These healthy veggie burgers are made with sprouted pumpkin seeds. When raw pumpkin seeds are soaked for 6-24 hours, their enzymes “wake-up” and become active. Soaked seeds have more protein and minerals readily available for the body, and are easily digested. Pumpkin seeds are especially beneficial for men’s health. You can eat these burgers uncooked, but we like to throw them on the grill for 10 minutes.

By Nawal Nasrallah: I was once asked to demonstrate an Iraqi dish for a group of middle-schoolers in Boston University’s Kids Program, “Cooking Up Culture” I made kebab rolled in flat leavened bread, garnished with onion relish, chopped parsley, and tomatoes. This traditional dish with its long history proved to be a hit with the kids. They asked for seconds and thirds.

This is an easy Middle Eastern kebab recipe using za'atar spice. Although za'atar is usually used as a topping for breads and yogurt, here we use it as a spice rub for chicken breasts. Za'atar is made of sumac, dried wild thyme, and sesame seeds. The ingredients and proportions vary from country to country.