Rundown on Veggie Burgers

A veggie burger is a vegetarian hamburger that can be made out of a variety of foods such as vegetables, dairy, nuts, mushrooms, vegetable protein, wheat gluten, egg or a combination of these. At home and when eating out, veggie burgers are becoming a popular menu selection. As well as being lower in fat, veggie burgers offer nutritional benefits beyond that of the regular beef burger, but they can be difficult to cook. Here are tips to find just the right veggie burger that best fits your needs.

Burger Characteristics
Some veggie burgers are made with soy protein or mushrooms. These burgers look more like hamburgers. They often have a chewy texture, a brown color and a grilled flavor. Some veggie burgers are based on combinations of beans, grains or vegetables. These tend to look a little more homemade and may crumble easily.

You get the best results from veggie burgers when you follow the cooking directions on the box. Some veggie burgers can be baked or cooked, without fat, in nonstick pans. Others need to be fried in small amounts of oil.

Veggie burgers don't need to stay in the patty form. In addition to serving them as a hot sandwich, veggie burgers can be crumbled and be the "meat" in meat sauces and soups, formed into individual "meat" loaves or used in chilis, sloppy joes and French dip sandwiches.

Nutritional Benefits
Is there a nutritional benefit to veggie burgers? You need to become an avid label reader to figure this out. Veggie burgers, depending on the brand, are generally lower in calories and fat than hamburgers . However, exercise some caution, because some veggie burgers get lots of fat from added cheese, egg and vegetable oil.

Extra-lean ground beef gets more than half its calories from fat; most veggie burgers have less than 20% of calories from fat. Meat has no fiber; most veggie burgers have at least 3 or 4 grams of dietary fiber per serving. While veggie burgers have little or no cholesterol, a 3.5-ounce hamburger made with extra-lean ground beef has 90 milligrams of cholesterol. Veggie burgers, especially those made with soy, contain generous amounts of protein and iron. Vitamin B-12 is added to some veggie burgers. The only negatives for veggie burgers are that most are higher in sodium than ground beef and may require additional fat while cooking to prevent sticking.

Tips for Moist Veggie Burgers
Moistness rules when it comes to burgers; veggie burgers may need a little extra care in this department. The addition of a few extra healthy ingredients may make all the difference in the outcome.

• Avocado. To add moistness, add some mashed fresh avocado or thawed frozen avocado pulp. Avocado has a neutral flavor and a rich, creamy texture which will make lean foods moist. Yes, avocado contains fat, but it is the unsaturated, good kind of fat.
• Ketchup. A touch of tomato puree, ketchup or chopped, de-seeded fresh tomatoes helps to ensure moistness.
• Stock. When preparing low fat burger mixtures, add small amounts of cold water, stock or tomato juice.
• Beans. Experiment with a moist stuffing, such as chopped and steamed mushrooms or onions, barbecued or baked beans or black beans.
• Toppings. Include moist toppings, such as thick slices of beefsteak tomatoes, salsa or chutney.

Low-fat and veggie burgers are a popular, fun-to-eat menu item. So stoke up the grill and get the buns toasting!

Walnut Lemon Burgers
Serves 8

This recipe can be formed into patties and cooked on a grill or in the oven and served as a burger, or it can be rolled into balls and served with your favorite pasta or cream sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups walnuts
• 3 cups cooked brown rice
• 2 cups firm tofu, drained and mashed
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs or matzo meal
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ⅛ cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon miso or soy sauce

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place walnuts on an ungreased cookie sheet, place in oven and allow to toast for about 5 minutes. Allow to cool, place in food processor, blender or food mill and grind into a fine meal.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix walnuts, rice, tofu, bread crumbs, basil and thyme until combined.

In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in the lemon juice. Stir to dissolve and add miso.

Combine walnuts and cornstarch. Using your hands is the best way to thoroughly moisten the dry ingredients; work with the mixture until it holds together. If the mixture is too dry or dense, add small amount of water until the consistency is one that will hold together, but not too dry.

Roll mixture into small balls and place on nonstick cookie sheet. Bake for 15- 20 minutes, or until the balls are hot.

This mixture can also be pressed into a loaf pan and baked as a loaf. Allow to cool (about 8-10 minutes) before slicing.