I started on my plant-based journey back in high school. I grew up eating meat 3 times a day, so a meatless way of eating sounded pretty radical. But I was learning how plant foods could give me a health edge and help me to experience a more abundant life. I was excited to learn about vegetarian cooking at a cooking class hosted by the Seventh-day Adventist church. One of the first dishes I learned to make was a cottage cheese burger. I had a love affair with cheese back then, so this fit the bill for me. It was delicious and I didn’t miss my Big Mac at all!
By the time I was married and in my 30’s, I dropped dairy out of my life. I discovered I was lactose-intolerant. But I also discovered tofu and I found it made some delicious burgers that rivaled my old cottage cheese stand byes. This burger has the same texture I remember in those old burgers. But it has the added bonus of extra vegetables. It is a wonderful burger that goes great in a bun with your favorite burger fixings. I think it can stand on its own without any toppings. But we served it with a Mediterranean Spinach Pesto at our latest cooking class. It was definitely “burger heaven.”
I made the burgers using grated carrots and finely chopped spinach. But you can add other ingredients as well. Cooked brown rice, mushrooms, or even corn would make a delicious burger too. I chopped the carrots and spinach in the food processor which made it easy as pie to include these high fiber foods into the Garden burger.
Garden Nut Burger
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 T nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 cup quick oats can be gluten free
- 1 cup corn flake crumbs
- 1/2 cup finely grated carrots
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 T low-sodium vegetable broth or Liquid Aminos
- 1 cup firm tofu drained well
- 1 cup fresh baby spinach leaves chopped fine
- 2 T dried parsley or 1/4 cup fresh parsley
Instructions
- Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir in the carrots, spinach and onions. In a blender, process the tofu and Liquid Aminos until smooth and creamy (you may need to add up to ½ cup of water, a couple tablespoons at a time to keep the blender processing—do not puree’ too well—you will want it to just be barely mixed together. You don’t want it too fine and milky.)
- Add tofu to mixture in bowl, stirring to mix well (when it starts to form a ball as you mix, you have the right consistency.) Form into patties. Brown on a non-stick skillet or bake in a 400 degree oven until brown.
- CHEF'S NOTE: This recipe yields: 8 burgers. Each burger contains 8 grams protein, 3 grams fiber, 7 grams fat, 263 mg sodium, no cholesterol.
- FOCUS ON WALNUTS: Walnuts are a high-calorie food and should be used in moderation but they are a good example of a healthy whole food fat. Getting our fats from whole foods is the best way to include essential fatty acids in the diet. Walnuts are an excellent source of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids, essential for heart function, a strong immune system as well as a healthy brain. Walnuts are the only nut with significant amounts of ALA (alpha-linoleic acid) which helps to reduce inflammation and improve heart health.
