South of the Border Veggie Burgers

Whoever said being a vegetarian is boring, was so very wrong! I’m here to kick up the spice with a south of the border veggie burger recipe.

Ingredients 

4 cups water

1 cup lentils, picked through and rinsed

1/2 cup warm water mixed with 3 tablespoons flaxseed meal

1 can no-salt-added black beans

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa

1 cup water

1/2 cup oats, processed into flour

3 cloves garlic

1 red pepper

1/2 red onion

1 spicy pepper of choice (seeded or unseeded)

3 sprigs of cilantro

3 tablespoons of water

1/2 tablespoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. In a pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil, then add the lentils. Cook for 5 minutes, then reduce to a simmer for 10-15 minutes.
2. Simultaneously in another pot, combine 1 cup of water and 1/2 uncooked quinoa. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, then reduce to a simmer for 10-15 minutes.
3. Combine flaxseed meal with the warm water, and let it sit for 10 minutes.
4. In a blender (I use my NutriBullet), blend 1/2 cup of oats until it is flour consistency. Pour into an empty mixing bowl.
5. Roughly chop the red pepper, onion, and spicy pepper of your choice. Throw them all into blender. Throw the garlic in whole. Strip 3 cilantro sprigs of their leaves and throw them in the blender too. Add 3 tablespoons of water to help it all process. Blend until it is a paste consistency.
   *Pro tip: Before chopping your onion, place it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. It will reduce the crying effect that it has on your eyes.
6. Pour the blended veggie mixture into the mixing bowl with the oat flour. Add the flaxseed water mixture as well.
7. Drain the lentils and pour them into the blender. Add the cup of beans, liquid and all! Blend the lentils and beans together until it is paste consistency. Pour this mixture into the mixing bowl with everything else. Stir in the cooked quinoa.
8. Add the spices and stir it all up. Cover the bowl with foil, and let it set in the fridge for one hour. This will help thicken up the mixture, so you can form it into patties.
9. Go watch an episode of Fixer Upper.
10. Get out your favorite nonstick skillet or even a pancake griddle because we are ready to cook these bad boys! I put a little bit of coconut oil in my skillet just to ensure that these patties don’t stick. While your pan is still cool, form a patty out of the mixture.  Place it onto your pan. You’re going to cook these patties just like you would a pancake. You’re going to wait until the bottom gets a sear on it and the middle starts to cook, then flip it. Since you don’t want the outside to burn before the middle is done cooking, cook these on medium heat. Once the other side is seared and the middle is cooked through, transfer it onto a plate. Just like pancakes, it’d be most efficient to cook multiple patties at a time on a grill pan. This recipes makes about 20 patties.
11. Top with any delicious toppings. I personally like mine with avocado, but you can add hot sauce, sour cream, cheese, etc. Throw on a bun, if you’d like, or eat it as a patty.

*This recipe was adapted from The Veggie & the Beast Feast’s Blog . Check out her amazing recipe for Protein Powerhouse Veggie Burgers. I have her “The High Protein Vegetarian Cookbook, and it’s amazing!

If you don’t eat meat, where do you get your protein?

Great question! In my experience, many meat eaters are hesitant to give up meat because they think they need it for protein. Though meat does provide protein, eating it also comes with risks. I choose to eat plant based proteins instead. There are so many vegetarian/vegan friendly foods that contain a ton of protein, and they are easy to add into your diet. These foods include, but are not limited to: tempeh, soybeans, seitan, lentils, beans, chickpeas, tofu, quinoa, peas, peanut butter, almonds, soy milk, whole wheat bread, bulgar, sunflower seeds, cashews, spinach, broccoli, the list can go on. Before becoming a vegetarian, I hadn’t heard of a majority of these foods. My diet was limited to cheeseburgers, pizza, and chicken nuggets. Being a vegetarian introduces you to a whole new world of food! If you want to read more about why I choose not to eat meat, click on the health tab in the top menu. I am a vegetarian for moral, health, and environmental reasons.

*The previous mentioned list of protein packed food is from The Vegetarian Resource Group.