There are quite a few brands on the market - Boca, Gardenburger, Morningstar Farms, and Amy's, just to name a few.
They may tate ok but homemade burgers taste better, plus the price of boxed veggie burgers makes me insane. A box of veggie burgers runs $3 to $6 at the store for 4 patties.
Plus, they sometimes have ingredients that I'm really not interested in consuming.
The hardest part is deciding what type of veggie burger you want. There are a few basic varieties.
Grain based - these usually have brown rice or quinoa plus veggies and spices.
Bean based - these are most often black bean or chickpea based.
Veggie based - these are mostly veggies held together with a flour. A portabella mushroom can be a burger all on it's own!
Soy and TVP (textured vegetable protein) based - tofu, TVP or tempeh burgers,
The reason I love veggie burgers is because they are versatile. I can eat them like a traditional burger, on a bun with fresh veggie toppings and a smear of vegan mayo, without a bun as my main dish or I can chop them up and use them as an ingredient is another dish, like black bean burgers are great in tacos!
You can google for hundreds of fabulous recipes for all different kinds of veggie burgers but here are two of my favorites from Josh at My Vegan Cookbook:
I like to make a double batch of the black bean burgers and then freeze them after I've cooked them. Just put a piece of wax paper inbetween them and you can grab one anytime for a quick meal!
By the way, Josh has some fantastic recipes.. I don't think I've made a bad one yet! In fact, his Chick Spread and his Vegan Meatballs are two of my most fave meals ever!
With the chick Spread, I leave out the tofu (and don't notice any difference) but i add in some nutritonal yeast and some vegan 'chicken' bouillon. The meatballs make a great meaty sauce by cooking the mixture up like burger in a pan and adding it to a pan of sauteed onions and mushrooms and a jar of your fave pasta sauce. I've also heard it's good in chili!
I nk whenever you can make it yourself that is so much better because you know EXACTLY what has gone into your food and into your body! I am testing out a new veg burger this week so if its good I will for sure wend it your way!
ReplyDeletei came across your blog and really like how you put pictures of your recipes up. i educated people about nutrition, vitamins, new research, etc. i can't wait to try to make your veggie burger recipe. they look amazing. thanks for posting.
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