Three Plant-Based Burgers for Your Next Cookout

Love to grill but you don’t do meat? No problem! These hearty burgers—one based on hempseed, one on sunflower seed and one on corn—are so good even the carnivores in your family will approve.

HempNutty Burgers

Hempseed forms the basis for these delicious, plant-based burgers, along with black beans and brown rice.

2 cups cooked or canned black beans

1 cup cooked short-grain brown rice

1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

1/2 cup shelled hempseed

1/4 cup rolled oats

2 tbsp almond butter

2 tsp olive oil (plus 1/2 cup for cooking)

1 small onion, diced

1 tsp poultry seasoning (dried parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme)

1 tsp sea salt

pinch chili powder

1. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Place 2 tsp oil in a skillet over medium heat; add onion. When onion begins to sizzle, add seasonings and sauté for 2–3 minutes. Stir into bean mixture and mix well. With moist hands, form into patties.

3. Heat remaining oil in the skillet. Fry burgers until golden crisp on the outside, turning once.

Yields 6 burgers

Source: HempNut Cookbook by Richard Rose and Brigitte Mars (Book Publishing Co.)

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Garden Burgers

Fire up these delicious garden burgers at your next summer barbecue and see how good healthy can taste...especially when you use Organic Paleo Protein Powder from NaturesPlus to boost the protein content.

2 cups sunflower seeds

3 carrots, cleaned and scraped

1 medium onion, sliced

1/4 cup raisins

2 tbsp raw agave nectar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup Organic Paleo Protein Powder

1 lemon, juiced

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 bunch fresh herbs (such as basil, thyme, dill or rosemary)

1 hot pepper

1. Put sunflower seeds into a food processor and grind to a powder using the S-blade. Remove the blade and, using a spatula, pour powdered sunflower seeds into a bowl.

2. Return the blade to the processor. Then cut carrots into 1" chunks, place in the processor and grind until pureed.

3. Add sliced onions, raisins, agave nectar, olive oil, lemon juice and VPM Protein Powder to the food processor and mix until blended.

4. Add sea salt, fresh herbs and hot pepper to mixture and blend ingredients for about 1 minute. Stop and scrape down the walls of the processor as needed to ensure the contents are thoroughly blended.

5. Scoop mixture out of processor, form into four patties and serve as is.

Yields 4 burgers

Source: adapted fromRaw Family Signature Dishes: A Step-by-Step Guide to Essential Live-Food Recipes by Victoria Boutenko (North Atlantic Books). Copyright © 2009 by Victoria Boutenko; reprinted by permission of publisher.

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Corn Burgers with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

Does your family love corn? Then they’ll rave over these burgers! While you can use frozen corn, always remember that fresh is best.

1 1/2 cups fresh (from about 3 ears) or frozen corn

2 eggs

1/2 cup stone-ground cornmeal or polenta

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp baking powder

6 scallions, including 1” into the dark green parts, thinly sliced

1 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, diced

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

3 oz goat cheese

2 tbsp olive oil

1. Pulse 1 cup of the corn and the eggs in a food processor until you reach the texture of chunky hummus, not completely liquefied.

2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, cornstarch and baking powder. Stir in the remaining half-cup corn, corn-egg mixture, scallions, sun-dried tomatoes, salt and pepper. Crumble the goat cheese over the corn mixture and fold in. Adjust seasonings.

3. Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Drop the mixture by heaping quarter-cup portions into the hot skillet, pressing gently with a spatula to round them into burger shapes. Cook until golden brown on the bottoms, 4–5 minutes (lower the heat if they cook too quickly). Carefully flip and cook until firm and browned, another 4–5 minutes.

Yields 6 five-inch burgers

Source:Veggie Burgers Every Which Way: Fresh, Flavorful And Healthy Vegan And Vegetarian Burgers—Plus Toppings, Sides, Buns And More by Lukas Volger, Copyright © 2010. Reprinted by permission of The Experiment, LLC

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**These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.