Vegetarian Paleo: homemade blackbean burger

I’ve been thinking, and I’ve come to the conclusion that there are TWO really important things that I want to get across to people who choose to follow a Paleo, ancestralized, or SCD diet regime for any reason: weight loss, auto-immune disease, or just general health and wellness, or a simple 30 day challenge–everyone!

1) Cook at home. make everything at home. DIY. Make it yourself.  Should you go out to eat tonight, though? NO. 

It’s so important to cook at home, whether you are trying to get fit or get well. This does not mean opening a box and microwaving or baking something pre-packaged. I used to love prepackaged black bean burgers, but the ingredients are just unnecessary. Why the guar gum? The soy? The unending list of things I can’t eat because of inflammation. Inflammation that MOST of us have. Everything I once loved that was packaged, I started making myself, and GUESS WHAT! I lost my taste for the non-homemade kind. You think you don’t have time? Make time! Make time for your health and start with things that take only a few minutes like my black bean burger recipe below!

2) Being “paleo” does not mean you’re a carnivore– IN FACT, it would imply that you eat a mostly vegetarian diet. I’m looking at you, instagram paleo club…

So I promise not to get on my archaeologist soap box again– about how Paleolithic people actually would have just foraged  nuts, seeds, and fruits, and the way we eat as a “paleo” pop culture is actually Neolithic, but FYI… IT IS! That’s why I’m neolithic elisabeth! the important part of this, though, is not my archaeological background and academic jargon. What you must! MUST! must! remember on your Paleo journey is that our ancestors only ate meat after successful hunts and for special occasions. And they did not have the means to store and freeze and thaw and cook bison patties every day people. So why are you eating animal protein like it’s going out of style? Why consume animal protein when it leaves so much more of a footprint on our globe and uses so many more of our waning natural resources? It’s NOT necessary. I work out EVERY. DAY. And I get the majority of my protein from plants–like hemp, beans, and nuts. THAT is true paleo. That is how you should treat your precious body and our planet. And a lot more days than I would like, I eat lean meat for dinner, but let’s all keep each other accountable to be better.

Ok, that is really IT for me. Those are my only rules. Now have fun cooking! You can start with the Black bean burger recipe below (with help from my amazing vegetarian/yogi/nurse/sister/cousin Tricia Ann)!

Veggie-Paleo Spicy Black Bean Burgers

Ingredients for one week’s worth of black bean burger lunch or 5 burgers for a dinner:

2 cans black  beans
1 cup grain free breadcrumbs ( I use my almond flour cracker crumbs or almond meal)
1 cup fresh salsa (made at home or whole ingredients store bought)
cumin
cayenne
red pepper flakes
olive oil

Directions:

1) Combine first 3 ingredients into food processor (or mix together well, smashing black beans)
2) Add spices to taste
3) Preheat Oven to 350
4) Remove from bowl/processor and form into 5-6 large patties, coat patties in almond flour
5) Cook on medium/high heat in skillet in olive oil until crispy on the oustide
6) After crisped in skillet, move onto a baking sheet to cook the inside for 20-25 minutes

Serve and eat with homemade ketchup or ranch dressing…Oh no, you need recipes for those now!