This is a Meatless Monday recipe from Isobel Araujo of Whitney Young High School in Illinois, and part of our Less Meat March blog series.

Most people would assume that a vegetarian is a health-conscious, mindful eater that tries to put time and effort into their meat-free meals. Yet I can speak from experience that being a healthy vegetarian can be difficult at times.

It is so easy to slip into the ways of the “pizza vegetarian”, where the meat replacement is basically pizza, or other forms of bread and dairy. As a runner, I try my best to eat as many vegetables as I can, but there is only so much hummus and carrots that I can take. When I first became a vegetarian, I deliberately did not to tell my coaches, because I knew I would be bombarded with questions like “Where will you get your iron? Do you know how risky it is to lower your iron levels as a runner? What if you can’t get enough protein and you suffer for it in your races? What about zinc? Calcium? Magnesium? Uranium? Adamantium?”

I didn’t know the answers to any of their questions about vitamins and minerals, but I soon figured out that living off granola bars was not what being a vegetarian was all about. After some online research, I discovered some really fun new foods to try.

Here are a few that I really like:

The barbeque chip substitute:
– Baked and salted kale (extremely high in iron, for all you runners out there)
– Unsalted popcorn (high fiber, and not that bad without the butter and salt!)

The pepperoni pizza substitute:
– Homemade, delicious veggie pizza

The beef jerky substitute:
– Dried mangoes, apricots, or apples (all great sources of fiber as well as iron)

My personal favorite burger substitute: Quinoa Burgers

These quinoa burgers are actually better than normal burgers. I know, because I have tried them side by side, and the ingredients in these veggie burgers give more exciting flavor than any poor normal beef patty could ever dream of.

Quinoa is a whole grain, and can be prepared in a similar way to rice. It has an extremely high protein content, and combined with the egg in this recipe, you will be good to go for all your protein needs. It can also be used in baking, in salads, and as a side dish. To impress all your vegetarian friends, you just need to know that the correct pronunciation is “keen-wah”, and that it is the next biggest thing in the culinary world!

Yield: 12 sliders (depending on bun size)
Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup grated chipotle cheddar cheese
1/4 cup carrots (grated or finely chopped)
2 green onions (finely chopped)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 cup canned black beans (chopped)
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 large eggs (beaten)
Salt and pepper (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder (this can be substituted for regular if you want it less spicy)
12 slider buns
2 avocados (sliced)
1/2 cup Sriracha mayonnaise

Directions:
– Rinse quinoa and add to pot with vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, cover and let simmer for about 15 minutes. It will be done when it’s fluffy when tested with a fork. Let quinoa cool and set aside.
– In a large bowl add in cheese, carrots, green onions, garlic and black beans. Give it a toss and then add in panko and combine. Once the quinoa is cooled, add it to the bowl and give it a quick toss. Add in beaten eggs, salt, pepper and chipotle chili powder. Mix together until well combined. (We find your hands work best for this job.)
– Depending on your slider bun size, press together patties to fit your bun. You really have to squeeze all that goodness together in order for it to form tightly. Once all patties have been formed, started heating your oil.
– In a large skillet, heat up about 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil. Let it get hot and then add in about six patties (depending on size) and cook till crispy on one side and then flip. Add to a plate and continue cooking the rest of your patties, adding more oil to pan if needed.
Add quinoa burgers to your buns and top with sliced avocado and sriracha mayonnaise.

Sriracha Mayonnaise

Yield: 1/2 cup
Ingredients:
– 1/2 cup mayonnaise
– 2-4 tablespoons Sriracha sauce (depending on desired heat level)

Directions:
– Add together and mix well.

This recipe came from: http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/979685/crispy-quinoa-burger