by Valerie Wilson
Many Veggie Burgers are full of ingredients that you either have not heard of before or leave you wondering about how this could be considered healthy. A good veggie burger does not need to be complicated, and you can make them yourself, freeze them, and always have some ready to eat. Tasty, simple, whole ingredients from nature make the best veggie burgers.
Short-grain brown rice is high in antioxidants, B vitamins, fiber, and is a complex carbohydrate for energy. Use the short grain in your veggie burgers because the kernels stick together, making the burger hold together when you cook them, as opposed to a long grain brown rice that is looser.
Green lentils are high in calcium, iron, potassium, zinc, vitamin K, and protein. The green lentils become soft once cooked, and together with the brown rice will give you the consistency you are looking for to create the perfect veggie burgers.
The tahini, which is ground sesame seeds, will give the veggie burgers a little fat. Creating the burgers to contain the three vital nutrients we humans need to maintain health: complex carbs, protein, and fat.
One cooking tip for you when creating veggie burgers is to add flour to them to help hold them together. I use oat flour because it has a nice moisture content, and your burgers will not be dry. And for anyone eating gluten-free, the oat flour is a good choice.
Brown Rice Lentil Veggie Burgers
1 1/2 cups short-grain brown rice
3/4 cup green lentils
1/2 onion (diced small)
4 1/2 cups water
1 cup mushrooms (cut up small)
1cup carrot (grated)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
2 T. tahini
2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. sage
1 tsp. basil
1 cup oat flour
Put the brown rice, green lentils, onion, and water in a pot, bring to a boil for a couple of minutes.
Reduce the heat to the lowest possible temperature, cover, and simmer for one hour.
Remove from heat. Let’s sit for 5 minutes.
Put the mushrooms, carrots, garlic, tahini, spices, and oat flour into a large mixing bowl.
Add the cooked brown rice and lentils, mix all together.
Put it in the refrigerator and let it get completely cold for a couple of hours.
Heat a skillet, or a grill if cooking them outside, and form into patties.
Brown on one side, then flip them over and brown on the other side. Approx. 7 minutes on each side.
Serve with whole-grain flour buns, slices of bread, flatbread, or over a bed of lettuce.
The patties can be frozen and heated up later. Best to pre-cook them, then freeze them.
