Whitney's Weigh Low: Burger and Fries

All that burger and fries talk on Tuesday had me craving the All American meal. But instead of booking it over to Mickey D's, I decided to make a vegetarian version of this classically fatty feast.

Black Bean Burgers are another dish I've been dying to make since I got the food processor last month. To my excitement, I found a great recipe that goes with Sweet Potato Fritters, which also calls for processing.

This post could technically be called Fun With Food Processors: Part 3 and 4.

These two recipes are seriously amazing. Don't let the lack of meat dissuade you from making them.

I adapted the recipe from Eating Bird Food and here's what I came up with:


Mini Mushroom Black Bean Burgers with Sweet Potato Faux-Fried Fritters

Make the fries first, they take longer. While they're baking you can get on the burgers.

For Fries:

-1 Large Sweet Potato (160)
-1 Egg White (17)
-1/4 C. Water
-3/4 C. Brown Rice Cereal (75)
-2 Tbs. Cashews (80)
-1/2 Tbs. Garlic Powder
-Dash of Pepper
-Dash of Chili Powder

Directions:

1. Set oven to 400 degrees and spray a baking sheet with Pam.



2. Peel and slice sweet potato into fritters.



3. Process cereal, cashews, and spices. Set aside in a bowl. Whisk water and egg white together.



5. Dip fritters into egg white mixture and then into breading mixture.



6. Place fritters on baking sheet, spray lightly with Pam, and bake for about 30 minutes.



Total Calories: 166 per serving (makes 2)

While the fries are cooking, make your burgers...

For Burgers:

-1 Can Black Beans (350)
-4 Mini Trader Joe's Pitas (120)
-1/4 C. diced Onions (15)
-1 C. diced Mushrooms (20)
-2 Garlic cloves
-1 Egg White (17)
-2 Tbs. Parsley
-Dash of Pepper

1. Spray a pan with Pam and brown the onions, mushrooms, and garlic for about 3-5 minutes.



2. Process the pitas.





3. Rinse the beans.



4. Process the cooked veggies with the parsley and pepper.



5. Add the beans and process, not fully (leave some beans for texture).



6. Mix the beans mixture, "bread crumbs", and egg white.



7. Form into 6 mini patties.



8. Grill in a sprayed pan for about 5 minutes on each side.



9. Use remaining pitas as buns (60 cal per bun).



Total Calories: about 85 per bean burger (makes 6), with "bun" 145 each.

You can also break the pita into two pieces for even less calories.

The meal was nothing short of amazing and even my meat loving boyfriend thought it was almost as fantastic as the original!