Great Grain Burger

Monday, May 07, 2007

If you have gone out for a burger lately then you may have noticed a healthy new trend that's not just for vegetarians anymore. It's the meatless burger. These days you can order a meatless burger almost anywhere, but beware that not all healthy patties are created equal. The best ones are made from scratch from fresh ingredients, like the recipe below.

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
• 1/2 cup uncooked bulgur (Look for bulgur in the cereal, rice or organic food aisle of your grocery store)
• 1 tablespoon salt-free seasoning blend
• 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups finely chopped mushrooms
• 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella
• 1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup fat-free cottage cheese
• 1/4 cup egg substitute
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/8 teaspoon celery seed
• 3 teaspoons canola oil, divided
• 12 sandwich rolls
• Lettuce leaves and tomato

Instructions

In a sauce pan, combine the first five ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove from heat; cool completely. Refrigerate.
In a large bowl, combine the mushrooms, oats, mozzarella cheese and onion. In a blender or food processor, process cottage cheese and egg substitute until smooth. Add mushroom mixture. Stir in the parsley, salt, basil, celery seed and chilled rice mixture.

Shape 1/2 cupfuls into patties. In a nonstick skillet, cook four patties in 1 teaspoon of oil for 5 minutes on each side or until lightly browned and crisp. Repeat with remaining patties and oil. Serve on rolls with lettuce and tomato if desired.

Nutritional Analysis: One cooked patty equals 126 calories, 4g fat, 15g carbohydrate, 7g protein.

Labels: diet, recipes

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