It's one of my favorite foods - I could probably eat it every day. And in college, I may have - but we're not going to talk about that (there may have been copious amounts of ranch dressing for dippage action as well). We're going to talk about the yummy whole wheat veggie pizza I made last week, which I have officially named the Kitchen Sink Veggie Pizza. I literally put everything but the kitchen sink on this pizza - it's a great way to clean out the veggie drawer in your fridge! It would be great for Meatless Mondays, pizza-and-a-movie night, or just an easy mid-week meal that yields leftovers for an awesome lunch the next day. It's not an ooey-gooey strings of cheese on your chin kinda pizza - I'm a fan of that kind of pizza, too - but it is a pizza you can feel good about eating and serving to your family. 

We just got back from the first night of Eat Write Retreat and what a night it was. Here's some highlights from Twitter:

If you're not planning a Cinco de Mayo celebration, you should be - you never need an excuse to enjoy amazing Mexican food, but this is certainly a good one! Feastie has thousands of delicious Mexican and Mexican-inspired recipes to turn your Cinco de Mayo party into a memorable feast. We've got everything from braised meat to vegan dishes for you to enjoy, and, of course, drinks. We've rounded up our top 5 Cinco de Mayo recipes for you - but check out our Cinco de Mayo board on Pinterest or search through Feastie for more great ideas and recipes. 

Mulitas from A Cozy Kitchen

photo from A Cozy Kitchen