Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Meatless Meals Series ~ Veggie Burgers

Last year I made the decision, for mostly health reasons, to begin to eat a mostly plant based diet. During the school year this spring it was hard to stay on track with that decision, but I am back on track now that school is out for the summer. 

During the Great Depression many families only had meat if they hunted for it or caught them with simple box traps. Otherwise they simply did without. Only since WWII have people started thinking they needed meat with every meal. 

With the price of meat nowadays though, it can be hard for some families to afford meat at every meal. I know in my own home meat is not served as often as it was the past.  

I've been experimenting with a new vegetable burger recipe this month that was shared on the Whole Foods website. 

Here is recipe with some tweaks made by me: 

Veggie  Burgers

Ingredients:

1/4 cup carrot, shredded
1/4 cup onion, diced
1/4 cup red bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup cooked sweet potato
1 cup black beans, drained
1/4 cup tomato, chopped
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Directions:

Water sauté the first four ingredients for 5 minutes and then combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine. 

 The first time I made these the recipe said it makes four burgers, which was too big for my taste. So, the next time I made them I used a 1/4 cup measuring spoon to make uniform patties. 

With this smaller patty, I was able to make 11 patties out of the recipe. 

I then placed the patties on a parchment lined baking sheet and baked at 400 degrees for a total of 45 minutes, flipping half way through the cooking time. 


These are good right out of the oven and even cold from the refrigerator. You can eat them with or without buns. 

They freeze well and are definitely cheaper than buying store bought veggie burgers. 

You could even experiment and add or omit any ingredients. I think black olives would make a great addition to this recipe. 


Have you made your own veggie burgers? I would love to hear about your experiments in the comment section. 

Belinda


6 comments:

  1. Hi Belinda,
    I'm so sorry you've not been well. Not a great way to begin the summer holidays! But I am glad you're beginning to feel better!

    Great post! You are so right on the cost of meat being out of reach for many of us, at least on a daily basis. It's discouraging to shop the meat section of the grocery store and see those super high prices. But, as you pointed out, eating less meat could be healthier for many of us.

    We eat veggie burgers at least once per week. I use a recipe from Laurel's Kitchen, modified just a bit. They're more bean-based, but I'll have to try the recipe that you've posted here. Those would be a great way to get more veggies into us.

    My favorite veggie burgers have finely chopped mushrooms in them. The mushrooms are something of a luxury, unless I find a great deal on them. And I add an egg and bread crumbs to hold them together. Mine probably aren't as healthy as yours, as I do pan fry them in a bit of oil, then bake.

    I also use the same veggie-bean mixture for making "neatballs" (another Laurel's Kitchen recipe). Great on sandwiches, or over spaghetti squash or zucchini "noodles". I'll be adding some sort of veggie burger or "neatballs" to next week's lunch round-up.

    Feel better, loads better, soon!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Lili. :)

      It is discouraging to shop the meat section of the grocery store and it has been for a while now. I stopped buying beef roasts last year when the price went beyond what I was willing to pay for one. And I understand the reasons behind the price increase, but I have to do what is best for my family too, which means finding other alternatives.

      I used to have the Laurel Kitchen cookbooks but traded them at McKays. I looked at them again last time I was there. I need to look at them again the next time I go there.

      Mushroom burgers sound good and they are so good for you!

      Thanks again. :)

      Delete
  2. Glad you are feeling better and posting again! Looks like a great recipe! I have a black bean burger recipe on my blog that we really like. Easy to make and very economical, too.
    CTonabudget.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Carol. I'll have to check out your recipe too. They definitely are economical.

      Delete
  3. I'm glad you are feeling better!

    I love veggie burgers and often just pull together leftover veggies and whatever I need to round them off together. Thanks for sharing the great links.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome, Shara. I hope you enjoy them.

      Delete

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