Written by Carol Lynn Jackson

Eat your veggies. You can even eat them in a burger. Wow! Now that’s a plus! 

But if you are not eating a homemade veggie burger, beware the excess sodium, overly processed and possibly toxic ingredients like processed soy, lecithin, and hexan (a refined product of gasoline that’s used to separate whole soybeans into soy oil, protein, and fiber) that make up a great deal of industry food market options.

Even though store-bought veggie burgers are made of, well, veggies, the amount of processing these ingredients go through zaps some of the essential nutrients from the patties and they can weigh in with over 400 mg of sodium each. This includes fast-food and chain sit-down dining restaurants where the burgers are often held together, not with fresh egg or flax meal, but with loads of butter or unhealthy oils.

The best way to ensure a healthy veggie burger is to get cookin’! There are plenty of ways to whip up veggie burgers from scratch like the one we just made for our grab-n- go market. Here we used local organic shiitake mushrooms and spinach, along with organic black beans, red onion, parsley, egg, homemade breadcrumbs from preservative-free bread, and fresh herbs and spices.

The Shiitake Black Bean Burger, pan fried or baked and then easily frozen per patty for quick re-heat is meaty yet 100 percent vegetarian. It is loaded with lots of smoky flavor with cumin and chili powder. No one will miss the meat with this burger! •

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Shiitake Black Bean Burger

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Serves: 6-8 burger patties

Ingredients

2 cans (15 oz. each) black beans, drained (don’t rinse)

8 oz. shiitake mushrooms, small diced with stems removed

1/2 red onion, diced

1 cup baby spinach, packed

3-4 egg whites, lightly beaten

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin powder

1/2 teaspoon chipotle pepper powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions: Place half the black beans in a bowl and using the back of a spoon or a potato masher, mash the black beans until they are mostly broken down. Add the remaining whole black beans, diced mushrooms, onions, baby spinach, 3 egg whites, panko, garlic, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Stir until everything is combined, then let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.

Start forming the burger patties. Make 6-8 burger patties, depending on how big you would like them, make sure the sides are nice and smooth. If the patties are not holding together well, add the last egg white and mix before forming the patties.

Heat a skillet over medium heat with oil. When the oil is warm, place the patties in the skillet and allow each side to cook for 4-5 minutes. You can also spray the patties with cooking spray if you do not want to use a lot of oil, but keep in mind you’ll need to be extra gentle. Flip gently and allow to cook on the second side for 4-5 minutes. You can add a slice of cheese at this point if you’d like.

Serve the patties on burger buns with Eat Pique (honey pickled mustard seeds) or chipotle mayo and your favorite toppings, in pitas with hummus, or on a salad drizzled with your favorite dressing.