I love a good burger and fries at my favorite bars and pubs around town. But the high fat in a juicy burger and deep fried french fries is a deterent. I am also trying to cut down on the amount of meat I eat. I could never totally give up on meat in my diet, but I do feel better when I eat less of it. I also find it easier to lose weight when eating less meat.
To satisfy my cravings, I decided to make a Veggie Patty Melt with oven roasted fries.
I started with the fries first. I preheated my oven to 425 degrees. I cut one large potato into small cubes and tossed the cubes in 1 teaspoon of olive oil, a sprinkling of Italian Herbs, and fresh cracked pepper. I then sprayed olive oil spray on a heavy cast iron Le Creuset baking pan (but any baking pan will do) and poured the potato into the pan. The potatoes need to bake a total of 30 minutes to get crisp and you should flip the potatoes in the pan 15 minutes into baking.
For the patty melt, I bought some of MorningStar Farm's Grillers Prime Veggie Burgers. In an iron skillet, I grilled a veggie
burger according to package directions with a few slices of onion (until soft). I used a vegetable oil spray to keep things from sticking and reduce fat. After the burger and onions were cooked, I assembled the patty melt with two slices of fat free American Cheese and grilled burger and onion between two slices of 100% whole wheat bread (I like Nature's Own). If you can't go totally fat free on the cheese, consider 2% fat slices. Once assembled, I sprayed both sides of the sandwich with vegetable oil and returned to the iron skillet. I grilled each side for about 4 minutes.
For the patty melt, I bought some of MorningStar Farm's Grillers Prime Veggie Burgers. In an iron skillet, I grilled a veggie
burger according to package directions with a few slices of onion (until soft). I used a vegetable oil spray to keep things from sticking and reduce fat. After the burger and onions were cooked, I assembled the patty melt with two slices of fat free American Cheese and grilled burger and onion between two slices of 100% whole wheat bread (I like Nature's Own). If you can't go totally fat free on the cheese, consider 2% fat slices. Once assembled, I sprayed both sides of the sandwich with vegetable oil and returned to the iron skillet. I grilled each side for about 4 minutes. 
I plated the burger and potatoes and later added some ketchup for the fries.
The verdict? I loved it! Veggie burgers have come a long way and I have grown to like them, especially from Morningstar. I gave up the tastless Boca burgers a long time ago. I will say that you should not expect your veggie burger to taste like meat. But Morningstar and other companies are creating some flavorful alternatives that stand in a category all their own.
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