The Ultimate Veggie Burger

I have to take a moment to discuss the elephant in the room: the veggie burger. Now, before all you meat-eaters ignore the rest of this post, I beg you to give it a chance! I am not a vegetarian, and I could never be. However, recently I've exposed myself more to the land of plant-based meals, and I've learned a lot. I learned that there is so much versatility, and SO much flavor. You can do anything to plant-based foods that you do with meat. I used to be one of those people that heard the word "veggie burger", and was instantly all "OMG EW" and stopped listening. Why would anyone want to eat something like that? A burger is supposed to be made with MEAT! Well my friends, I challenge you to expand your definition of the word "burger". In my recent travels down the frozen food aisle at Whole Foods, I sort of stumbled upon a brand called Hilary's Eat Well. The company makes double serving little bags of various flavors/types of veggie burgers. They're all made with real ingredients, free of common allergens (gluten, corn, dairy, egg, soy, and nuts). In them, you'll find ingredients like coconut oil, beans, and millet. I decided to give them a try, and I haven't looked back. So far, I've tried "the world's best veggie burger", and the adzuki bean burger.  They're super easy; store them in the freezer and throw them on a cookie sheet in a heated oven for 15ish minutes. Check out this recipe and another leftover suggestion I put together this week using these burgers. Embrace the veggie burger, people!

The Ultimate Veggie Burger - featuring Hilary's Eat Well Adzuki Bean Burger

gluten free // vegetarian

Ingredients:
1 Hilary's Eat Well Adzuki Bean Burger - cooked according to directions
2 slices of gluten free bread or bread of choice - toasted
Thinly sliced vine ripe tomato
Grilled mushrooms (previously grilled in foil packet with onion/garlic powder)
Handful of spring mix
1 wedge of the Laughing Cow white cheddar cheese
2 slices of avocado
Generous amount of sriracha

Directions: I had some extra mushrooms in my fridge from the previous night's dinner. If you want to whip some up, slice your mushrooms and wrap them in a foil packet with garlic powder and onion powder. Grill for about 15 minutes, flipping halfway through. Cook the veggie burger according to the directions. Toast your bread, and layer all the ingredients as you wish. Add a generous amount of sriracha and voila! Leftover tip: cook an extra burger while you're at it. Bring it as lunch the next day, chopped up over a salad. Delicious!!