Tag Archives: veggie burger

The Food Snob Series – Frozen Veggie Burgers

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OK, so I’ll probably not make too many friends by beating down on the frozen vegetarian options that are available in the frozen section these days, but I’ll confess, as I started to see the various vegetarian options increasing in availability, I did get very excited.  I was blinded by the vegan label and was excited about the convenience of a ready made meal – but let’s be serious, this is no different than buying any other highly processed item you would usually find in the freezer section.

Let’s start with the basic Boca burger – I’m not a fan of this burger – I’ve made a decision to be vegetarian and don’t really enjoy eating items that are made to taste or look like they aren’t.  However, because it is vegan, it is awesome to have as an option when you go out to eat.

WATER, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, WHEAT GLUTEN, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF METHYLCELLULOSE, SALT, CARAMEL COLOR, DRIED ONIONS, YEAST EXTRACT, SESAME OIL, HYDROLYZED WHEAT PROTEIN, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR (NON-MEAT), DISODIUM GUANYLATE, DISODIUM INOSINATE.

First problem with Boca’s use of soy is that it is rarely organic – they have a couple of options that are non-GMO soy, but in my opinion, if you are consuming soy, it should definitely be organic.  Silk soymilk is a great example of a product that used to be organic, but at some point, they switched their main line to be non-organic and then started charging higher prices for the organic version.

Did you know that methylcellulose is used as a construction material? In this case, it is being used as an emulsifier.  One of the more scarier ingredients is Disodium Guanylate – this ingredient should not be given to babies under the age of 12 weeks and those with gout.  Also, it is usually derived from fish, so make sure your product explicitly states that it is vegan.

All that being said, I’m sure folks could argue in either direction on whether these ingredients are actually harmful or not.  But does that ingredient list really appeal to you? When you read it, do you get excited about what you’re about to eat? I personally feel a bit grossed out by it.

I used to buy a lot of the soy crumbles products as well, but nowadays, if I really need that texture for a chili or stew, I opt to crumble my own organic extra firm tofu and cook it with some vegan Worcestershire sauce.  I leave it on low heat in a non stick pan until all the water dries out and achieves a chewy texture.

Morningstar Farms has come out with quite a few veggie burger options, and a few vegan varieties as well, but these burgers are so high in sodium – averaging around 400mg per burger seems pretty high for something that barely has 100 calories.  Most processed foods tend to be high in sugar and salt to make the food taste good enough – there isn’t much else you can do when you’re only working with 100 calories.  A great book to read on this topic is The End of Overeating by David Kessler, the former FDA commissioner.

I’ve been trying out various veggie burger recipes, trying to perfect my own burger.  Creating a veggie burger at home is so simple to do, and I like that it gives me an opportunity to use up vegetables or leftovers in my refrigerator.  Some great ingredient ideas include shredded carrots, potatoes (even more convenient when they are leftover), leftover grains (brown rice, pasta), canned beans, tofu, walnuts, cashews…the list could go on.  My favourite ingredient to absorb any excess liquid is oats and I have found that the best thing to use to mash together all the ingredients is your hands (if you have issues with that, use a potato masher).

Wow, apparently, I had a lot to say on this topic…I’m not against the convenience of a packaged burger for summer picnics or large events.  But for everyday meals, get creative and use fresh ingredients instead of heading down the freezer aisle.

CSA Delivery – November 9, 2011

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This week, I decided to be a little adventurous and added Sun Chokes into my delivery – so far, the only thing I have thought about making is soup, but we’ll see what else I discover.  I also added Romanesco Broccoli to the mix – I just think it looks so beautiful – a piece of art really.

I love Japanese sweet potatoes, and this week, I think I’m going to continue my Veggie Burger experiments and try to create a sweet potato and brown rice based burger.

More leeks! I told you I loved leeks – the poor onions in my onion basket look a little bit sad because they’re being ignored ;) .

I’m surprised that we’re still getting green peppers, but I’ll take them for as long as I can get them! These might go on a pizza this weekend.

The only fruit this week are the red grapes – they are so juicy and crunchy at the same time – deeelish!

Veggie Burger Experiments Continue…this time VeganMoFo style

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The acorn squash I roasted the other night was huge and made a lot more than just two servings worth for dinner. I also had quinoa left over, so I decided to continue my veggie burger experiments – these burgers were a great success in my opinion.

I started by mashing the roasted squash and greens mix with the cooked quinoa with a can of drained and rinsed black beans. I then added 1/2 a cup of nutritional yeast and about a cup of oats. I found that mashing the mix by hand created the best consistency (and its fun to play with food!). I formed up the patties and cooked them in my cast iron pan on the stove.

I served the burgers on a bed of romaine – this burger is definitely a front runner out of all the recipes I’ve tried. I can’t wait to try out different variations of this recipe.

Veggie Burger Experiments – The Food Processor Burger

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I decided to call this recipe the Food Processor burger because the only utensil I used in making these was my food processor and a paring knife.  I had a lot of fresh veggies in the refrigerator that I needed to use, and thought it would be best to incorporate them all into a burger.

Ingredients

  • 8 mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 carrot, shredded
  • 1 zucchini, shredded
  • 1/4 tsp dry mustard
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp white pepper
  • chili pepper and salt to taste
  • 1 block extra firm tofu, drained well
  • 1/4 cup pepitas
  • 1/4 cup walnuts
  • 1/3 cup chick pea flour
  • 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
  • 8 oz fresh spinach
  • 1/2 cup oats (or more if your mixture is too wet)
  1. I cooked the vegetables down until all the water was released and seasoned the veggies.
  2. While these veggies are cooking, drain the tofu well and puree it with the pepitas (pumpkin seeds), walnuts, chick pea flour, nutritional yeast and spinach. If I had extra time, I would have mixed the veggie mixture with the tofu mix by hand, but I was short on time, so I mixed in the cooked veggies in the food processor.
  3. To dry out the mixture, add oats (you may need to add more if your mixture is too wet).
  4. When shaping the patties, rub a bit of olive oil on the insides of your hands to prevent the mixture from sticking and then form the patties.  I tried a few different cooking methods – stovetop in a frying pan, in my microwave convection oven (that has a microwave safe nonstick pan) at 400F for 20 minutes and in the oven in a muffin pan for 30 minutes at 350F. All methods left the insides of the patties quite moist while the outsides had just the right level of browning.  The patties in the muffin pan will work great as “meatballs” with my tomato sauce from the weekend!

The recipe yielded about 18 veggie burgers which will come in handy with my busy schedule this week.

Next time, I’ll definitely mix the final ingredients by hand to give the burgers more texture, but other than that, this recipe was definitely worth sharing!