Vegan Black Bean Burgers

Vegan burger

Here's a recipe that I tried last night (January 10, 2010). I loved the results. The vegan black bean burgers turned out to taste better than the store-purchased ones, which the advantage that these have no added oil or egg.

Vegan black bean burgers

Makes 6 servings

• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed; I included some garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
• 1/3 cup chopped sweet onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 3 baby carrots, grated (optional) I included it; very good.
• 1/4 cup minced green bell pepper (optional) I I included it; very good,
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon warm water
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon seafood seasoning (such as Old Bay®) (optional) I didn't included it.
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (I used No Salt brand salt) 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 slices whole-wheat bread, torn into small crumbs
• 3/4 cup unbleached flour, or as needed. I ended up needing only 1/4 cup. 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a baking sheet. (I used a non-stick baking pan, with no grease.)
2. Mash black beans (and garbanzos, if desired) in a bowl; add onion, garlic, carrots, and green bell pepper. Mix.
3. Whisk cornstarch, water, chile-garlic sauce, chili powder, cumin, salt, and black pepper together in a separate small bowl. Stir cornstarch mixture into black bean mixture.
4. Mix whole-wheat bread into bean mixture. Stir flour, 1/4 cup at a time, into bean mixture until a sticky batter forms.
5. Spoon 'burger-sized' mounds (a slightly heaping 1/4 cup worked well for me. It made 6 or 7 burgers) of batter onto the prepared baking sheet, about a 3/4-inch thickness per mound. Shape into burgers.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until cooked in the center and crisp in the outside, about 10 minutes on each side. (After the 20 min of cooking, I ended up putting two of the burgers in a frying pan and frying them on the stove to cook them faster because I was running out of time and because I like my burgers crisper. I froze the others, which I will fry with no oil or a very light spray of oil, or grill the next time I want burgers.)

Using whole-wheat buns, add fat-free or low-fat salad dressing, ketchup, mustard, pickles, onions, and lettuce, to make a whole food, plant based meal.

Weight Goals

Today, while talking to Suzanne on the phone, we determined that the weight on the scale can't be our only measure of our success. If it is, then I will be unmotivated when the scale doesn't go down. I think how I feel and how my clothing fits, as well as how I reach my fitness goals (specifically in the running department) also measure the success of The Plan.

Here are some satisfied, happy, and thrilled goals that I have:

Weight:

Right after my thyroid cancer treatment, I was at the highest non-pregnancy weight of my life. After that point, I lost about 15 lbs. and was struggling to lose beyond that. In all fairness, I must disclose that in addition to starting The Plan, my thyroid medication was also increased a few weeks prior to starting the healthy eating. I feel that the combination of diet, exercise, and medication has been key to my successful. So, since The Plan and medication adjustment I have lost an additional 13. From my current weight, here are my goals:

• Satisfied:  -7 pounds (this would bring me to my pre-Tanner pregnancy weight)
• Happy:  -12 pounds (this would bring me to my pre-Trevor pregnancy weight)
• Thrilled goal:  -22 pounds (this would bring me to my pre-Skylar pregnancy weight)
• Ecstatic: -27 (this would bring me to my pre-wedding weight)

I have no idea what I weighed in high school or before my wedding. 

Clothing:

• Satisfied: Already met because I am down one pant size since The Plan (from a 12 to a 10) and two sizes since my cancer treatment (I was at a tight 14 pant and plus sized shirt)
• Happy: Finding size 10 clothes that don't look huge on my legs since they have to fit around my larger stomach
• Thrilled: Size 8. Never being asked again if I am pregnant when I am not
• Ecstatic: Not needing a tummy tuck anymore because the size of pants I wear looks good on my tiny legs and my stomach

Fitness Goals:

• Satisfied: Already satisfied that I ran 4 half marathons this summer
• Happy: Finish a half marathon under 2 hours (my recent fastest is 2:02)
• Thrilled: Set a half marathon PR (under 1:55:39 ) and/or complete a marathon
• Ecstatic: Finish a marathon under 4 hours

Vege Soup Notes

I just finished making (and eating) the Hearty Vegetable Soup recipe listed below. Here are a few notes:

1. The recipe doesn't specify this (but I'm about to change that), but you need to cook the carrots. Luckily I figured this out before it was too late. After making your puree and putting it back on the burner, add the carrots and let them cook until soft.

2. This is SPICY. Next time I'm probably going to leave out the cayenne pepper, or half the black pepper. My kids wouldn't eat it because it was too hot (and it made my nose run).

3. I wish I had potatoes! This would be great with potatoes, either simply added or in place of the beans or pasta. By the way, I used whole-wheat pasta and it worked beautifully. So yummy, so filling. A little of this soup (which is more like stew) goes a long way. 

4. It's green. The picture was just a stock photo. This soup is green, like split pea soup. That doesn't bother me and so I don't care but if you have an aversion to green soup, this could be problematic. I'll post a picture soon. 

5. I didn't use kale leaves. I've never had kale but I've heard it's difficult to get just right so I just left it out. Didn't notice anything missing. If you don't have kale, or don't like kale, just omit it. The recipe didn't suffer. Using a frozen back of mixed vegetables would also work--cutting out some of the prep work. It would still be delicious.

Overall, this recipe was easy, though a bit time consuming. I'll make it again, either as I did today or varying ingredients. I give it an A- (4.5 out of 5 stars). It would have gotten an A if my kids would have eaten it, but even as it stands, this recipe is a keeper.

Comments People Make When You & Your Husband Have Lost Weight (Part II)

Scott has listed some of the comments that people have made to him because he has lost 40 lbs. Here's what people say to me about his weight loss:

"You're not going to let him lose any more weight are you?"
"He's not going to lose any more weight is he?"
"Are you both still on that crazy diet?"

And here's the comments that some women have said to me now that I've lost 25 lbs:

the Spanards: "You've lost weight in your face and your breasts."
the Americans: "I'd go on a diet, but I don't want to lose weight in my breasts." (meaning, of course, that I've lost weight there).

Despite having lost 25 lbs, I still get this comment:

"Sister, you look like you're pregnant!" (which means that I'm still pear-shaped)

I guess I don't have to tell you that the Spanards don't know about tact and some Americans think they are being tactful, but aren't.

Thanksgiving Report Part II

On the day of Thanksgiving, I did well, with only slight variation from the WFPBNP (It's too hard to type these initials, so from now on I'm going to refer to it as "the Plan" or "my Plan" or "our Plan.") But I knew the real challenge would be the following Monday (yesterday), because that was the day of the huge Thanksgiving meal that Beverly and I were in charge of.

So here is a description of my plan (not to be confused by my Plan): Eat the various types of typical Thanksgiving foods, with an emphasis on plant-based foods, and keep the portion small. Avoid dessert. Get back on our Plan right after the (second) Thanksgiving dinner.

I give myself a B grade on executing my plan. I ended up failing on two counts:

• Beverly and I were at the table of the woman--Miriam, a good friend and regular travel companion of ours--who made a huge apple pie and bought ice cream to go with it. She was worried that it didn't turn out well and that no one would want it. So I caved. I had a small piece with a dollop of ice cream.
• After the event, we had tons of nuts left over from our centerpiece displays--and I kept eating them. All. Afternoon. And. Evening. The caloric intake of nuts probably didn't exceed 400 calories, and I did have a light, Plan-approved dinner otherwise, but really, I didn't need that many nuts.

The bottom line?

• I gained a 0.6 pound. This tells me that most of my plan going into the day worked.
• I varied only slightly from the Plan, but I don't know what health effects on my heart the small amount of turkey, turnkey gravy, and butter-filled potatoes had. Because I'm doing this for my health and not so much (now) for my weight, I'm actually more concerned about the health effects that the weight effects.

I have come to the conclusion that Suzanne and Andrea have come to: I just don't need a "free day." It's too risky, because it's too hard to get back to our Plan in full force.

As a side note, my current goal is to get my BMI down to 25.0, which for me is 169.6 pounds or less, by Christmas. (A BMI above 25 is considered overweight.) I have only 2 pounds to go. (BTW, I'm already at my "satisfied" goal weight of 175. My "happy" goal weight is the 169.6. And my "thrilled" or "ecstatic" goal is 165 lb, which would be the lowest I've weighed since 1981 and below the weight I had when I graduated from high school.

Thanksgiving Wrap-Up

I set a goal to not gain any weight over my Thanksgiving holiday. HA! I was weak and took not just one free day, but three! It was Rita's carmel popcorn that lured me to the other side. And then the pumpkin torte, donuts, brownies, pies, and other treats called my name. When I weighed myself this morning, I was up 2.9 lbs. Honestly, I would have guessed closer to 10!

On a good note, I made a goal not to eat any candy this month, and I stuck to it. That may sound easy, but I kid you not, we had Gummy Bears, Kit Kats, Peanut Butter M&Ms, Snickers, Sour Patch Kids, Mike & Ikes, Hersey Kisses, and Licorice Bits in the house. 

Now that I am back to real life, I am back on my plan! My next free day will be Christmas Eve and that is it! Today I woke up early and went to the gym (ran 3 miles, biked 10 minutes, and did another machine for 10 minutes, and abs), and then did my grocery shopping at Costco and Macey's. I ate very healthy today and feel completely committed to getting back on the plan.

My goal is to hit my pre-pregnancy weight by January. If I can reach that goal, it will have been since January 2010 that I was at that weight.

Wish me luck (and keep posting food ideas).

What Thanksgiving Taught Me

This past week was not only Thanksgiving, but also my wedding anniversary and my son's birthday. So, needless to say, there was a LOT of celebrating going on. This morning, after a hot and heavy work out at the gym, I weighed myself to find that I'd put on 2.5 lbs. Yikes! I know it might not seem like a lot, but it's a total of 5 lbs gained since I hit my lowest weight 2 weeks ago. I can't afford to gain anymore. I need to stop the gain and start losing again. 

Since this was my first holiday since starting my WFPBNP, I consider this past week sort of a test run. A trial, to help me better prepare for Christmas and frankly, the holidays I'll be facing the rest of my life. So...this is what I learned (you probably know most of it, but I'm going to list it anyway).

1. Moderation Kills! Scott was the first to mention this to me, and I have mentioned to it others (and chanted it in my own head many times).  Here's what happened. I decided that, with the entire week of celebrations centering around food, I would allow myself a 'cheat day' and eat small portions of foods I would not otherwise allow myself to eat. Sadly, cheat 'day' turned into cheat 'days'. I had a very small slice of carrot cake on Friday. I had a very small slice of cheese cake on Saturday, and some 'regular' chips with salsa. By Sunday, however, I was basically eating anything I wanted. Oops.

The bad news: What I found is that once I said "okay" to a food that I otherwise wouldn't eat, it became easier and easier to say "okay" to other off-limit foods. Although I have very small portions of each food item, I ended up eating a wide variety of foods I didn't need and didn't really want. I ended up craving sweets again, after finally getting rid of that tendency.

The good news: I found that a very small portion satisfied my craving and I was able to walk away from that food for good. Meaning, I had one slice of carrot cake and since then, haven't craved it again. The remaining cake will most likely be thrown out. I had a slice of cheese cake and now I don't want it again. So, even though I craved sweets, I could tell a difference between how I eat these foods now, compared to the way I ate before (unlimited portions). This made me feel good. In control! It helped me see that I won't suddenly cave and go off the deep end. Not permanently, I mean. I am in control and can regain control quickly after making a poor choice.


2. My body knows the difference!

After taking 2 days off from my work out and two days (which turned into three) days off of my nutrition plan, I felt GROSS!! Physically and emotionally, I felt bad. It wasn't just feeling bad about eating off-limits foods, either. It was depression. Depression because I wanted to do better than I was, because I knew I was cheating myself. And also, because my body knows the difference between whole, nutritious foods and those that are...not. 

The bad news: Eating crappy and skipping work outs made me feel sluggish, fat and unhappy.  Skipping one work out made it that much harder to go the next day. Skipping the second work out made me want to give up on my new lifestyle completely. I don't feel powerful or successful when I eat junk and skip work outs. My body needs good food and exercise.

The good news: After a weekend of basically hating myself, I started on the right foot again today. I hit the gym hard, stayed out of the kitchen, and texted my sister, who is always good for support when I need it. Having a buddy, spouse, sibling or even a co-worker whom you can turn to, or looking online at blogs is a great way to feel empowered again and get yourself back in the game. Just like at Alcoholics Anonymous, where they give each member a sponsor, we need support. I'm grateful that I have it. Thanks guys!!

3. Whole Foods are not Free Foods

Even on the days I've been sticking to my WFPBNP (Whole Foods Plant Based Nutrition Plan), I've gained weight. I've gone from a diet almost completely animal based (and fat based) to a diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and nuts. How is it that I'm not super-model thin?? The answer? Well, whole foods aren't calorie free. 

The bad news: Even though I am eating healthy foods, I'm eating too much. Snacking on nuts and whole grain bread is a lot better than Twinkies and Coke, but nuts and whole grains have calories, too. I've allowed myself to snack too much and used the excuse that my snacks were healthy. I find that,with whole foods, I fill up on a lot less food, which is good, but in return, I get hungry again a lot faster. I may need to eat more than three meals...I may need to eat four of five small meals, but I need to plan for them, figure out my total calories, and make sure I'm not snacking in between.

The good news: A little planning goes a long way. If I think ahead, plan my meals, stay out of the kitchen and drink more water (instead of soy milk or juices), I'll consume fewer calories. Also, I'm going to cut back on fruits and grains and instead, have the bulk of my calories come from vegetables. Too many of my food choices center around nuts, grains and fruits, which tend to be high in calories and natural sugars. It may not be necessary for you to cut back on these things, but for me, it means the difference between losing weight or not. The first two weeks I went whole foods, my diet was centered around vegetables and the weight came off. Now, it's not. But this is something I can change with a little effort and planning.


I learned: I don't need a cheat day. I don't want a cheat day. Or a cheat minute. Or a cheat food. I want to stick to my nutrition plan. Otherwise, one little bite leads to another, which leads to another, and soon the cravings begin. Plus, once I stop the nutrition plan, it's that much harder to get back on it again. Some people need or want cheats. I thought I wanted cheats, too. But I don't. Moderation killed my diet last week.

I don't want a day off from the gym. I have been going five days per week and am trying to do six. More than one day off in a row and I start to feel down about my weight and my life in general. For weight control, physical health and mental stability, I need to work out. I WANT to work out!! I have often regretted days when I have skipped the gym. I've never regretted a day when I've gone. (P.S. I worked out on Thanksgiving Day, which was my goal. So all is not lost!!)

I need to plan better. If I know what food I'll be facing, I can bring an alternative whenever appropriate. I can skip food-based celebrations. I can eat before I go some place where I know there will be food. 

I need to stop eating when I'm full and skip the snacking. Like Scott mentioned in the previous entry, my body needs very little food to survive. What helps me is to brush my teeth right after a meal so I don't pick off my kids' plates or go back for seconds. I often want something sweet to take the taste of my meal out of my mouth and brushing helps. Flossing helps too, especially when I'm eating foods with small seeds and things. When I can't brush? I chew gum. It may not be a whole food, but it keeps me from going back for food that I don't really want and I certainly don't need. It helps fight the urge to snack, as well.

Got some tricks or tools that help you stay on your WFPBNP?? I'd love to hear them!