Vegetable burgers

Published: 12/19/2005 - Updated: 08/13/2019

Vegetable burgers are often part of vegetarian food for people and can be a progressive step towards this type of food. However, the softness of their taste and nutritional importance, make them suitable for inclusion in the diet of anyone. The vegetable burgers are healthy and balanced food with a high content of protein, fiber, vitamins and salts minerals, low in calories and cholesterol, free of preservatives, dyes and hormones.

Ingredients of vegetable burguers

The main ingredients of the vegetable burgers are: 

  • Cereals: oats, wheat, rice, tapioca, quinoa.
  • Legumes: soybeans.
  • Vegetables: red and green peppers, broccoli, borage, eggplant, garlic, leeks, parsley, etc.
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Sunflower.
  • Non hydrogenated vegetable margarine.
  • Oilseeds: almonds and pine nuts.
  • Atlantic Algae
  • Mushrooms
  • Natural Spices: nutmeg, thyme, oregano, pepper, rosemary, etc.
  • Other: Atlantic sea salt, soy sauce, brewer's yeast, soy lecithin

Cereals

  • Oats: It is a cereal, which gives force and effect, stimulates the thyroid gland to improve metabolism and resistance to cold, fat is easily assimilated. Contains substances that favor to make great efforts and tear energy. Oats have a medicinal effect on inflammation of the digestive tract and urinary tract. Another of its properties is being recommended to diabetics.
  • Wheat: It has all the known minerals: Sodium, Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Silicon, Phosphorus, Sulfur, Iron … trace elements and vitamins of group B, D, K, E, PP … Must be whole, not refined in any form to be consumed. Wheat is rich in full natural fiber.
  • Rice: It is the staple food of half of humanity. It is low in fat so it is recommended to patients, has hypotensive properties and is rich in vitamins of group B.
  • Quinoa: It is a grain that is grown in Bolivia, staple diet of the Incas. It contains more protein than other cereals including wheat. Its rich in essential amino acids, the protein allows a percentage of 75% similar to milk or meat. It is a very easily digestible cereal.

Pulses

Soy: from organically grown and certified as non-transgenic. In Central Asia, it is known as the meat of the field. It is an excellent source of protein (36%) of high quality because it contains all the essential amino acids. It is high in fiber (4.5%). It contains no cholesterol and virtually no saturated fat, and fat has a high content of lecithin, this very important element for cell membranes, brain and nervous system. It is rich in isoflavones, which may help to counter the syndrome of menopause, prevents osteoporosis and reduces cholesterol. It is rich in potassium (1.75%), calcium (0.2%), phosphorus (0.55%), magnesium (0.25%), iron (0008%), vitamin A and E.

Vegetables

Those are composed of a majority of water (90%), causing energy value getting small. Are very poor in fat and carbohydrates and proteins. The importance lies in their high nutritional proportions of carotenes (precursors of vitamin A), vitamin C and mineral salts (sodium, calcium, magnesium also has vitamins…); group B. The great advantage of vegetables is the high amount of fiber that provides natural goodness and also reduces the acidity in the blood by the use of bases. Broccoli stands out for its high content of vitamins A, C and iron that help to improve the functioning of the immune system. It also noted its high content of indoles, flavonoids to help reduce the risk of breast, colon, uterus and lung, according to the World Federation for Cancer Research. Eggplant, rich in fiber, is one of the most powerful vegetables on cholesterol.

Vegetable oils and non-hydrogenated vegetable margarine 

Oils we use are from seeds of organically grown, rich in essential fatty acids, mono and poly-unsaturated help control cholesterol.

Oilseeds

They are rich in polyunsaturated fats and mono unsaturated fats that promote a healthy profile, or LDL cholesterol reduction (bad cholesterol) and increased HDL (good cholesterol) and therefore reduce the risk of heart disease. Almonds in particular are a real "natural dish of olive oil" by the percentage of oleic fatty acid in the same proportion as in olive oil. In general, nuts are rich in minerals (potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron), also in vitamin E.

Algae

True source of trace elements and minerals, contain three to ten times more calcium than milk and three times more iron than lentils. One gram of algae daily poses a sufficient iodine intake. Their carbohydrates contain mucilaginous fiber and promote transit. Of vitamins should be stressed in the B12.

Mushrooms

Are high in protein and low in carbohydrates, highly recommended for slimming diets.

Vegetable burgers are cooked the same way as conventional ones made with different types of meat. Can be prepared both to the plate to the grill or baked in the oven.
And to accompany any raw, broiled or sauteed vegetables and good bread. Ingredients to make a single hamburger a dish.

Rich and nutritious

Burgers made with vegetables, besides being very simple to prepare, have interesting nutritional properties.

The use of egg white and soya in their development ensures the presence of proteins of high biological value. This would produce burgers that were present in the vegetable and cereal, or cereal and nuts. That is, if you prepare a vegetable burger with lentils and rice or with rice and nuts, protein quality would be obtained as good as those with burgers made with meat, with the advantage that the plants contain only good fat or cholesterol.

The bread that accompany the burgers, as well as cereals and pulses which are developed, provide interesting quantities of complex carbohydrates, a source of energy for the body. And along with vegetables that are served with the hamburger, rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber, you get a dish tasty, nutritious, light and healthy.

Although such products are consumed more by vegetarian people, those are a way to diversify the menu and get a varied diet of any person.

Source: Consumer.es, Ahimsa

About the author
  • Dra. Loredana Lunadei

    Dr. Loredana Lunadei is a specialist in food, dietetics and nutrition. She studied at the University of Milan where she obtained a Master in Food Science and Technology. Subsequently, she continued her studies, completing her PhD also at the University of Milan. Linkedin.