Eat Fit Not Fat- Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers with Chipotle Avocado Crema

This weekend I will be running in my 4th half marathon down in Fairfield, CT. Two of my girlfriends from high school and I decided to sign up after getting together for one of infamous "Ladies Weekends" this past January. We thought it would be a great way to spend some time together on a beautiful June weekend while being incredibly active. Our usual ladies weekends consist of eating, drinking, laughing, eating, drinking, laughing and repeating as many times as we can in 48 hours. So this time we decided to eliminate the adult beverages and add the sweat, tears and miles! Unfortunately, one of our "ladies" will not be able to run this Sunday thanks to a stubborn knee that just will not quit. Liz, we will miss you tons on Sunday! Wishing you a speedy recovery for our next Ladies Weekend.

So this Sunday morning, keep Lauren and I in your thoughts as you wake up. When you sit down to enjoy a nice cup of coffee and watch your favorite morning televsion show, we will be sweating our hearts and souls out along the scenic roads of Fairfield, CT which provide stunning panorama's of Long Island Sound.

This week I wanted to keep things simple and clean in the food department. Thanks to my wonderful fiance's help with chopping and prepping we were able to whip up some tasty sweet potato black bean burgers. Mike said this recipe is definitely a keeper and I agree! You really can't go wrong with black beans, sweet poatoes and quinoa for a filling meal. If you dislike black beans, throw in some chickpeas or cannellini beans. You really can make this recipe your own depending on the flavors you enjoy.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup quinoa

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 sweet potato

1/2 chopped red onion

1/2 jalapeno, seeds removed

3 cloves garlic

1/2 cup cilantro

2 tsp carribean jerk seasoning or cajun seasoning

1 tsp cumin

1/4 cup oat flour

1/4-1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

olive oil, salt and pepper

6 whole grain hamburger buns

CREMA

1/2 large avocado

1/4 cup greek yogurt

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

1 -2 tsp fresh squeezed lime

2tsp chili in adobo sauce

salt to taste

TOPPINGS

sprouts, tomatoes and red onion slices

1) Bring large pot of water to a boil with sweet potato in pot. (Start with cold and salted water). Boil until fork tender. Ours took a good half hour. If you're in a rush, pierce potato with fork and place in the microwave for 3-4 min. making sure it doesn't explode on you :). Let potato cool. Peal skin away from potato. Chop into cubes.

2)Cook quinoa according to package directions. We cooked ours in vegatable broth instead of water.

3) Crema- make your crema while the potato and quinoa are cooking. Combine yogurt, 2 tbsp chopped cilantro, 1-2tbsp lime juice, 1/2 avocado chopped, chili in adobo sauce and salt to taste. Stir to mix. Refridgerate while waiting.

4) In food processor, pulse together cooked sweet potato, rinsed black beans, onion, 1/2 cup cilantro, 3 cloves garlic, jalapeno, cumin and carribean jerk spices. You may need to scrape the sides of the bowl a couple times and con't to pulse till combined. Keep some texture tho! NO one likes puree burgers!

5)In medium size mixing bowl combine sweet potato bean mixture with cooked quinoa. Don't over combine. Add oat flour to bowl. You may not need to add all the flour. The flour is used to help bind ingredients together.

6)Now its time to roll up your sleeves and get dirty. Form mixture into 6 equal size patties. Each patty is approx 1/2 cup. Coat each side of each patty in a light covering of panko.

Mike and I only used 2 patties per night and refrigerated the PBQ (potato, bean, quinoa) mixuture for the next night. We made another 2 patties tonight from the leftovers.

Place patties onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Refridgerate patties for approx. 30 minutes till cooled.

7)Heat oil in medium skillet on medium-high heat. Cook patties 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove from heat. Go to the fridge and get your toppings and crema.