January: A Month for Flavor Without FAT!

Well, friends, it’s January … time to pay for the nutritional sins we committed in November and December. Why is sinning so much more fun than repenting? There are days when I think, “Dang! Why am I spending half my life feeling guilty for eating wonderful, delicious, decadent food and the other half punishing myself with dry toast and cottage cheese?” (Yuck!)

I’ll declare, with a balled-up fist, “I don’t need to be skinny to be happy!” Only to find myself pulling on my hulking huge stretch pants three weeks later … for the third day in a row … and realizing that happiness does not stem from discovering that someone could park a car in the shadow of my backside.

So is it going to be tiny, flavorless, 350 calorie frozen entrees and undressed lettuce? No! How about a lovely black bean burger and some roasted potatoes? Much heartier than that frozen entrée, extremely tasty and less than 350 calories*! Today’s recipes are low fat, but not no fat … totally fat-free living is more than I can take!

You CAN love your food even when it’s low fat. Hey – turns out repenting CAN be fun!

Have a flavorful New Year!

j*a*N*e

PS – The Flavors of India Black Bean Burger recipe was invented by my friend and co-worker, Nicole Miller. Not only is she one of Tastefully Simple’s AMAZING graphic designers, she is also a FANTASTIC cook! Once you try these burgers you’ll know exactly what I mean!

Flavors of India Black Bean Burgers

Submitted by Nicole Miller (MN), HQ Team Member

6 servings

166 calories

2 grams of fat

Ingredients

16 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

½ 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1 Tbsp. Flavors of India™ Seasoning Salt

1 cup canned corn, drained

½ small onion, diced

1 Tbsp. sesame seeds

1 clove garlic, minced

½ tsp. black pepper

4 Tbsp. cornmeal

Directions

Using a food processor, blend together the black beans and garbanzo beans; transfer to a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients; blend well. Shape into patties. Saute in a small amount of olive oil over medium-high heat, 2-3 minutes per side until browned. Reduce heat; continue to cook until heated through. Serve in pitas or wrapped in a tortilla half; top with fresh diced tomatoes and purple onion. Makes 4 servings.

*I used an online tool to calculate the calories and fat for these recipes. If extreme accuracy is important to you, double check the numbers! I can’t guarantee the accuracy of the tool I used, but I’m sure it’s pretty close.

Testing Notes

First and foremost – these were fabulous! My family and I absolutely loved them and will definitely make them again.

• I used “no salt added” black beans, which worked well since Flavors of India is a seasoning salt.
• I toasted the sesame seeds in a small non-stick pan. It’s very fast and easy to do and it really brings out the sesame flavor. Heat up your pan (dry), then toss in the sesame seeds. Flick them around until they turn toasty brown. Don’t walk away, they burn quickly!
• You could substitute 1 Tbsp. Onion Onion and ½ tsp. Garlic Garlic for their fresh equivalents in the recipe.
• I processed the beans in two batches, since I have a medium-sized food processor. The first batch I left fairly chunky. For the second batch, I pulsed the onion first, then added the beans and really pureed them. I needed to add about a tablespoon or so of water to do this. I really liked the resulting texture of the burgers.
• I made 6 patties instead of 4 and they were still very hearty, and my calorie count reflects that. If I had made 4, the patty would have been more than I needed.
• My frying pan would only hold 5 patties, not 6. So I cooked the sixth in a separate pan … and burned it! Grrrrr …
• I have a little patty making tool that I always forget to use, but I remembered it this time! Yay! I spritzed it with just a bit of non-stick spray and they came out fairly easily and I had very uniform patties (there’s my OCD kickin’ in, LOL!).
• I topped mine with 1 Tbsp. of spinach dip that I had left over from New Year’s. This added 35 calories (so 201 calories instead of 166) and 3 grams of fat, but it was worth it to me … it was nice to have a little “sauce” on the burger.
• I did not serve the burgers in a pita or a tortilla … we just ate them plain, so I didn’t include those calories in the 166.
• You will have leftover garbanzo beans and corn. I’m using mine in a salad for lunch today – yum!

Rock On Roasted Sweet Potatoes – see the November 5 blog entry

• 8 servings
• 172 calories
• 4 grams fat

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