Black Bean Burger Recipe

I have seen so many black bean burger recipes on Pinterest and have wanted to try creating my own for a long time. We finally put the grill out yesterday so it was the perfect time to try it out! I really made up my own thing based on some different recipes and surprisingly they turned out amazing! I hope you enjoy them :)

Black Bean Burger Recipe (makes 3 large burgers) 

 

What you'll need:

1 can black beans drained and rinsed 

1/4 cup breadcrumbs (cooked quinoa or dry oats would work great too)

1/4 tablespoon olive oil 

seasonings - I just eyeballed it instead of measured and added black pepper, Italian seasonings, hot sauce, cumin and red pepper (can you tell I like spices?)

What to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

2. Using a food processor or blender, pulse half of the can of black beans a few times.

3. Add your olive oil and seasonings and give it a few more spins.

4. In a medium sized mixing bowl gently fold your blended bean mixture with the rest of the can of beans and the breadcrumbs. 

5. When mixed together wet your hands and form three medium sized burger patties. 

6. On a lined baking sheet, bake your burgers for 30 minutes at 300 degrees. 

7. Throw them on the grill for a few minutes to warm and brown them.

8. Enjoy! 

I put a little cheese and A1 on mine -- my favorite way to enjoy a burger! I'm so glad I found an alternative to red meat that I love! We enjoyed ours with some grilled summer squash and brussels sprouts.

Have you ever tired black bean burgers before? Let us know if you try this recipe out in the comments!

Blend your way healthy!

I try to eat a pretty healthy diet, but when it comes to searching on the Internet for tips and help on what and how much to eat, it can be pretty intimidating. There’s way too much information out there. The advice that’s consistent no matter where you look is to eat several servings of fruit and vegetables every day. 

So, my answer? Smoothies. What can be easier than throwing all those fruits and veggies in a blender and drinking them? 

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I started making smoothies for breakfast in an effort to incorporate more fruits and veggies into my diet. It was difficult for me to incorporate two to three servings of each of those every day. That’s just a lot of food! So, in order to help myself along I’ve been drinking a smoothie every day.

The great part about adding smoothies into your diet is that the options are endless. There are tons of combinations so it’s not easy to get bored. Plus, it’s something you can start doing without having a lot of know-how or following strict recipes. Sure, you can search for smoothie recipes, but you really don’t need to. Just pick a few things you like and try them together. 

I typically pick two to three different fruits and blend them with a small amount orange juice. I’m a little less adventurous with the veggies, but I do include a handful of spinach in every smoothie. Other veggies I really like incorporating are carrots and cucumbers. If you’re afraid of your smoothie tasting too bitter, I definitely recommend starting off with the veggies I mentioned. If you’re making a fruit smoothie, spinach won’t affect the taste (I promise!) and carrots/cucumbers only add sweetness. If you use carrots, chop them very finely. Also, you could add an extra boost like flax seeds or a supplement like protein powder to any smoothie.

Here are a few combinations that I like:

• Mango – peach – kiwi 
• Apple – cucumber 
• Strawberry – banana – blueberry 
• Banana – pineapple 
• Cucumber – Asian pear 

(And don’t forget the spinach!)

How do you incorporate more fruits and veggies into your diet?

Our Health: Why I'm a Vegetarian

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If any of you follow me on my personal blog, it's not new news that I'm a vegetarian. I've been living this lifestyle for over 6 months now and haven't looked back since. Before I embarked on this health journey I never imagined giving up meat. Of course there are environmental and animal lover reasons to be vegetarian but my choice was mostly for my health. You see - high cholesterol, cancers and other bad bad things run in my family. When I was checked out a few years ago at my general doctor I found out that my good cholesterol was really good but that my bad cholesterol, due to my family genetics, was high too. No bueno.

At the time I didn't know what I could do about it but knew I didn't want to go on any medication if it could be avoided. I continued my life as "normal" but was a little more conscious of my choices. Fast forward to the end of December of last year when I visited my mom and stepdad in Arizona. My mom is a certified nutritionist and although I think she can be extreme sometimes with the way she eats - I really admire her for all the things she does (and does not) put into her body. She doesn't look a day over 35 and she's in her 50s (sorry mom) but you would NEVER know it.

Anyways, back to my story. So I was visiting them and my mom was really excited to show me this documentary about vegan and vegetarians (I was not excited about this at all and thought it would be boring) man was I wrong. When I finally decided to let her show us this video I was blown away. It was life changing - yes, seriously.

Forks Over Knives convinced me to become a vegetarian forever. It focused mostly on the health aspect of begin a vegetarian/vegan and that really hit home with me. They highlighted examples of countries throughout history that did not have meat based diet at one point of time or another (mostly due to war) and how the deaths due to cancer and heart issues DRAMATICALLY (yes I had to put that in all caps to get your attention) declined when they did not have access to animal protein. Uh ... there's a way that I can help control if I have cancer and heart issues or not? Sign me up. I'm telling you - spend the hour to watch this video and your mind may change a little too. Jay still eats meat but he's more mindful about it now and even has vegetarian meals and days without meat. Even reducing your consumption a little can make a huge impact.

I'm not here to preach my views on this to you all and do not think this way of lifestyle is for everyone. It's just my take on my health and the choices that are best for me. I've received some criticism for my choices when I decided to switch - most people don't understand and don't want to - and that's perfectly okay! I know we've all grown up with the philosophy that eating meat with every meal is healthy and we need our protein - but let me just say that this works best for me and my lifestyle now and it was a choice I made for me.

Have questions? I'd love to hear from you! I'm also planning on having my mom guest post in the near future so if you have any nutrition questions for her please let me know.