Veggie Burgers
27 Jan 2012 2 Comments
in health, weight loss Tags: boca burger, grillers prime, morningstar farms, veggie burger, veggie burger recipe
I’m trying to eat healthier, and one of my new favorites is veggie burgers. So quick and easy… just pop it in the microwave for a couple minutes while I get the bun ready. Bun, burger, condiments and all = around 300 calories, and 15 grams of protein. Nice and filling. And delicious!
The only thing I don’t like is the price. These two brands, Morningstar Farms and Boca, are my favorites, but their burgers run about $1.00 apiece. That’s kinda pricey and so I’m looking to start experimenting with some recipes.
I’d looked on my favorite cookbook site, allrecipes.com. But I didn’t find anything that was really jumping out at me, though there were a few that piqued my interest. I found quite a few on about.com though with promising results… or at least promising titles, like “Carnivore Approved Mushroom Burgers.”
If you’d like to try veggie burgers but are afraid you’ll think they aren’t tasty, then I’d recommend the Morningstar Farms Grillers Prime. You truly will not taste the difference between hamburger and veggie burger with this one. Veggie burgers are becoming more popular in the mainstream as people look to curb their red meat intake, and as veggie burger flavor has vastly improved. Both the Morningstar Farms and Boca products can be found in your grocer’s freezer case (I’ve seen them at Wal-Mart, Kroger, and Schnuck’s).
I think out of the burger recipes I’ve looked at, I’m going to give this one a try: Mushroom Veggie Burger.
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Update on the Mushroom Veggie Burger recipe:
I have one thing to say about this recipe: THESE BURGERS ROCK!!
Crispy on the outside, moist and meaty on the inside. Taste great with ketchup and mustard on a sandwich thin.
Now as for the recipe, I made a few tweaks:
– I wanted my burgers to be uniform, like the patty shapes that Boca makes. I’ve got this burger shaper thingy and I used 1/3 cup of mixture per patty.
– In order for the consistency of the patty shape, I needed to run my larger ingredients individually through my food processor, including the oats. This resulted in a finer “grain” to the mixture.
– I added a tsp of Vital Wheat Gluten to the mix to increase elasticity, based on comments I’d read from people on another recipe.
– I drained the moisture from the mushroom/onion mixture after I sauteed it to keep the burgers from falling apart.
–The store I went to had Portobello and Shitake mushrooms but not Crimini. So I substituted regular white mushrooms. I’d like to try it with the Crimini though.
–I read that you could add worchestershire sauce and smoke flavoring to veggie burger recipes. I didn’t have any but added some steak seasoning. Not a noticeable flavor that I could tell but didn’t hurt any.
– It said to fry the burgers in olive oil but I thought I’d try baking them instead. It was late, I was tired, and just wanted to be done, you know? I sprayed the cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray and baked 10 minutes each side at 350 degrees. The burgers flipped over just great! Baking, broiling, or frying, I think any of the methods would work. Using a Foreman grill would work good, too. If I was to use an outdoor grill though, I think I’d bake them a bit first and then put them on the grill.
Speaking of freezing, I’m sure these would work just like the Boca burgers as far as freezing and microwaving them for quick meals. I’m so glad I gave this recipe a try.
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