28-day Challenge: Day 17

I am still reeling from the deliciousness of the E2 fruit pie and the banana nice cream from Monday!  I am a happy girl when I am eating fruit.  For breakfast yesterday (Day 16) I had Rip's Big Bowl with banana and a kiwi on the side.  I do not think kiwi would have been a good mix IN the cereal and soy milk, so I ate it on its own :)

Lunch was another big kale salad like on Monday, and for dinner my accountabili-buddy and I got together to make Harpreet's Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burgers, thanks to my awesome friend, Preet!  Can this girl cook or what?!  Yum!!  Here is her recipe, with a few reduced-fat modifications/notes from me in italics:

Harpreet's Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burgers

Ingredients:

1.5 large sweet potatoes

1 can drained/washed black beans

1/2 a large red onion, pureed

1/4 c. whole wheat flour (we used this instead of an egg)

1/2 c. panko bread crumbs for mix, plenty for coating burgers (wheat panko is available!)

2 teaspoons garlic powder (we used 2 cloves of fresh garlic, minced)

1 teaspoon each of:

chili powder

cumin powder

cumin seeds (double up on cumin powder if you don't have the seeds)

smoked paprika (we used regular but use smoked if you have it)

Italian seasoning (we used dried basil and oregano)

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

salt to taste (2 teaspoons or so depending on your preference)

cracked pepper

Ezekiel brand sprouted grain hamburger buns

Potential toppings for burger: sliced avocado, your favorite mustard (Zatarain's Creole Mustard!), sliced tomato, sliced red onion, hot sauce, lettuce, spinach leaves, oil-free hummus, etc.

Directions:

1. Oven at 375.

2. Wrap sweet potatoes in foil and bake in the oven for roughly an hour - or until soft.  Be sure to pierce them with a fork a few times, and you can add a tablespoon of veggie broth or water to the foil if desired.

3. Run cool water over sweet potatoes.  Peel, put in a large bowl and mash.

4. Add drained black beans and mash sweet potatoes and beans together.

5. Add in pureed red onion and mix with a fork.

6. Add in flour and 1/2 c. panko and keep mixing with fork.

7. Add all of the spices and mix.  Add more or less of what you would like.  (See photo.  It looks like peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough!)

Sweet Potato and Black Bean mash about to be made into veggie patties

8. Heat a skillet over medium low heat, and spray lightly with olive oil cooking spray.

9. The tricky part is making these into patties.  Pour a couple of cups of panko into a bowl.  Grab a handful and flatten them out on your palm.  WIth your other hand, scoop enough of the mixture (your preference on how thick you want your veggie burger) and put it on top of the hand with the panko and flatten to desired size.  Scoop another handful of panko and press it onto the top of the burger, covering all sides.  Carefully slide burger from your hand to the skillet.  (We just formed the patties in our hands then placed down flat in a wide-mouthed bowl filled with panko.  We carefully flipped the patty over and covered all sides with panko. See photo.)  Repeat to fill skillet with veggie burgers (we used a skillet that fit 3 burgers).

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Veggie Patties (Pre-Skillet) (pardon my camera with lousy flash)

10.  Cook for 4-5 minutes and very carefully flip burgers to opposite side and cook for another 4-5 minutes (until browned).  (If your burgers are large, cook for a few extra minutes on each side.  Also, okay to turn up the heat to get a nice browned surface which helps hold the burger together.)  

Sweet Potato and Black Bean burgers cooking and making the house smell good!

11.  Put your favorite toppings on your burger and enjoy!

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burgers with sliced avocado, Creole mustard, and fresh spinach

Another version, for lunch today (Day 17):

 Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burgers with lots of fresh spinach (look at those leafy leaves!), sliced tomato, and hidden underneath is Creole mustard and sriracha

 Day 17 has been BUSY!  Rips' big bowl and banana for breakfast, easy grab-n-go leftover Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burger for lunch, a snack of a pink lady apple (my favorite kind of apple!), and leftover lentil, tomato, and kale soup plus fresh baked kale for dinner.  I would post a picture of the baked kale, but the pictures are awful and would probably turn you away from eating it!  Just take my word for it, baked kale is one of the best treats ever.  And I am not biased just because I love kale.  It really is THAT good, and my non-kale eating friends (and mom!) love it.  It is easy peasy:

Baked kale chips:

1.  Oven at 350.
2.  Wash and very thoroughly dry your kale.  Use a salad spinner and paper towels if you have to - it's gotta be dry dry dry.
3.  Remove the leaves from the hard stem and tear into larger-than-bite-size pieces (they will shrink in the oven so do not make them too small).
4.  Spread the pieces in a large baking dish or on a cookie sheet.  Lightly spray the kale with olive oil cooking spray and toss.
5.  Sprinkle the kale with any seasonings you would like.  Fresh or powdered garlic, cumin, paprika, dill, cilantro, dash of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes, etc.
6.  Bake in oven for 10-20 minutes (check at 10 minutes and flip/stir the kale).
7.  Kale is ready when it is crispy and lightly brown, but not burnt.  Be careful - it can go from ready to burnt in a matter of seconds!
8.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with coarse sea salt (if desired).  Another good after-bake topping is nutritional yeast.
9.  Enjoy!