Swiss Veggie Burger Bagel

A healthy, cheap, easy, convenient, gluten free and vegetarian meal.

Perfect for apartment living, dorm room meals or as a vegetarian option on the table.

Sometimes you just need a fun, cheap, convenient way to incorporate more veggies into your diet.

Additionally, I’ve been doing Meatless Mondays for almost two years now and my family does stick with the no meat on Fridays during lent season.

I’m not huge on meat to begin with and only really consume deli turkey and grilled chicken, but I still love following through with these concepts to add some meal creativity.

One thing you’ll notice throughout the calendar year is a lot of barbecue type holidays tend to fall on Monday’s like Labor Day and Memorial Day and I didn’t want to miss out on the grilling option! Plus, fish can definitely get expensive if you are hosting a large gathering or even just in general day-to-day life.

Therefore, I decided to give Dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Burgers a try. There’s two options in the grocery store: a gluten-free one and a non gluten-free one. I currently don’t follow a gluten free diet, but I swear they taste better and digest better with my body so I always buy the gluten free ones.

One thing I appreciate about these California Veggie Burgers is the fact they don’t try to be high in protein content with fake meat. The concept of fake meat honestly grosses me out and I would much rather just put the real thing in my body. While protein is very important and something I eat a ton of daily through intentional food choices not everything has to be protein-ified. A veggie burger can just be a veggie burger.

These veggie burgers are also ALWAYS on-sale around $2 to $3.99 usually and are kept in the freezer of home/section of the story. I almost never pay full price for them because I know they’ll be on sale eventually. You can microwave, grill, bake or pan fry them as well. Having the option to microwave this frozen veggie option served me well in a college dorm room and throughout my Disney College Program.

I personally prefer cooking them on the grill, but in the winter or when I'm apartment/dorm living I'll microwave them for convenience and ease!

I’ve become obsessed with this one food-pairing combination I’ve discovered that features these veggie burgers. While it's not a gourmet homemade recipe It is an easy convenient meal that provides a healthy option for anyone looking to amp up veggies in a creative way, are on a budget or are following a vegetarian/ gluten free diet. It’s also a great meal option to take with you as a packed lunch/dinner.

I use an O’Doughs Gluten Free Bagel thin as my “bread base” for this sandwich. It adds just the right amount of crunch to the meal since the veggie burgers are quite soft after cooking. It also fits perfectly onto the bagel. I keep my O’Doughs bagels in the freezer since there are no preservatives in them and I’m the only one in my family who eats them. By storing them in the freezer they also last longer. Some stores like Big Y and Publix actually keep them in the freezer sections of their stores. I know Stop & Shop keeps them in their bakery section, but I always make sure to freeze them right away. Note that freezing them is a personal preference, but is recommended if you are not consuming them right away.

After I toast my bagel, I like to add ultra thin Swiss cheese slices to the bagel. I tend to add two to three slices depending on the day. I love the Sargento Cheese brand for the thin slice options they have. The thin slices of Swiss melt really well on the toasted bagel which brings the meltiness goodness to your mouth. I find that Swiss cheese is my favorite cheese pairing with this veggie burger despite trying other cheese combinations like mozzarella, American and cheddar in the past.

The added cheese is a way to incorporate some protein into your meal. However if you are lactose intolerant, have a dairy allergy or follow a vegan lifestyle, you can easily omit the cheese.

In terms of veggies, I add spinach onto the bagel and keep the remainder of my veggies on the side to prevent overfilling. I used to attempt to put all my veggies on my sandwiches, but I have discovered that overfilling them ruins the flavor and makes a mess of eating which can discourage you from mindfully enjoying your meal.

My favorite veggies to add on the side are cucumbers, pickles, asparagus, zucchini and the cherry/grape tomatoes!

This meal is on repeat all year long because of the variety of ways to cook the veggie burgers, the easiness of preparing the meal and the enjoyability it brings to me with a different way to consume vegetables.