Veggie Burgers By Jody Bertness

How to Make any Veggie Burger Without a Recipe  1) Start with some basic ingredients such as: 1can of beans, ½ cup breadcrumbs or quick oats, ½ cup of cooked grains such as brown rice or quinoa and 1 flax egg ( 1TBS flaxmeal & 3 TBS water)  2) Then pick other ingredients that you like such as: onions, garlic, nuts, spices, veggies. DON’T BE AFRAID TO EXPERIMENT!!  3) In a food processor pulse beans, onions, garlic, spices, veggies into a course mixture. Then add flax egg and pulse a few times. Add a few teaspoons water if mixture is too dry.  4) Place in large bowl and add cooked grain, oatmeal or breadcrumbs, and nuts.  5) Form into patties and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 to 35 minutes or fry them in a pan in a small amount of vegetable oil until the bottoms are brown and you can flip them without breaking. About 5 to 7 minutes per side.  6) Serve plain or on a bun with your choice of condiments. Enjoy!

Basic Black Bean Burgers (serves 6)  1 can black beans rinsed and drained well.  1 TBS minced garlic  ½ onion cut chopped finely  ½ cup frozen corn, thawed  ½ green or sweet red pepper chopped finely  2 TBS minced cilantro- optional  1 flax egg ( 1 TBS flaxmeal & 3 TBS water) let sit for 5 minutes.  ½ tsp red pepper flakes  1 TBS chili powder  1 tsp cumin  1/2 tsp salt  ½ to ¾ cup bread crumbs

Continued…  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In medium bowl mash beans with fork until a nice and thick consistency.  Add onion, garlic, green pepper, corn, flax egg and spices and mix well.  Add in ½ cup bread crumbs. Use extra ¼ cup if mixture is too wet.  Form into 4 patties and bake for 10 minutes. Gently flip burgers and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes.  Serve immediately on bun with favorite condiments!

Healthy Falafels  2 cups of canned, boiled chickpeas  1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped  1 carrot, grated  1 onion, diced  6 garlic cloves, mashed  4 Tbsps chickpea flour, or any other type of flour  1 tsp sweet paprika  1/2 tsp ground caraway seeds  salt and pepper, to taste  1 Tbsp tahini paste (optional)  oil (3-4 Tbsps) for frying

Continued…  Add boiled chickpeas in the food processor and blend well until they have a paste-like consistency.  Put them in a large bowl and blend in all the other ingredients, except oil.  Heat some oil in a non-stick frying pan.  Make the patties – 1 Tbsp per patty.  Fry them 1-2 minutes on each side. Alternatively, you can bake them. Put the patties in a greased oven tray. Bake 15 minutes on each side at 375 degrees.  Put the falafels on a plate covered with a paper towel, in order to absorb all excess oil.  Serve!

Buffalo Chickpea Burgers (serves 4)  1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 1.5 cups)  1/2 cup rolled oats  1 flax egg ( 1 TBS flaxmeal & 3 TBS water)let sit for 5 min.  1/2 cup cooked brown or white rice  1/4 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce (or another buffalo style hot sauce) Franks Red Hot Sauce  shredded carrots for garnish  some lettuce to make it look like a burger (haha!)  Ranch or Jalapeno Ranch or your favorite condiment for the buns! RanchJalapeno Ranch

Continued…  Remove 1/2 cup of chickpeas and set aside. In a food processor blend the remaining chickpeas, oats, flax egg and hot sauce together until only slightly chunky. You may be able to do this in a blender or with an immersion blender as well. Get out a large bowl smash the 1/2 cup of reserved beans with a fork. Add in all of the remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the mixture for at least 20 minutes.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. or.  Form mixture into patties and place on the parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes and then flip gently with a spatula. Bake for another 15 minutes and let cool a bit. Then eat!

Bonzo Burgers (makes 6)  1 can garbonzo beans/chickpeas  1 cup water  3 TBS nutritional yeast  3 TBS Braggs liquid aminos or soy sauce  1 small onion chopped  2 cloves garlic  1 cup quick oats  1 cup regular oats  ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans  ¼ tsp sage  ¼ tsp thyme  ¼ tsp black pepper

Continued…  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine garbonzo beans, water, nutritional yeast, Braggs liquid aminos, garlic, and onion in a food processor and pulse until well blended.  In a large bowl combine oats, spices and nuts together. Add garbonzo bean mixture to it and combine well.  Form into patties and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 25 minutes and gently flip. Bake for another 25 minutes.  Serve on bun with mayo, lettuce and tomato. Enjoy!

Mushroom Oat Burgers (makes 6)  1 package white button mushrooms or baby portabello’s chopped  1 TBS canola oil  1 chicken or veggie broth  2 cloves garlic minced  ¼ tsp marjoram  ¼ tsp sage  ¼ tsp thyme  2 cups quick oats  ¼ chopped walnuts or pecans

Continued…  Preheat oven to 350 degrees  Sauté chopped mushrooms in canola oil until nicely browned.  While sautéing mushrooms bring the broth to a boil.  In a glass bowl add oats, nuts and spice. Add browned mushroom pour boiling chicken broth over mixture. Stir until well mixed and let it sit for about 10 minutes.  Form into patties and place onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes and gently flip over and bake for another 20.  Serve immediately on bun with favorite condiments. Enjoy!