Black Bean and Walnut Veggie Burger - Vegetarian Times Recipe

This recipe was given to me by my friend, Katie, at www.FreeTheMoms.com- a great website for Moms to share their truths, stories, recipes, tips and ideas and to not have to worry about being judged, which as any Mom knows, can be as big of a part of Motherhood as Mom Guilt. None of us need it, none of us have time for it and none of us should be encouraging it. We are all doing our best (which is the only reason we care when someone judges our decisions) and we all need to support each other and help each other to learn and grow without fear of judgement or failure. Wow, I had no idea I had so much to say about Mom judgement! So anyways, go check out www.FreeTheMoms.com and see what it's all about for yourself!

Here is Katie's excerpt on the veggie burger recipe she discovered (click here to read it on www.FreeTheMoms.com directly):

I made these last night and they were super easy and extremely tasty. I got the recipe fromhttp://www.vegetariantimes.comwhich has amazing recipes and I highly recommend getting the magazine subscription. Every recipe they have that we have made has been very good.

Black Bean and Walnut Burger

2 15-oz. cans black beans, rinsed and drained well

2 tsp. ground cumin

3 tsp. chili powder

1/8 to 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 cup cooked brown rice

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup chopped red onion

3 Tbs. canned corn

1/3 cup cornmeal

guacamole, for garnish

chunky salsa, for garnish

These burgers go together in no time, but if you want to get a jump-start on cookout prep, you can make them a day ahead. Refrigerate the mixture until about an hour before you’re ready to grill.

Purée 2 1/2 cups beans with cumin, chili powder and cayenne pepper until smooth. Add rice, walnuts, onion, corn and remaining beans, and pulse 2 or 3 times to mix. (Mixture should be stiff but not dry.) Add 2 to 3 Tbs. water to moisten, if necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and chill, if making ahead. Divide mixture into 8 burgers. Dredge burgers in cornmeal. Chill 30 minutes (unless mixture has been made earlier and chilled.)

Coat nonstick pan or grill with cooking spray. Cook burgers over medium heat 4 minutes. Flip, and cook 4 minutes more, or until heated through. Garnish with guacamole and salsa, if desired, and serve.

Looking at the Beef in the Vegetarian Argument (A TreeHugger.com Article)

Graham Hill, founder of Treehugger.com (an incredible source for anything to do with living a green lifestyle) is questioning how eating meat can or should be a part of a system of sustainable agriculture. A meat-eater himself, Graham recently collected some facts on how a meat eating diet contributes to both our health and our environment.

Perhaps if Graham Hill still needs some more facts, he should read John Robbins' book, "The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World".

Click here to read Graham's article on TreeHugger.com. Below are the main facts he discusses in this article:

1. Eating a hamburger a day could increase a person's risk of dying by a third from cancer, heart disease, stroke and the list goes on.

2. Billions of extra health care spending can be attributed to our meat eating lifestyles.

3. Eating meat spews more emissions than our cars, trains, and planes combined.

4. Pound for pound beef production uses at least 100 times the water of say, lettuce.

5. And, beef production emits nearly 100 times more greenhouse gas emissions than growing veggies.

6. Meat and livestock cause twice the pollution of all industry combined.