Tofu Burger & Sweet Potato Fries

I was in a burger & fries mood again today, but I was feeling a little bit lazy last night after mowing the yard and stuff, so instead of making veggie burgers from scratch, I tried something that I had not tried before and just picked up a box of Fantastic Tofu Burger Mix at the grocery store. I mixed the stuff in the box with a package of extra firm tofu, made it into patties and slapped those bad boys into a skillet. I put it on one of my homemade whole-wheat buns (I've left the top of the bun off so I could photograph the burger) and squeezed it into the lunchbox. As you can see in the picture, I got quite a few crumbs in the lunchbox trying to make that big bun fit. I really do need to work on the size of those things on my next batch.

These burgers taste okay. They are definitely quicker to make than going to all the trouble to make a homemade burger, but I still have to say that the veggie burger recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz is my favorite. Using the burger mix in a box though did give me an idea. I think that I would like to try just putting a package of tofu in the food processor and then adding all of the spices and flavoring ingredients from the VwaV recipe and then just blending it all together and making patties from that. That way I could have the flavor of the VwaV burgers (which I love) and the simplicity of just throwing stuff together without all the fuss of rehydrating the TVP, letting it cool, mixing, cooling in the fridge, etc. I guess the texture wouldn't be as firm if I use tofu instead of the TVP, but the texture of these tofu burgers is alright. Oh well, it's just something I'm throwing around in my head to save a little bit of time. It's really not that hard to make the TVP-based ones, I'm just being lazy.

Instead of regular french fries, I brought some sweet potato fries. I thought that these might be a little healthier, since sweet potatoes are supposed to be so much better for you than regular spuds, but looking at the nutrition labels, I really don't see that much of a difference. The package does tout that they're a good source of vitamin this and vitamin that. Maybe that's where they are healthier. I don't know, I just thought they might have more fiber or fewer carbs in them. I will probably be doing "raw" fries pretty soon anyway, so I don't guess it matters. They're not raw potatoes, they're made out of Jicama with some spices & seasonings on them. I plan on making some as soon as I can locate that vegetable. I haven't had any luck so far here where I live. I will probably have to wait until I make another trip to the big health food store over in Asheville, NC.

The two small containers actually hold some raw vegan food. The carrots are obvious. The other thing is my dessert. It's a Date Nut Torte and it is actually amazing how simple and easy this thing is to make. There are only 4 ingredients: dates, raisins, walnuts and lemon juice. It's just like some kind of little cake with icing on it. It is honestly though, one of the richest things I have ever eaten. Even this tiny little piece that I packed here in my lunchbox will be a challenge to finish. It is VERY delicious, but by the time I finish that little slice, any craving I might have had for something sweet for dessert will be COMPLETELY satisfied. It really is hard to believe that it is just raw food. It tastes so fudgy. Yum! I highly recommend trying it sometime if you think you might be interested in something like that.

Well, that does it for Thursday. I am anxiously expecting the arrival of my Excalibur food dehydrator tomorrow. I don't know if I will have anything whipped up with it by the time Monday rolls around but I would like to. Even though the two small containers were raw today, I wish I had actually done a little bit more raw food in this meal. Oh well, if I can find the Jicamas and get those in there the next time that I have burgers that would really help a lot.

Thanks for checking in today. Have a great day and I'll see you tomorrow, on Friday (YEAH!).