Tangy Bean Burgers

These flavorful burgers can be eaten traditional-style in a bun, or without, piled high with your favorite toppings. Personally I prefer them without the bun.
This recipe is based on a a recipe from Straight Up Food.

Tangy Bean Burgers

Makes: Approx. 8 burgers
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 15 oz. can kidney, black, or navy beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup Ezekiel 4:9 or Grapenuts cereal
• 1 cup rolled or steel-cut oats
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 dash of chili flakes or powder, to taste
• 2 tbsp yellow mustard
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 cup vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp lime or lemon juice
• Cooking oil, such as grapeseed, sesame, or canola (optional, see step 3)
• Toppings such as sliced tomato, sliced onion, avocado
• Whole grain burger buns (optional)

Directions:

1. Pulse beans in a blender or food processor until they're mashed up a bit. If you don't have a blender or food processor you can also mash them with a fork.
2. In a large bowl, combine mashed beans, cereal, onion, seasonings, mustard, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and lime juice. Mix with a spoon or spatula until well-blended. The mixture should be pasty and slightly sticky. If it is too dry, add a little water.
3. Heat a large skillet on medium heat. If cooking with oil, add just enough oil to lightly cover the surface of the pan. If you do not wish to cook with oil, you can also use the Steam Frying method or a good non-stick pan.
4. Shape the mixture into patties 3-4" wide and 1/2" thick. Place patties evenly spaced (not touching) in skillet and cook on medium for 5-7 minutes. Once the bottom side is lightly browned, flip and cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Serve with toppings of your choice by themselves, or in a burger bun.

Tip: The uncooked burger mix keeps well in the fridge for several days so cook only what you need and save the rest to enjoy fresh burgers a few days in a row! Alternatively, you can also cook a full batch and store extra burgers in the fridge to reheat in the microwave or toaster oven the next day.

Sharky's Woodfired Mexican Grill

One thing I've been meaning to do with this blog, along with posting recipes, is sharing tips for avoiding meat and dairy (and eating healthier when possible) when eating out at restaurants. It is definitely more difficult to eat out than to cook at home and stick to this kind of diet, but not impossible!

I love Mexican food, partially because it's delicious, but also because it's often a very good option for those trying to avoid meat and dairy. "Fresh Mex" places in particular really cater towards those interesting in plant-based and/or lighter fare.

Tofu & Veggies Taco

I was recently pleasantly surprised to learn that Sharky's Woodfired Mexican Grill has ample vegetarian and dairy-free options on its menu!

The following menu items are already meat and dairy free:

Burritos (ordered with tofu)

• Sharky's
• Fajita
• Grilled Tofu & Veggies

Tacos (ordered with tofu)

• The Original
• Tofu & Veggies

Other

• Tofu Power Plate
• Kid's Tofu Power Plate

Most other menu items can easily be customized to be meat and dairy free by substituting tofu for meat, and removing any cheese or sour cream. I am not sure which of their salad dressings are dairy-free, so you may want to ask if ordering a salad. As far as I can tell, all of their salsa bar selections are dairy-free. 

Note: If ordering beans as a side (or with the combo plate), make sure you specify no cheese, as I believe they sometimes come topped with cheese. However, unlike many Mexican restaurants, their pinto beans are not cooked in lard! I normally order black anyway, but good to know for those of you who prefer pinto!

Overall I've really enjoyed my meals there. I always order the Tofu & Veggies tacos, with guacamole. Normally I'm not a fan of fajita veggies (most seem to overdo it on the bell peppers) but these are great. They even include zucchini! The portion sizes are pretty big and the tacos are filling so two tacos a la carte is plenty for me, but you can order more (or fewer) tacos, or make it a combo (adds rice and beans). They also come with a side of chips and there's a salsa bar full of a nice variety of salsas (my favorite is the Original). I also love that they have limes and an onion cilantro mix at the salsa bar which I like to add to my tacos and chips.

Sharky's is definitely an easy place to get some light, not-greasy, and deliciously flavorful Mexican food!

Italian Veggie Sub

This meat-free, dairy-free spin on an Italian sub sandwich is piled high with vegetables and packed with flavor.

Italian Veggie Sub

Serves: 1
Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• Crusty bread of your choice (I used cracked wheat sourdough)
• 3-4 pieces of artichoke hearts (marinated works great for this)
• 2-3 large olives, sliced (I used green pimento stuffed, black works too)
• Small handfull of lettuce or other leafy greens (I used a spinach, chard, and kale blend)
• A few thin slices of onion
• 1-2 slices of tomato
• 1/2 an avocado, sliced
• Balsamic vinegar to taste (I use about 1 tsp usually)
• Basil to taste
• Garlic pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Slice the bread in half and lightly toast in a toaster oven or regular oven at 400°F until edges are slightly browned.
2. On one half of the bread, layer on the artichoke hearts, olives, greens, onion, and tomato.
3. Add the balsamic vinegar, basil, and garlic pepper.
4. Layer on the avocado.
5. Cover with other half of the bread and pressing down on the sandwich to keep everything in place, slice diagonally (if you used a small loaf, cutting may not be necessary).

Tip: The ingredient amounts in this recipe are just loose guidelines. Feel free to adjust, add, or subtract any ingredients based on your personal preferences. For example, my fiance likes more tomato, and jalapenos instead of olives. So many things can work well in this sub!