Rob loves lentil burgers! We’ve made several different varieties now, I had no idea there were so many options. This one caught my eye because we love Indian food and anything with curry in it. Lentils have so many benefits including: low-fat, high fiber, fill you up so you eat less, taste great! If you like Indian food and flavors try these lentil burgers and increase the spices to your own tastes.
Featuring Black Bean Recipes
This week’s whole food recipe will be a compilation of various bean recipes Darlene has done over the past year. These recipes include black beans, red beans and garbanzo beans. Darlene is away showing her art this weekend, so I (Rob) will be posting on her behalf.
Being low on the glycemic index, beans not only provide fiber to your diet, but also have very little, if any, impact on blood sugar.
Not All Protein Is Created Equal
Ounce for ounce, black beans provide the same amount of protein as ground beef, but have no saturated fat, no cholesterol and provide 9 grams of fiber. As well, 4 ounces of black beans are almost one third the calories as ground beef.
Recipe: Black Bean Sweet Potato Almond Butter Burgers
We are always on the lookout for a great bean or lentil burger that we can make a huge batch of and eat for days. We have come to really dislike the store bought ones for the lack of taste and large amount of salt and other preservatives and unhealthy things in them. These black bean, sweet potato and almond butter burgers fit the bill and are SO tasty!
This recipe if from Extra Vegan Za cookbook, another one of our favorites. Best part is – they were super easy to make. You just have to remember to soak your beans and cook them a day ahead or so. If you forget like I did – use the Quick Soak method, below.
8oz of black beans have as much protein or more protein than does an 8oz steak?
When I tell people I eat mostly vegetarian at home I often get asked “how do you get your protein?” Are you aware that 8oz of black beans have as much protein or more protein than does an 8oz steak? AND beans have NO fat or cholesterol and beans are full of fiber where the steak has none! Yes – you heard right – ALL MEAT has NO fiber. Zero, nada, zip. Fiber fills you up and you want to eat less – try eating two of these burgers one night and your steak the next and see which fills you up more and you have to stop eating. Think that will help control over eating? You betcha! Try it!
Recipe: Ultimate Green Lentil Vegetable Burger
These lentil burgers with kale, walnuts and flax are a convenient food for us around our house. The flax seeds and kamut flour hold the burgers together without egg or other unhealthy options while kale is one of the 10 most nutritious foods you can eat. More often than not, we make a triple batch of these, cook them all and then store them to be re-heated later or used as the filler in a wrap along with avocado, fresh greens and Franks Red Hot sauce.
Each lentil burger is roughly 7.5 grams of fiber or more (depending on how much you use for each burger), so they are both filling and nutritious.
The Ultimate Green Lentil Vegetable Burger
1 Tbsp ground flax seeds
2 Tbsp Braggs
1/2 cup walnut pieces
3/4 cup cooked green lentils, well drained
1/4 cup grated onion
1/4 cup minced green kale
1/3 cup kamut flour
Celtic sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
In a large blender, combine the flax seeds and Braggs, blending until viscous and then set aside.
In a food processor, pulse the walnuts to a coarse mixture. Add the lentils, onion, kale, kamut flour, flax mixture and the salt and pepper. Process until well combined but with some texture remaining. Shape the mixture into patties and place on a platter. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Have a cup of green tea.
Heat a small portion of coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add the patties, cook until browned on both sides – about 4 minutes per side.
Serve hot, or if you make a large amount, store them in a container in the fridge to be reheated later or to be used as filler in a veggie wrap.
We found that no oil is required in these lentil burgers lowering their fat content even further. 1 cup of cooked lentils has less than 1 gram of fat in it so the only fat in this recipe comes from natural sources, the walnuts and flax seeds, both a good source of essential omega fats.
Serve with steamed Swiss chard and a salad, to add even more of the desired greens into your menu plan. Pictured here is Quinoa Salad from a few weeks ago.
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Ultimate Green Lentil Vegetable Burger Photo Credit: Her View Photography
