How do you get the kiddos to eat lots of veggies without the hassle of them dissecting their plate to put aside anything green? Chop it all up, add a few mashed beans, toss in a few herbs and spices, bake them in the oven, squirt on a little organic ketchup and “ta da”, they’re eating their veggies! It works every time. I have even gotten them to eat beets! Of course that takes a little more camouflage and ketchup and I can’t call them “beet burgers”, but they still eat them!

So here is a recipe for a basic bean burger. Feel free to substitute ingredients; I do! I am always switching around the beans, veggies, and spices to come up with an array of tasty burgers depending on what I will serve on the side. You know what I mean. Get creative. I used to use an egg to help bind these together, but with the addition of chia seeds, they seem to stay together a lot better. I also pan fry each burger just enough to brown the outside before cooking in a low temperature oven (250-300F) for 20 minutes to get them to stay together better. Experiment and see. I like making these burgers vegan, but if you think the egg helps, use it. It’s up to you and your dietary needs. Have fun and try some different ingredients each time. These may take a little practice till you get the hang of the ingredients and handling when cooking, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy the end result.

Ingredients:
1 can of black beans, drained and blended in a food processor (you can experiment with different types of beans)
1 carrot, finely chopped (can substitute just about any veggie here)
1/3 cup of chia seeds
3 Tbls. Nutritional Yeast
1/2 onion, ground in a food processor
4 tsp. wakame seaweed, crumbled
1/3 cup of parsley (dried or fresh)
1/2 cup of cooked brown rice
1/3 cup of buckwheat or whole oats
salt and spices to taste

Directions:
– Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.
– Let sit for 10 minutes so that the chia seeds and buckwheat can absorb some of the moisture.
– scoop out about 2 Tbls. of the mixture and form into small patties about 3/4 of your palm.
– Pan fry in 1-2 tsps. of coconut oil till brown on each side of the patty, being careful to flatten each patty slightly, but not too thin or it will break apart. Do this in batches, because you will need room in the pan to flip them over carefully.
– Place on a parchment lined cookie tray for 20 minutes in a low to medium hot oven (250-300F). The patties should crisp up and harden a little more in the oven. Turn off the oven and let sit for 10 minutes or so in the oven before you are ready to serve.
– Place on a bun or serve next to a salad, add whatever condiments you like and enjoy this homemade, good for you Veggie Burger.