Vegan Burger

My hubby has been experimenting with veggie and vegan burgers at home lately and the one he made this week was the best ever!! I did add gouda cheese, but Daiya or any vegan cheese would taste just as good. These are such healthful ingredients used here and eating vegan (especially organic) is so good for our environment, or own bodies and the animals we save in the process. We both try to eat vegan/vegetarian a good bit, but still eat some meat (focusing on free range/organic meats). Anyway, for meatless Monday, here are great and easy couple of recipes.

Mushrooms
Cooked Lentils (5min in microwave)
Seasonings
Flaxseed
Bread crumbs (you can also use gluten free)
Patties cooked on the grill until very firm (a bit crunchy).

Topped with
Sunflower seeds (an option, it just gave a little more texture)
Gouda
Avocado
Pico

On the side is grilled cauliflower!

Beet Salad

One of our very favorite and super easy sides to make is diced beets with goat cheese and pistachios. We first saw this combo in Soho in NYC about 2 years ago and were in love (neither hubby nor I were big on beets before this) with this dish! I then started noticing it pop up on menus at various restaurants over the last year or so. Hubby has now perfected the “Beet salad” in my opinion and we use pre cooked and packaged organic beets by Love Beets and they are so good! Plus all you have to do is dice them up and then add the following ingredients:

Goat cheese
Pistachio
*White Pear balsamic vinaigrette
Onion powder
Celery salt
Garlic powder
*Tiny Hiiint of white truffle oil
Pumpkin pie spice
Salt pepper

*Olive oil and another white wine vinegar to brighten if you don’t have pear and white truffle. Below is the final presentation….

“Beets are high in immune-boosting vitamin C, fiber, and essential minerals like potassium (essential for healthy nerve and muscle function) and manganese (which is good for your bones, liver, kidneys, and pancreas). Beets also contain the B vitamin folate, which helps reduce the risk of birth defects.”