Ingredients
2 cans black beans
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup green peppers, finely chopped
1/2 cup red (or orange) pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
3 – 4 garlic cloves, minced
2 eggs
2 TBSP grape seed oil or butter
1 TSP onion-garlic powder
1/2 TSP dried mustard powder
1 TSP sea salt and a dash of pepper
1/2 tea smoked paprika
1/2 cup of crushed crackers (or bread crumbs)
Optional: 2 TBSP ketchup, barbecue or worcestershire sauce
Optional: Freshly chopped basil, parsley and rosemary
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drain the beans well by patting them dry, you can even put them on a cookie sheet if you want and cook for 10 minutes to dry them out really well. If you don’t do that step, your burgers will be wet and mushy to form. In a small pan, heat the grape seed oil (or butter) and gently sauté the sunflower seeds, carrot, peppers, onions, garlic and optional fresh herbs like basil, parsley and rosemary. Add your dried herbs/spices. Make sure you blot or pat dry this mixture after it is cooked. Use a fork to combine the vegetables with the black beans and crushed crackers. Don’t overmix or process it because you want a satisfying ‘meaty’ texture to your veggie burgers.
Form into patties (about 1/4 cup for sliders, or 1/3 cup for bigger burgers). Put each ‘burger’ on parchment paper and back for about 20 minutes (10 minutes per side). If you’d like to grill them, put them on foil on medium heat and grill for about 5 – 7 minutes each side.
Suzy Cohen, has been a licensed pharmacist for over 30 years and believes the best approach to chronic illness is a combination of natural medicine and conventional. She founded her own dietary supplement company specializing in custom-formulas, some of which have patents. With a special focus on functional medicine, thyroid health and drug nutrient depletion, Suzy is the author of several related books including Thyroid Healthy, Drug Muggers, Diabetes Without Drugs, and a nationally syndicated column.
