Seriously Good Veggie Burgers

Lately, I've been really trying to work hard on eating clean and cutting out the junk that sneaks its way into my diet, especially in condiments and packaged goods. I am also looking for new ways to spice up my protein intake without increasing my meat consumption. I've tried Morningstar and Boca products and find them to be quite tasty (Have you tried their sausage patties?) but was looking for something I can make on my own in order to control all of the ingredients I put into my body. So many of the packaged foods in the grocery store have too many preservatives and chemicals for me to feel good about eating them on a regular basis. As a fitness and health magazine junkie, I am notorious for tearing out healthy recipes and lately I've been focusing on the vegetarian ones. I've started to figure out which magazines have great recipes and which ones are just so-so. For example, I love the recipes in Runners World but often find the recipes in Oxygen magazine to be quite bland, unless they're smoothie recipes. Women's Health has some good ones too. I have no idea which magazine I tore this out of but I hope you find the recipe to be as delicious as I did. It's definitely a keeper for my recipe binder and hope it will be for you too as you make it your mission to eat healthier.

Black Bean Oat Burgers

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 cups diced mushrooms

1/2 cup plain rolled oats

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 Tbsp cumin

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 tsp olive oil

Place half of the beans in a food processor or blender along with mushrooms, oats, garlic, egg, cumin and pepper. Process until well mixed. Add remaining beans and pulse machine until they're combined into the mixture. Form into 4-5 patties and brush each with olive oil. (Place in the fridge for an hour or more if you have time to help them stick together better.)

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet or grill pan. Cook eat patty for 3-4 minutes per side or until browned. Serve on toasted whole wheat buns or follow my lead and have it on top of a big mixed greens salad with tomato and homemade honey mustard...and maybe a dab of organic ketchup too :-) Enjoy!