Clean Eating Black Bean Burgers

Makes 10 Burgers
This recipe came about because we had "nothing" in the house and a pack of hungry kids. By nothing I mean I didn't have my standard go-to protein sources of chicken breast and ground turkey. Since we're not vegetarian, we generally have some type of meat with dinner. But when I don't have any in the house it makes me realize how single-minded my cooking is in some ways. Combining whole grains and beans creates a complete protein and we have about a million cans of black beans in our house from a totally awesome sale a few months back so we decided to give black bean burgers a try. They were a HUGE success. The toddlers devoured them including my super picky nephew and Matt, Anthea, and I all got to eat ours with two hands without having to force feed anybody. That's a big success in my book :)

Ingredients:

• 3 medium carrots, grated
• Half a medium onion, finely chopped (I grated mine since I was already grating the carrots)
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup kale
• 1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves
• 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 3/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs (I used ground unfrosted mini wheats)
• 1 tsp salt

ONE: Spray a skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots and saute for 2 minutes. Stir in the cumin, chili, garlic, and onion powder and continue to cook until the veggies are soft. Remove from heat and set aside in a large bowl.

TWO: Place drained beans, kale, and cilantro in a food processor and pulse several times until beans are mostly mashed but a few chunks still remain.

THREE: Add the beans, mustard, bread crumbs, and salt to the bowl of veggies and stir to combine. Scoop out scant 1/3 cup portions and form into patties.

FOUR: Heat the skillet you cooked the veggies in over medium heat and spray generously with cooking spray. Place the patties in the skillet a few at a time and cook 4 minutes a side until lightly browned and heated through.

TO FREEZE: Before cooking, form the patties and place them in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Place in the freezer for about 20 minutes to flash freeze the outsides and then place them all together in a freezer bag. Defrost overnight and cook according to the directions above.

After cooking, follow the same directions as above and reheat in the microwave.

NUTRITION INFO:


Per Serving (1 burger) - 124 Calories (7 Calories from Fat), 1g Total Fat, 0mg Cholesterol, 463mg Sodium, 22g Carbohydrates, 6g Dietary Fiber, 4g Sugar, 6g Protein, 75% DV Vitamin A, 13% DV Vitamin C, 5% DV Calcium, 36% DV Iron

:)