Black Bean & Roasted Sweet Potato Burger with Mayan Chocolate Drink

Rebecca and I were in the mood for something Mexican, so we put our heads to gether and tried to figrue out what to make.  Seemed like for every recipe we thought of, we were short one ingredient.  Finally, we remembered a vegan burger recipe from Kris Carr's "Crazy, Sexy Kitchen" book.  It was the Black Bean and Roasted Sweet Potato Burger.

We're not really vegan, but we do like many of the recipes and have been trying to focus on having a more plant-based, alkaline diet.  The other night Rebecca made a vegan Mac and Cheese dish and then threw some chicken on it for me.  So, kinda vegan, kinda not.

Those vegans are tricky, though, I tell you.  Mac and Cheese, without cheese.  Taco meat, without meat.  All these healthy substitutes that are delicious and don't taste a whole lot different than the real thing.

To top this meal off, we also made the Mayan Chocolate Drink from Julie Morris' Superfood Smoothies.  Overall, not a Mexican meal, but it was an interesting combo, with some kind of "southwestern" feel to it.

First thing we had to do was get the toppings ready.

We also decided to make a mix of potato and beet chips for a side dish.  Beets are so crazy looking some times.

Then the rest of these ingredients needed to be prepared and processed to make the burger "meat".

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks (about 1 cup)
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• ½ cup finely diced onion
• 2 cups cooked black beans
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons Tamari
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (vegan, if preferred)
• 2 tablespoons bread crumbs

Just need to cook the rice, roast the sweet potatos until tender and combine everything in a food processor.  Don't overprocess!  Then, shape the meat into patties, place them into a skillet and cook until both sides are lightly browned.

Of course, we were still missing one ingredient.  Hamburger buns!  But, we have a bread that works pretty well when toasted, so we used that.

Here's the final product with the beet/potato chips on the side.  I'm gonna have to say the burger itself looked much yummier in person.

Lastly, the Mayan Chocolate drink. This guy is really easy to make.  Just combine the following ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

• ¼ cup Medjool dates, about 3-4
• 2 tablespoons almond butter
• 3 tablespoons cacao nibs
• 1 tablespoon cacao powder
• 1 tablespoons Chia seed
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne powder
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ⅓ cups water

Then, mix in 2 cups of ice and blend until frosty.  This makes for a chilled chocolaty treat, with a spicy, exotic zeal.

Mayan Chocolate Drink