Black Bean Burger with Kale Chips and Jasmine’s Freeze Out Smoothie - $6.79 a serving

Name: Black Bean Burger with Kale Chips and Jasmine’s Freeze Out Smoothie
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 2 (15- ounce cans) low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed; 1 ripe banana, mashed; 1 cup bread crumbs; 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin; 1 pinch sea salt; 1 pinch black pepper; Nonstick cooking spray; 6 whole-wheat hamburger buns; 10 ounces kale, chopped; 2 teaspoons olive oil; 1/4 teaspoon sea salt; 1 cup organic 1% milk; 1 cup frozen mixed berries; 1 handful spinach

Makes 6 servings · american · easy · USDA MyPlate Kitchen (public domain)

$40.74

basket total, in-store

$6.79

per serving (6 servings)

+$2.17

dearer than the $4.62 median dinner

What it costs at Kroger - Kroger On the Rhine

Every non-staple ingredient matched to a real product on the shelf, priced on 2026-07-19 at Kroger - Kroger On the Rhine (ZIP 45202). 3 pantry staples excluded. 2 matches are flagged for you to check rather than silently swapped. Prices change without notice - this is what we paid attention to on that date, not a quote.

The recipe says	We found	Package	Uses	Costs	Left over
2 (15- ounce cans) low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed	Simple Truth Organic® Low Sodium Black Beans · 15 ozx2	$1.25	850 g	$2.50	$0.00
1 ripe banana, mashed	Fresh Bunch of Bananas – 5-7 Bananas · 1 lb	$0.69	1	$0.18	$0.51
1 cup bread crumbs	Kroger® Plain Bread Crumbs · 15 oz	$1.99	120 g	$0.56	$1.43
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil	Gotham Greens® Fresh Basil · 1.25 oz	$3.99	15 g	$1.69	$2.30
1 teaspoon dried oreganoCHECK THIS	Smart Way™ Oregano Leaves · 0.63 oz	$1.25	2 g	$0.14	$1.11
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin	McCormick Ground Cumin · 1.5 oz	$3.49	4 g	$0.33	$3.16
Nonstick cooking spray	Kroger® Nonstick Canola Oil Cooking Spray · 8 oz	$2.99	-	$2.99	-
6 whole-wheat hamburger buns	Kroger® 100% Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns · 8 ct / 14 ozSIZE UNREAD - 1 PKG ASSUMED	$1.99	6	$1.99	-
10 ounces kale, chopped	Kale Lettuce Bunch · 1 ctSIZE UNREAD - 1 PKG ASSUMED	$1.49	283 g	$1.49	-
2 teaspoons olive oil	Simple Truth Organic® Extra Virgin Olive Oil · 16.9 fl oz	$8.49	10 ml	$0.17	$8.32
1 cup organic 1% milk	Simple Truth Organic® 1% Lowfat Milk Half Gallon · 1/2 gal	$4.69	240 ml	$0.59	$4.10
1 cup frozen mixed berriesCHECK THIS	Private Selection® Frozen Triple Berry Medley · 16 oz	$4.99	150 g	$1.65	$3.34
1 handful spinach	Kroger® Tender Baby Spinach Bag Salad · 10 oz	$2.19	30 g	$0.23	$1.96

Where the money goes

olive oil drives this basket at $8.49, 21% of the total. The next biggest lines are frozen mixed berries ($4.99) and organic 1% milk ($4.69). $26.22 of the basket - 64% - is package remainder: food you buy because stores sell packages and recipes call for amounts. It does not vanish, it sits in your kitchen for the next meal.

What carries into next week

Simple Truth Organic® Extra Virgin Olive Oil · about 490 ml left, $8.32 of value
Simple Truth Organic® 1% Lowfat Milk Half Gallon · about 1653 ml left, $4.10 of value
Private Selection® Frozen Triple Berry Medley · about 304 g left, $3.34 of value
McCormick Ground Cumin · about 39 g left, $3.16 of value
Kroger® Tender Baby Spinach Bag Salad · about 253 g left, $1.96 of value
Kroger® Plain Bread Crumbs · about 305 g left, $1.43 of value

“First, I really want to be a nutritionist like my mommy when I grow up, and help others eat healthy,” says Jasmine. “I developed my black bean burger recipe for this challenge for a healthier and more affordable option than a regular hamburger. Black beans are so yummy and eating plant-based recipes more often is good for the earth, too. I included my kale recipe as I LOVE kale chips. I also included my favorite smoothie recipe with my secret ingredient—spinach.”

Ingredients

2 (15- ounce cans) low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 cup bread crumbs
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 pinch sea salt
1 pinch black pepper
Nonstick cooking spray
6 whole-wheat hamburger buns
10 ounces kale, chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup organic 1% milk
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1 handful spinach

Directions

This recipe is credited to a partner program (The 2015 Healthy Lunchtime Challenge Cookbook), so we don't reprint its directions - read them on the archived original.

The 2015 Healthy Lunchtime Challenge Cookbook. MyPlate took its recipe pages offline in 2026 - the original lives on at the Internet Archive. More on this: The protein math behind beans and rice.

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