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Food Finds and Nifty Tip On Making Perfect Burgers

by 14 Comments

I have a few new food finds to share. Okay well some of them aren’t so new to me but I am just finally getting around to sharing them on the blog. The best thing I have to show you today is a nifty little trick for making perfectly round burgers! I don’t know why I didn’t think of this myself. Some folks are just so clever in the kitchen.

365 Organic Pasta Sauce
Yes you can make your own pasta sauce but when you don’t have time this one is really good! It’s Whole Foods store brand and it sells for under $3 .

365 Pasta Sauce
No added fat or sugar but it does have added salt.

365 Pasta Sauce

Engine 2 Veggie Burgers
This is another product that can only be purchased at Whole Foods. These veggie burgers are frozen and come 3 to a box.

Engine 2 Veggie Burgers
They all have nutritional stats similar to this one. So far we have tried the Thai Basil and The Curry Lentil and we liked both. They are smaller than the veggie burgers I make but that also means they are less calories so we like to have one of these along with a cup or a bowl of soup. It’s nice to have some ready to go foods in the freezer.

Cashew Cheese
I am in love with these Cashew Cheese products! I wouldn’t say they taste like cheese, more like really delicious dips. We like them on Mary’s Gone Crackers, pita bread, flat breads, on top of veggie burgers and with raw veggies.

Cashew Cheese
Note that the nutritional information is for half the container – there is no way you are going to eat half the container in one sitting. More like 2 – 4 tablespoons. It’s rich, creamy and down right amazing! Its made here locally so I don’t know if it’s available where you live. I buy this at Whole Foods and keep it on hand all the time. Yum! Updated to add the Cultured Kitchen store locator. Currently its only available in stores in CA.

Go Picnic
I know I shared these a couple years ago but I want to do so again in case you missed it. These are available at Target and Cost Plus Imports. They are handy dandy little snack packs to carry with you when you travel. They are shelf stable so no refrigeration is required.
Go Picnic
Take them with you in the car or on the plane, toss one in your back pack or in your briefcase. All of the components are individually packaged so you can turn one box into multiple snacks or eat the entire thing as a mini meal.

Kirkland No Salt Seasoning
Do you shop at Costco? It’s one of my favorite places to buy good products cheaply!  This no salt seasoning is wonderful – lots of good flavor and no sodium. Sprinkle it on salads, cooked veggies, in soups, stews and salad dressings. You will love it.

How to make a perfectly shaped burger!

Burger mold

I was watching a cooking video by Miyoko Schinner of Artisan Vegan Life where she used this simple trick to make perfectly round evenly sized veggie burgers. Take a clean lid from a peanut butter jar or any jar that has a lid the size you would like your burgers to be – line it with a piece of plastic wrap.

How to make a perfect burger

 As you can see in the background, I pat my veggie burger mix into a a rectangle and score it into serving sizes, then scoop each serving size into the lid and make the top smooth. This is a double batch of the P.S. Chorizo Patties one of my favorites.

Ho to make a perfect burger
Flip it over and the burger just falls out! How cool is that? It’s so easy and your hands don’t get all gunked up with the burger mixture.

That’s all I have for you today friends.

Happy Cooking!

Tami

Do you have any new food finds or kitchen tips to share?

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I love the burger tip! Thanks for sharing!

    We love cashew “cheese,” too. And it’s pretty easy to make. You just soak the cashews and then puree them in the food processor with some liquid (I like lemon juice, etc) and spices (garlic, salt, pepper, dill, etc.) It’s fun to experiment.

    Have a great weekend, Tami!

    Reply

  2. Andrea I haven’t made my own cashew cheese yet but I just bought a cookbook on making vegan cheese. I have made a delicious almond ricotta that I used in a lasagna. It was amazing – so creamy, rich and full of flavor!

    Hope you have a wonderful weekend. 🙂

    Reply

  3. Not bad for an organic pasta sauce! I haven’t tried the Whole Foods store brand pasta sauces before. The organic pasta sauces in Spain are around the same price, too, pretty affordable. Nice find on the Engine2 veggie burgers – I would love to try the Thai Basil Edamame! Oh my, the Cultured Kitchen cashew cheeze? You’ve got to be kidding me… are they only available in California – I wonder if I can find them when I return to Oregon in November? Thanks for the awesome tip about the jar lid – the chorizo veggie burgers look fantastic!

    As for new food finds, yes, I keep finding new products. This week, I tried a vegan tortilla de patatas (Spanish omelet) from the grocery. It was pretty good, a bit salty though.

    Reply

  4. I’ve had that cashew cheese – it tasted more like a dip than a cheese – my store had it on sale one time.

    Love the burger idea – but I stole my Mom’s tupperware burger maker a few years ago when I realized she never used it anymore – I think its 30 years old by now!

    Have a great weekend Tami!

    Reply

  5. I tried the 365 pasta sauce a few years ago and really liked it, too. Not enough to drive across town for, mind you, but it was good. 🙂

    I love doing the jar lid thing for burgers I plan to freeze. I just pat it (meat, for me) into the lid (I use a canning jar lid), lift the plastic, and wrap the burger. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Then I put all the wrapped burgers in a single container and store in the freezer for the happy day I have a burger meal. 🙂

    Reply

  7. Thanks for the recommendation for the no-salt seasoning from Costco. Read your post last night and added it to my list for today’s Costco shopping. I was happy to find that my Costco carried it.

    I must be very sensitive to salt. I very seldom eat out nor do I cook with salt. When I do go out to eat, my wedding ring doesn’t fit.

    Reply

    • I’m glad you found the no salt seasoning Sue. Restaurant food is soooo salty! I always weigh more the day after eating at Chipotle or Asian food!

      Reply

  8. I never feel like I live in in Smallville until I’m on a food blog talking about Whole Foods, or Costco, Or TJ’s, because we have none of these! Seriously, they so need to come to Wichita before I cry. 😉

    Reply

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