Burger & Beer

It’s Monday.  Mya and I made whole grain chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.  These are not shown because they got gobbled up so fast there was no time for pictures!  I  thought I would try to inspire you for lunch instead. 
Here we have a Gardein burger on a 100% whole wheat sandwich thin loaded with lettuce, tomato, onion, dill relish, garden tomato, vegan Swiss and topped with some ketchup, mustard and Vegenaise.  A few baked chips on the side and a pumpkin beer for Andy.
Celebrating Autumn meals had us craving some Autumn beverages to go along with them.  Even though I don’t drink alcohol and prefer Apple Cider Tea, I did have an Autumn beer sampling with Andy.  It turned out all Pumpkin Ale is not created equal.  We bought two different cases for Andy and his friends to try.  Andy’s official review of the beers and then the burger below.

Wolaver’s Organic Pumpkin Ale	Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat
Very strong with a slightly bitter aftertaste. Refreshing pumpkin aroma. Pumpkin flavor most noticeable when it hit the back of your tongue. Great beer to have with dinner.	Strong but sweet taste. Refreshing pumpkin aroma. Bolder pumpkin flavor all the way through. Great beer to have anytime.

Andy said that he liked the sweetness of Shock Top, but preferred the organic ingredients in Wolaver’s.  He said he would love to have a case of either in his fridge anytime. 
Onto the burger, Andy said it was so flavorful and satisfying that he can’t believe he ever ate burgers made from meat.  If you are not sure if you will like a veggie burger, this is one to try.  Gardein burgers really taste like hamburgers.  They are only 130 calories with 17 grams of protein and 5 grams of fat.
I like veggie burgers that are more veggie tasting.  My favorites are made from lentils, carrots, celery, onion, sweet potato and grains.  They don’t mimic the taste of a meat burger, they taste like a vegetable burger. We eat a lot of different brands and some I make from scratch, so I think having lots of variety is a great thing.  And topping the burger, whatever the kind, is just as important.
I hope you give one a try this week for lunch or dinner.  Your body will thank you!

Take a bite…you know you want to…