One Of a Kind Veggie Patty!

My husband has devised this veggie patty for his lunch needs so he won't have to face the multitude of salty yet tempting lunch choices at work. This is especially since he figured that his 'go to' lunch of the Subway veggie patty has more sodium than needed. We wish for Subway to make an unsalted version soon. Until then this veggie patty will do more than just fine. It is so healthy and full of goodness that just looking at it should be enough:-) Recipe follows.

In The Mix

mixed lentils and beans (dal) - little less than 2 cups (we keep this pre mixed in a jar - about equal amounts of black eyed beans, kidney beans, toor dal and masoor dal)
potato - 1 large or 2 medium sized peeled

red onion - 1 medium sized, finely chopped
fresh frozen veggie mix - 1 bag (16oz) of corn, green peas, green beans, carrots
fresh carrot - 1 peeled and chopped
red bell pepper - 1/2 deseede, chopped
green bell pepper - 1/2 deseeded, chopped
porta bella mushroom  - 1 large (4" to 5") chopped
button mushrooms - 5 chopped
jalapeno pepper - 2 large deseeded, chopped

regular oatmeal - 3/4 cup (crushed into crumbs in the blender) or can use bread crumbs instead
egg - 1
salt - add ( if you must... veggies have their own natural sodium and you won't miss the salt. trust me)

How To Do

Preheat oven to 350 F (180C)

First cook the lentils and potato in separate pots. Mash together the lentils once cooked. Mash the potato coarsely in the pan after draining any water. Combine together gently and set aside.

Now cook all the veggies including the peppers without adding any water in a closed container on medium heat. Frozen veggies have extra water in them which is OK.

Add cooked veggie mix to the lentil potato mix. Add a beaten egg and oatmeal or bread crumbs. Add salt to your needs and gently mix all well together.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spread the mix on to the tray and flatten to desired thickness. We needed 1 1/2 cookie sheet space for the whole mix. Use a dinner knife or spatula to split to patty size. Makes about 18 patties. Insert into oven and bake for 5 minutes. This is so everything gels together since most of the stuff is already cooked. Take out and set to cool.

Freeze and use as needed by heating in the microwave. Thawing is not necessary but if you take it out of the freezer in the morning and heat it up at lunch that will workout just fine. Yum when placed between 2 toasted pieces of your favorite bread. Can add sauces to increase flavor but be warned that they are salty by nature. Follow this recipe for your sandwich needs and your one way ticket to the health wagon is on to a good start!