I can easily get into a routine where I eat the same thing over and over. Lately I can't seem to get enough of black beans. I'm on a major kick... anyone else? I love buying the little tins at Wholefoods (organic, obvs, with no ingredients other than black beans + salt!) and dumping them into my salads, veggie soups, or just eating them on their own with a little avo for a quick snack (must try). This weekend I was in the mood to switch things up, but walked into my pantry only to be faced with a surplus of black bean tins... So, say hello to the black bean burger - protein style of course!

I'm all about quick + easy recipes. I want no more than a few ingredients, and can't be fussed to hang out in the kitchen for very long. So there's not a whole lot to these black bean babies...

INGREDS:

1. Tin of black beans - make sure there are no weird ingredients, just beans, salt + water
2. An egg or two... feel it out
3. Lettuce (this is your 'bun')
4. Whatever you like to put on burgers! I did avo + toms + red onion

COOKING THE 'BURGERS':

I drained the water from both tins and roughly mashed up the beans - I wanted to see a whole bean here + there. For flavor I added some black bean seasoning I got from Mother's, cumin, salt + pepper, cayenne for some kick. I added an egg and then kinda crossed my fingers it would all stick together in the pan... SPOILER ALERT.... It doesn't. Or not very well, at least. Your best bet is to fry them on medium heat + make them pretty small (( like the size of a slider patty )), otherwise they break apart pretty easily. I just made them small enough to fit in my lettuce cups and they were perf! They also taste amazing, so if one broke here + there, I really didn't care. You could also just add 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs and you'd be set! 

THE 'BUN':

Backkkk at it again with the Living Lettuce no-carb hack. ((I do this with my fish tacos, too)) Really I just love Living Lettuce. But also, I'm not about to eat a giant breadroll with my beans... Making the burgers protein style lessens so much bloat, guilt + general feelings of "blehh".

ON THE SIDE...

I also whipped up a little Mexican (of course) cucumber salad to go on the side... SUPER EASY

Slice up a cucumber super thin, throw it in a bowl with fresh squeezed lime, salt + pepper, fresh cilantro + chopped jalapeño if you like a little heat ;) Toss it, stick it in the fridge to chill out for a bit.

This little salad was the best thing to have in the fridge throughout the weekend whenever I felt "snacky"!

And there you have it! The EASIEST, am I right?!

xo