Black Bean Burgers - Meatless Meals!

I was chatting with a friend and she gave me the idea to start a meatless section of my blog. So I will include recipes from the meal planning weeks as well as other recipes here on this section of the blog. I called these 'Meatless Meals' because a lot of them still require cheese and dairy, which some vegetarians don't eat. So, hence 'Meatless Meals' and not a true 'Vegetarian' section. Hope you all enjoy and maybe you can start a Meatless Monday with your family once a week...or more! We try to go meatless at least once a week. :)

Black Bean Burgers

Ingredients:

• 1 15-oz can organic black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 egg
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs (I like to make my own by toasting bread and then placing in a food processor. You could also use gluten-free bread if needed.) 
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (forgot this in the picture!)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Hot sauce to taste (optional)
• 1 to 2 TB organic EVOO
• Whole wheat (or gluten-free) hamburger buns
• Romaine lettuce
• Tomato, sliced
• Avocado, sliced

Directions:

Put beans in a large bowl and mash well with a fork or a potato masher. 

Add egg, yellow onion, bread crumbs (see picture), oregano, basil, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and hot sauce.

To make your own bread crumbs, toast bread well and place in food processor.
Pulse till a fine consistency.

Mix well to combine then shape into 6 patties.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat (I like to use avocado oil).

Arrange patties in a single layer (working in batches if needed) and cook, flipping once, until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, about 10 minutes total. 

Transfer to buns and top with lettuce, tomato, avocado, and any other toppings of your liking. Serve with sweet potato fries or a side salad.
Makes 6 burgers.

*Use organic ingredients whenever possible

Potato-Egg Bake

This is one of my favorite breakfast recipes that will last you a few days! My 3-yr old gobbles this up!! I love changing up breakfast and making easy egg-bake's like this...especially when mornings get a little busy. Make is the night before and you're set for breakfast in the morning! I usually serve this with a slice of toast or fresh fruit.

Here's what you'll need:

• 8 eggs
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 sweet potato, skinned and chopped (You could also use 2.5 cups frozen shredded potatoes, but it does not provide the health benefits like sweet potatoes do. Plus I like the taste of this dish with sweet potato, rather than regular white potatoes.)
• 1/2 cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 to 1 cup fresh chopped spinach (I usually chop up around 2 handfuls of spinach)
• 3-4 chopped mushrooms
• 1/2 cup cubed ham or chopped cooked bacon (optional)
• 1/4 of a bell pepper, chopped (any color works...I used what I had on hand and that was a green one)
• 1 tsp Himalayan salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2-3/4 cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese to top

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325º. 

Grease a 9x9 baking dish and set aside. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs and milk together until frothy and combined. 

Add in 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, spinach, mushrooms, ham or bacon (if desired), bell pepper, salt, and black pepper and mix well.

Pour into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with 1/2-3/4 cup cheese.

Bake about 45 minutes or until mixture is set and knife comes out clean when inserted in the center. 

Serve immediately.

*Use organic ingredients whenever possible

*You can change up the recipe and add/omit any ingredients that you like! Whatever you would normally put in an omelet, you can put in here! Feel free to change it up and make it how you like it!

If you tried this recipe, leave a comment below! I'd love to hear from you!

Recipe FAIL! Plus Health Benefits of Coconut Flour

OK...so I get so frustrated when recipes do not go the way I want them to! You put all that time and energy into baking something (plus ingredients!) only to see the dish be a complete failure! Well, that is what happened last night. My son and I were watching Daniel Tiger and it was an episode where Daniel and his father make banana bread for Daniel's mother. So my sweet little one looked at me and said he wanted to make banana bread. How could I turn down his eagerness to bake! So I quickly looked online and searched for about 5 minutes to find a healthy banana bread recipe, with ingredients that we had on hand. Now, I did swap out the flour for coconut flour because coconut flour has a TON of health benefits (below) and added a bit more milk and less honey. The taste is really great! Don't get me wrong there! I was just so disappointed when I went to flip the bread out of the pan for 1/2 of it to stick and the rest fall completely apart! So we are munching on small bites of banana bread instead of slices. It is a VERY moist recipe (cooked it for an hour and still very moist...even when tested with a tooth pick. Oh, and this will need to stay in the refrigerator because of how moist it is...won't last on the counter). Anyway, like I said the taste is really great, but the look is awful! ;) I will try this recipe again, but maybe try it in individual muffin tins. Maybe the smaller amount will cook better and a muffin liner will be a must to get it out!

If you want to try this recipe for yourself and play around with it, be my guest! I'd love to hear how it turns out for you!
Recipe from Cookie and Kate. My adaptation is listed below.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 3 mashed, ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup whole cows milk, plus a splash
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, plus extra for sprinkling on top
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• Optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325º and grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan (I used organic butter for this. Maybe a bit of flour would have helped it as well).
2. In a large bowl, beat the oil and honey together with a whisk. Add the eggs and beat well, then whisk in the mashed bananas and milk. 
3. Add the baking soda, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon, and whisk to blend. Lastly, switch to a big spoon or spatula and stir in the flour, until just combined. If you add any nuts, gently fold them in. Add the splash of milk if the batter seems too thick.
4. Pour the batter into your grease loaf pan and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon. 
5. Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the loaf for about 10 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack to cook for about 20 minutes before slicing. 

Health benefits of coconut flour:

• Gluten- and wheat-free
• High in fiber with 5 grams per TB! Coconut flour has more of this indigestible carbohydrate than whole-grain flour, which has 0.8 grams per TB, or white flour, which has just 0.2 grams per TB.
• Moderate effect on blood sugar due to the high fiber content, thus coconut flour does not spike your blood sugar as quickly as grain-based flours.
• Higher protein and healthy fats - a 100-gram serving of coconut flour has 19 grams of protein while wheat flour has just 10. 

Resource: Live Strong

For more information about coconut flour, including how to use it, visit Dr. Axe's website.