Upsides to the Down Economy/ Think Outside the (Culinary) Box

Fiber Filled Veggie Burgers

   Along with "Fishy Fridays", I am going to try and do "Meatless Mondays." On a quest to put more fiber in my diet (we should have about 25 grams per day, most of us have 11 or so) I made a veggie burger filled with every fiber-rich food I could get my hands on. I wanted to think of it as the "makes you poop" burger (although that sounds gross) so mixed together: mashed potatoes, pureed peas, grated zucchini, Bulgar, flax seed, black beans, corn and added corn meal, ground whole wheat bread crumbs and egg whites to bind it together and cumin, garlic, onion, scallions, chili powder, jalapeno and hot sauce to season it. I put it in the food processor and gave it a little whirl (before I added the corn) to get it to bind as well. This was a total experiment, I kept adding things as I went along, especially to get it to hold together in a patty that could be pan sauteed in Pam. My daughter A.J. tried them, and declared them a success. I feel like it would benefit from a fresh sliced tomato, sliced sweet onion and some greens. Since I couldn't eat that many veggie burgers in one sitting, I baked them in the oven and will freeze them for lunch on "Meatless Mondays". I love making soup on Mondays, so will experiment with vegetarian ones in upcoming months. Grilled cheese sandwiches are an easy, meat-free, accompaniment. Although some people don't like being restricted to Dietary boundaries, I feel it pushes me to be more creative, culinary-wise. Like, when we were in school and I took Creative Writing, I loved it when we were given a topic to write about (as opposed to when the teacher said "write whatever you want"). It nudges you in a certain direction and spurs you on. Here's to "Meatless Mondays", "Fishy Fridays" and all the days in between.

Packed and ready for the Freezer

                                                     

                                                  "Do or do not. There is no try." Yoda