Cleaning Up: Black Bean Burgers

Anyone else out there love these babies as much as I do?

Earlier this year I discovered Morning Star Farms Chipotle Black Bean burgers. It's not that I don't like hamburgers or that I am trying to go vegetarian, it's just that these burgers are freaking delicious. I think I have eaten one regular hamburger the entire year, because if I have a choice, I'd eat one of these. That is saying a lot! Cow meat is delicious.

Black bean burgers make a great post-run meal, because beans have a healthy mix of complex carbohydrates, fiber and protein (Ironman.com lists black beans and other lean proteins as one of the top five whole foods to eat after a workout). They are also really easy to prepare... you can thaw them in the microwave or on the stovetop or grill. They are good crumbled over a salad (yum), in a taco, on a bun, or just plain. I love to eat these burgers with just a touch of dijon on the top. It makes my tastebuds so happy!

However. If you read my post yesterday, you probably know where I am going with this. Super processed burgers are not on a clean eating diet plan. For a "healthy" food, these burgers are filled with junk, including some of my dietary triggers like corn and eggs. They are also loaded with soy, which is not a great idea to eat in excess because it contains estrogen, and for someone like me (with a hormonal disorder) can be particularly troublesome. If you don't believe me that this stuff is probably not great for you, take a look at the list of ingredients: BLACK BEANS (BLACK BEANS, WATER, SALT, SUGAR, CALCIUM CHLORIDE, FERROUS GLUCONATE), COOKED BROWN RICE (WATER, BROWN RICE), ROASTED ONIONS, TEXTURED SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE WITH WATER, TEXTURED WHEAT GLUTEN WITH WATER, ROASTED GREEN AND RED PEPPERS, ROASTED CORN, TOMATOES (DICED TOMATOES, TOMATO JUICE, SALT, CITRIC ACID, CALCIUM CHLORIDE), CORN OIL, EGG WHITES, BULGUR WHEAT, GREEN CHILIES (GREEN CHILIES, SALT, CITRIC ACID, CALCIUM CHLORIDE), CALCIUM CASEINATE, CORNSTARCH, ONION POWDER, SPICES, CILANTRO, CHIPOTLE PUREE (CHIPOTLE PEPPERS, WATER, SALT, VINEGAR), YEAST EXTRACT,  DEXTROSE, GARLIC, SALT, HYDROLYZED VEGETABLE PROTEIN (CORN GLUTEN, WHEAT GLUTEN, SOY PROTEIN), SOY SAUCE (SOYBEANS, WHEAT, SALT), ARTIFICIAL AND NATURAL FLAVORS, VINEGAR, PAPRIKA, GREEN PEPPER JUICE, JALAPEÑO PEPPERS, GARLIC JUICE, LIME JUICE, DISODIUM INOSINATE, CARAMEL COLOR, LACTIC ACID, OIL OF LEMON.

Yikes. I see a few things there I can't even pronounce and... artificial flavor and caramel color? Really?

Rather than give these up entirely (I love them too much), I did a little bit of research into how to make black bean burgers at home. It is actually not that hard (and it is WAY healthier). I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and make a few tweaks to meet my specific dietary needs. They are just like the "real" thing, except that they cost me about $0.30 each to make (instead of around $1 apiece to buy) and saved me from pumping my body full of...um... caramel color.

CLEAN BLACK BEAN VEGGIE BURGERS

makes 11 patties
*gluten free, dairy free, egg free, soy free, corn free

4 cups prepared black beans
1 large white onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup flax seed meal (I used flaxseed meal because I am egg intolerant. If you are making this recipe and can handle eggs in your diet, I recommend using 3-4 eggs)
2 T chili powder
2 T cumin
salt to taste
1 1/2 cups finely ground oatmeal (I used my food processor to chop up regular rolled oats. In the future I will probably use cooked brown rice instead, since the oatmeal made the burgers a tiny bit dry)

1. Preheat your oven to 400*F and grease a large baking sheet.

2. Combine flax seed meal with 3/4 cup warm water. Whisk together and let sit 10 min.

3. While flax seed meal soaks, rinse the black beans and dry them well. The more moisture you can get out at this stage, the sturdier the burger you will have in the end. Mash the beans until they are thick and pasty.

4. Using a blender or food processor, combine the bell pepper, garlic, and onion until they are pretty much pureed. Stir the veggies into the black bean mixture.

5. Mix cumin, chili powder, and salt into the flax seed mixture and pour it over the beans and veggies. Combine well.

6. Add oatmeal until mixture is thick enough to form into patties. Drop by 1/2 cup onto the baking sheet and gently press to flatten.

7. Bake at 400*F for 15-20 min. Flip burgers and bake an additional 10-12 minutes. You may need to adjust the time/heat if you are using rice and eggs as opposed to oatmeal and flax seed meal. Just watch them closely to make sure they don't burn! The idea is to get a crispy enough "skin" that they will stick together and not crumble when you put them on a burger bun (if that's how you plan to eat them).

NUTRITION FACTS: Serving Size: 1 patty  Calories: 145  Carbs: 25g   Fat:  2g   Protein: 8g   Sodium: 13g   Fiber: 8g


And there you have it! I have managed to salvage my favorite post-run meal, and I actually feel good about eating these because I know exactly what is in them.

If you try making these at home, let me know what you think! You can freeze and reheat them just like their store-bought counterparts.