Prepping food on the weekend has been a key factor to eating well during the week. Amid classes, traveling, work outs, and errands, taking time to make a healthy dinner is harder than it sounds. I’m no pro yet at food prep but one of my favorite blogs, The Lean Green Bean, featured food prep and we’ve been inspired. I would love to go over our weekly food prep routine here, but truthfuly, we don’t have one yet. We are learning each week what we like and what didn’t work as well as planned.

My favorite part of food prep so far is making black bean burgers. We’ve made two kinds so far, Asian and Greek. They go perfectly on a toasted bun with some romaine or spinach, a slice of tomato, and condiments of choice.

It’s fun to talk about black bean burgers with others because I find most people are one of two audiences. I can tell when I’m talking to a “health-food enlightened” being because at my mention of a delicious back bean burger, they immediately want the recipe. This audience typically includes, but is not limited to, yogis, vegan, vegetarians, and people who have been a vegan or vegetarian for a period of time. Then there’s the other group, the group where noses scrunch and mouths turn down at the mention of a burger not made of meat. This is when I’ve realized that yes, if you expect an asian black bean burger to taste like a flame-broiled cow patty, you will be disappointed. I think by calling the black bean awesomeness a “burger” we might be doing it a disservice. This leads some people to believe the black been burger is a viable substitute for a real burger- not as the glorious alternate that it is. It’s not tofurky, or the corn dogs from Trader Joe’s that are somehow meatless yet taste just like a hotdog…

I just don’t know what else to call them or how to present one of my favorite new foods in a way that it might stand a chance with the meat lovers population. Black bean patty? Sounds like something served in a cafeteria. Black bean meat pie? Too Sweeney Todd. I guess Black Bean Awesomeness stands.

Here are some pictures from the Greek Black Bean Burgers (yes, those are heavenly chunks of Feta):

So far, I’ve like both the Greek and Asian burger equally. My sous-chef heavily favors the Asian. The recipe calls for creamy peanut butter, but since I am principally opposed to such nonsense we used chunky and it was, of course, awesome.

Recipe for Greek Black Bean Burgers

Recipe for Asian Black Bean Burgers

Have you tried black bean burgers? What are some of your favorite foods to prep for the week? Are there any foods you love but have a hard time explaining to others?