Burgers and Fries - South Beach Style

Yeah, I said it. Tonight I made burgers and fries, South Beach Diet style. They weren't just good, they were delicious! These aren't your average burgers and fries though, no sir. The burgers are pinto bean burgers. I actually had full intentions on making black bean burgers, but alas, I was out of black beans. That in itself is a mind boggler, I always have black beans. The fries were butternut squash fries that I made with the lovely butternut squash that arrived in my CSA box from Harvest2U this week.

We'll start with the "fries" first since they take the longest.

Baked Butternut Squash Fries (South Beach Phase 2 and 3)

1 large butternut squash (peeled, seeds removed)
2T olive oil
2t kosher salt
1/2t garlic powder
1/2t onion powder
1/4t pepper

Slice the butternut squash into french fry shape. Next time I'll use my Pampered Chef crinkle cutter, just for the classic crinkle cut fry effect.

Toss the squash in the olive oil. Sprinkle with half of the spices, toss again. Sprinkle with the last half of the spices and toss again. Spread evenly on a cookie sheet that has been coated with non-stick spray. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes, remove pan, turn fries and bake another 20 minutes.
Serve with sugar free ketchup, I made my own in about 5 minutes.

These fries are amazingly good. They are similar in fashion to sweet potato fries, but I think I like these better. Your kids WILL eat these!

Pinto Bean Burger

1 can (14oz) rinsed and drained pinto beans
2/3 cup oats (not instant)
1/2c chopped onion
1/2c chopped red bell pepper
1/4c chopped carrot
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1t chipotle seasoning
1/2t smoked paprika
1/2t cumin
1/3c egg substitute or 2 eggs, beaten
olive oil
4 slices of low fat cheese

Dressing
1/3c non fat, plain greek yogurt
1-3t of hot sauce of your choice
Mix well.

Rinse and drain pinto beans. Leave in colander to continue to drain. Set aside.

In a food processor (I actually used the chopper attachment of my Cuisinart Smart Stick emersion blender) pulse oats until they become a powder that is slightly more coarse than flour. Empty oats into large mixing bowl.

Back into the food processor add onion, bell pepper, carrot and garlic and pulse until minced.

Place pinto beans in a medium sized bowl and mash with a fork. Once they are well mashed, add the onion/pepper/carrot/garlic mixture and blend well. Add spices and mix. Then add egg substitute and mix again. Once this is well mixed, add 1/3 of this to the oats and mix with hands or wooden spoon, add another 1/3 and mix again and then add the final 1/3 and mix.

Once all of the ingredients are well mixed, divide into 4 equal parts and form patties similar to hamburgers.

Heat 2T oil in a large non-stick skillet. When the skillet is hot, add two of the burgers. Cook approximately 4 minutes on each side. About 2 minutes before burgers are ready to come out of the pan add a slice of low fat cheese, I used low fat pepper jack.

If you are on Pase 3 of the South Beach diet, feel free to put this into a whole grain pita. If not, serve it like I did, on a bed of lettuce. On top of the cheese covered patty I placed 1/4 of a sliced avocado and dressing.

I do believe that this is by far my favorite South Beach Diet creation yet!