Make it yo'self! Black Bean Burger Salad

So I know we all have our fave veggie burgers, right? I myself am a Morningstar Farms girl, but most people I know like Boca. But have you ever actually looked at the ingredient list on these puppies? It's pretty scary. Loads of long, artificall-y sounding words that CANNOT be good for our systems. And they're supposed to be healthy? Umm, no. So you'd think the black bean burgers would be the safest bet, right? Well, that was my thinking too, however I found that many black bean burgers are also loaded with crap. So I decided to make my own and let me tell you, it was a super fun, spectacularly successful culinary adventure. :)

Black Bean Burger Salad with Homemade Garlic Guacomole

Black Bean Burgers

1 can black beans
1/2 Vidalia onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 tbsp spicy mustard (I like TJ's garlic aioli mustard)
1/3 cup oats
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
1 egg

Blend everything together in a food processor. Form the mixture into four patties. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium-high. Fry those puppies for 3-5 minutes per side. They may fall apart a bit when you flip them but trust me, they are worth it.

Homemade Guac

1 avocado
juice of 1 lime
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
sea salt
pepper
dash liquid smoke
handful of freshly chopped tomatoes

Mash together in a bowl. That is it.

Serve black bean burgers over a bed of butter lettuce with homemade guac, a sprinkling of jack cheese, a dab of sour cream and the dressing of your choice (I used salsa ranch - the yogurt kind that's super low in calories but sooooo delicious). Eat up!!

A vegetable that is TRULY newsworthy

So this week in the news I learned that a man ate anther man's face, PLUS another man ate his roommate's brain and heart. Sick sick eww eww gross. This is the kind of thing that keeps me awake at night.  I mean, why would ANYONE want to go eat another person's brain, or face when there's plenty of delicious, nutritious food available at your local supermarket? Like kale. Kale is one of the most delicious things out there that many people don't really know how to enjoy.  Plus it has LOADS of incredible health benefits and is power punched with vitamin C, D, tons of calcium AND iron. WHAT??!! I bet if those two fellas had more kale in their diet, they may not have gone all cannibally. Just saying. With that, I'd love to share a really great kale recipe I've recently created:

This has no title. It's just plain good. Saute kale in a tablespoonful of olive oil. Pour some apple cider vinegar and sprinkle some brown sugar on it as it's being cooked. I also added in a tiny bit of liquid smoke which really seemed to enhance the flava. Enjoy! I love this so much I've eaten it for lunch like every day for the past 2 weeks. It is THAT good.

If you're feeling frisky and really want to make it exciting, scramble in a couple of eggs, then top with a bit of sprinkled goat cheese.

Try it and tell me you don't love it. I DARE YOU.