Basic Veggie Burger

You can go to the market and pick up veggie burgers for about $2 per burger--complete with soy additives and MSG. I am not interested in eating much soy at all because of the suspected interference with thyroid function and over all hormone balance. If I, as an adult, do not want to eat it I won't feed it to my family either.

So, I got to thinking last week--perhaps I can make a basic veggie burger that I will like and people will also like--novel concept I know. So, I cooked up some brown rice, got out a can of black beans and stared at them--could it really be as simple as I was thinking it could be? Yeah, it was--I do not know why I over think things so much.

Basic Black Bean Veggie Burger

makes 12

16 ounce can black beans rinsed and drained well

1 cup cooked brown rice

5 egg whites

1/4 cup shredded carrots-squeezed to remove excess liquid

1/4 cup frozen corn thawed

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cumin

pinch of salt

Add all the ingredients aside from the rice to a bowl and blend with a hand blender--or add all ingredients to a food processor. Once the mixture is blended completely stir in rice. Allow to sit for about 30 minutes, I did this in hopes the rice would grab some of the liquid of the mix and firm it up some.

Heat a non stick skillet on medium high heat. Add about 1/2 cup of the burger to the pan and cook on each side for about 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and top with salsa and avocado.

Other Good Ideas:

--Use red beans instead of black

--add any vegetable you want--be sure to remove as much liquid as possible

--cook ahead and store in the fridge for weekly lunches