Black Bean & Mushroom Zucchini Burgers- Husband Approved!!

Okay, my birthday is officially over and I am back on course with my clean eating and workouts. It feels good to be back- I was definitely not myself the last 3 week but it really gave me a wakeup call that even I can derail quickly if I don’t keep my head in the game.

So some of you may know from my Facebook page that I have been wanting to do a more plant-based diet. Maybe vegetarian, possibly vegan in the future or maybe just a larger diet of plant based foods. Well, with that decision, I turned to my BEST friend- PINTEREST of course! I found these AMAZING Black Bean and Mushroom burgers that were delicious but I made some extra tweaks to suit my meat-loving husband’s tastes. This recipe is adapted from http://www.thegardengrazer.com/2012/05/black-bean-mushroom-burgers.html - I made a few tweaks I hope you like it! Ahem, scratch that. You'll like them- if my husband gives me the ol' A-OK, then they are damn delicious!

Ingredients:

15 oz. can black beans

1 1/2 cups mushrooms

1 cup of grated zucchini

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 large onion

3-4 garlic cloves

1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. basil

4-6 whole wheat English muffins or sprouted grain buns

***Use a flax egg instead of egg to make vegan friendly.***

Optional for non-specific diets:

-Generous splash of Worcestershire sauce: about a tbsp

 -Splash of sodium reduced soy sauce: about a tsp

Burger toppings: I LOVE a smear of hummus, hot sauce, mustard, tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, red onion, and a sprinkle of cheese on a toasted English muffin. 

Directions

1.  Rinse, drain and pat dryblack beans. Place onion and garlic in food processor or dice. Chop mushrooms and grate zucchini 

2. Sauté onion, garlic, mushrooms, zucchini, salt, oregano, and basil over med-high heat until softened.

3. Put beans in a bowl and mash well (I use a potato masher or fork- does not need to be mushy- I like mine to be slightly mashed but still have squished beans). Add egg, sautéed vegetables, breadcrumbs, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and salt/pepper.

4. Mix well to combine and shape into about 5-6 patties- I use a 1/3 measuring cup to scoop consistent amounts. It works best if you refrigerate them for at least an hour or overnight to really enhance the flavours. I place on wax paper in a larger Tupperware, layering wax paper between each layer of burgers.

5. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 375. Bake for 15 minutes, turn over and bake another 10 minutes. It is also yummy to lightly pan fry the burgers to get a nice sear and bake.

If adding cheese, take out, place cheese over top and return to oven for 5 minutes to melt cheese.

I doubled the recipe to get about 12 burgers, and then I freeze extras for days when I need a quick lunch. Place burgers on wax paper and layer wax paper in between each patty. Place in Ziploc bag and freeze. 

P.S. If you follow me, you know that I follow a 21 Day Fix Meal Plan:
I count these as:
1 red (veggie burger)
2 yellow( 2 english muffin halves)
1 green (burger toppings)
1/2- 1 blue (cheese and hummus)
hot sauce and mustard-FREE :)


I served the burgers up with a side of Zucchini Pizza Bites: sliced zucchini with a small dab of clean pizza sauce and a sprinkle of cheese: 1 green, 1/2 blue and 1/4 purple

Enjoy!

 Coach Myranda