Lemon Chickpea Burgers!

So, for the last month I've been trying to lose weight to no success. I've been exercising and eating well and have not lost a single pound. And it's been pretty discouraging. (I DID pig out this weekend for a party I threw, but a weekend does not a month make!)

So I looked over my blog and I realized that you guys probably think I eat like shit because all I post is unhealthy food. But I mean, let's be real. People tend to gravitate more towards junk foods and such. They're wonderful. Let's not lie to ourselves. But I do want to show you guys some healthy food occasionally too, in case any of my readers are those who just want a healthier lifestyle.

I was looking over some recipes I had pinned on Pinterest (here's my Pinterest if you want to follow me) and I have a board specifically for recipes I want to cook for my omnivore family. Now, I had created this board when I had first gone vegan, and I wasn't as adventurous as a cook as I am now. (Look at all of the as' there. Ew.) So I went back and looked over some of them and found a lemon garlic tuna burger recipe that I was interested in veganizing.

So today, I bring you some lemon chickpea burgers.

ingredients:

• 1 15.5-ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs (check to make sure they're vegan!)
• 1 Tbsp dried chives
• 1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 3 Tbsps vegan sour cream
• 2 Tbsps vegan mayo
• optional: romaine lettuce, a slice of tomato

instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahreinheit. 
2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine all of the ingredients with a potato masher (or, if you don't have one, a fork or your hands). 
3. Form the mixture into four patties. Put parchment paper down on a baking sheet, then put the patties on the sheet.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Serve on an English muffin with vegan mayo, romaine lettuce, and a slice of tomato. Enjoy!

Here's my mise en place! The vegan mayo shown here is the store brand from Whole Foods, but lately I've been incredibly fond of Hampton Creek's Just Mayo! (While it was originally a Whole Foods exclusive, I've heard that they'll be selling it at Wal-Mart starting in September! Not that I really go there, I hate it there. But I might start going now purely for that mayo because it is DIVINE.)

My boyfriend Eric is the guest star today! He helped me mash together the ingredients and form the patties because he's brilliant and lovely.

We have this cute little colander that's perfect for rinsing beans with. Mmmmmm.

Here's what your bowl of ingredients will look like before you mash it all together.

And here's what it looks like afterward! It's okay if you have whole chickpeas left in there, it's nice to bite into a chunk of it. Chunky or creamy, both are good!

Eric flattened the patties into a giant circle and cut it into four pieces in order to form them equally.

Mmmmm, look at those herbs.

The wee little babies.

Today was my first time making these, so it was a little bit of a risk. The photo above shows the texture of the patties after they've baked in the oven. They're a tiiiiiiny bit dry, so Eric suggested lightly brushing them with olive oil before you put them in the oven. If anyone tries this, please let me know and I'll post about it here!

Like the original post I based this idea on, I put my patty on an English muffin with mayo, a bit of romaine lettuce, and a slice of tomato.

I'd definitely eat these again. I tend to have a HUGE appetite, but one of these left me totally stuffed.

I hope you guys enjoy these as much as I do! I'm sure you could freeze these as well and perhaps pan fry them! (Not sure how these would hold up on a grill, so if you try it let me know! Veggie patties in general tend to be fairly delicate.)

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, feel free to leave me a message below or to email me!

xo, Kate