Veggie/Okara/Beans Burger

The trend for healthier food these days is eating more vegetables and avoiding meats. Every week, if we can stay away from eating meat for a day, this will help the body to relax and digest better. My veggie burger recipe is the combination of the veggie pulps from juicing and okara pulp from making soy milk. This pulp has a tremendous amount of fiber and protein that should not be ignored. Combining this healthy pulp into the burger is a healthy-smart choice for eating.

Ingredients:
4 cups vegetable pulp
3 cups plain mashed potatoes
3 cups cooked beans, black beans, chickpeas, navy beans
2 cups okara (soy bean pulp after making soy milk)*
2 cups white onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs taco seasoning
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp chili flakes
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 tbs honey
2 eggs
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions;
In a large sauté pan over medium- high heat, add oil. When the oil is hot, sauté the onions and garlic until fragrant (about 2 minutes). Add vegetable pulp and okara. Cook this mixture for 5 or 7 minutes to dry out some of the moisture. Add taco seasoning, cayenne, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Remove and place in a large mixing bowl. Mash the cooked beans in a blender with a few pulses (I like the beans to still have some chunks when I bite into them. Add the mashed beans and mashed potatoes into the veggie/okara mixture. Break eggs and add honey into the mixture and mix well. Wash your hands and form the mixture into a 4 inch diameter and about 1/4 inch thick patty. Roll the burger into the bread crumbs to coat both sides. Cut wax paper into the same size as the burger and place each burger on the cut out paper. Carefully place this burger in a Ziploc bag and place at in the freezer until ready to use. Thaw the burger in the refrigerator a day before serving. Turn on the grill or use a cast iron skillet on the stove top with 1 tbs oil for each burger. Cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side of the burger. Serve with a toasted hamburger bun or by itself.

*Okara is the pulp left over after making soy milk with a soy milk machine. If you don't have a soy milk machine, then the okara that is extracted from the soybeans is not cooked. Then the okara has to be correct before adding the vegetable pulp because the okara needs more time to cook.