Meatless Mondays is a new weekly feature which will showcase some of my hits and probably misses with living a meatless life. Many of you know I stopped eating meat about a year ago for personal reasons. While, I haven’t had any desire to go back to eating meat, it has been a struggle to find healthy foods to eat.

Everywhere you go, meat is the main dish. Since I was new to this lifestyle, it led me to eating unhealthy options. I’m on a path now to cook healthier options at home without meat. While going meatless is a personal choice for me, you can still save money by having one meatless meal a week.

Will you join me on this journey by preparing one meatless dish every week? There is a movement called MeatlessMonday.com where you can learn more!

Southwest Black Bean Burgers w/Guacamole Topping

Ingredients

Black Bean Burgers

• olive oil
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 15 oz. can of black beas
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp. Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime (or any Mexican flavored spice!)
• 1/2 c. breadcups, plain
• salt/pepper

Guacamole

• 2 Avocados, ripe
• 1 red onion
• 1 lime
• 1 chili pepper
• 1/2 bunch of cilantro
• salt/pepper

I start with the black bean burgers. (Peek a boo on the Kellogg’s Frosted Mini Wheats in the background.)

I use my Ninja Kitchen (of course) to dice my onions and celery stalk. I’ve heard the Magic Bullet works nice too but I don’t have one of those so you will only hear me talking about my Ninja.

Saute the onions, celery, and garlic in olive oil (or butter or vegetable oil.) I use what I have on hand.

Drain and rinse your black beans.

Mash the black beans. I use a potato masher but you could use a spoon or a fork. (Peek a boo Blistex.)

Then add a lightly beaten egg, bread crumbs, and your celery/onion mix. Add salt and pepper to taste. I still will eat eggs cooked in products. This particular egg was a farm fresh egg from my lovely aunt & uncle. (Thanks, Jane & Scott!) If you don’t eat eggs, you can use a substitute. Stir until mixed.
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Form into patties.

Place on a baking sheet and cook at 375 degrees for around 10 minutes on each side.

While these are in the oven, you can whip you some fresh guacamole.

The chili pepper is not pictured because I forgot to grab one at the store. I was looking at them and then completely forgot. I did remember the lime this time and that made a huge difference.

You will want to remove the stems from the cilantro. Then finely chop. I used the Ninja to shave time. Chop the pepper and the red onion (I only use half a red onion.) I learned how to properly cut my avocado from Erin at $5 Dollar Dinners.

Once you have the prep work done. Mash the avocado, add the chopped ingredients, squeeze the lime into the mixture, and  finish with salt/pepper to taste.

Serves 4 – 6.

Post Dinner Analysis

It’s a hit! This Southwest Black Bean Burger recipe has completely replaced my previous frozen option. They are so simple to make and are very tasty. I do want to experiment and try a black bean rice burger at some point.

The guacamole is simple with a whole bunch of flavor. Once you eat this, you will not be able to go back to the seasoning packets for guacamole. Bryan and my oldest daughter prefer the Guacamole without the onions.  Of course, the little ones as a rule won’t touch anything that is green. I, on the other hand, will eat this guacamole straight out of the bowl.

In the completed meal pictured, I didn’t eat this as a traditional sandwich. I simply topped a large baking potato with goodies and then mixed the black bean burger topped with guacamole.

Freezer Friendly

Batch cook the Southwest Black Bean Burgers for easy meals. Top on salads or potatoes instead of your usual meat. Sorry but everything I’m reading on guacamole is it can not be frozen. This has to be made fresh, which is probably why it is so yummy.

Meat it Up

I can’t think of a option to add meat on this. Unless you want to add a strip of bacon to the burger. <giggle>

Vegan Option

Use an egg substitute to make this a vegan recipe.

If you have any questions about the vegetarian lifestyle, you can read more about it at GoVeg.com.