Rethinking The Burger

One thing I miss most about trying to live a healthier life is going to Howie's on the reg. If you don't love pepper jack cheese bites or the Baja Burger, we might have a problem.  

I started making turkey burgers as an alternative.  Because I only cook for myself, I normally only make single-serving meals.  When I get home from the grocery store (which is practically every other day), I try to pre-package all of my meats into baggies and freeze them to make it easier when I am going to cook.  I just put it in the fridge to thaw out the night before or morning of the day I am going to use it.  It has become so easy for me to make meals without the hassle of making a huge amount of food with leftovers I'll never finish before they spoil.  Also, I LOVE to cook, so it's fun for me to make new things every day and switch it up.  

Anyway, what I do is separate them into 4 oz. servings.  If you buy a pound of ground turkey, just cut it into 4 squares (math skills, thanks college).  Although turkey isn't as juicy as beef, it still does the job if you cook it right.  I actually don't remember the last time I bought beef.  I am not a huge fan of red meat to begin with, so it doesn't affect me too much. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that you don't have to sacrifice flavor for health. :) 

To all of you who don't know, I am currently living a gluten free (I know, this is so annoying), dairy free (WHAT?!), and no processed foods (DUH) lifestyle.  Although I am not perfect with it, it's where my boundaries are.  So, I omit cheese and a bun from this, but I promise it still has lots of the yumminess factor.  

Look at this beauty! 

*I scarfed this thing down in 1 minute before work the other day, because I was about to be late.  What's new? 

**I think I went to work with dressing on my face.

Turkey Burger

• 4 oz. Ground Turkey
• Garlic powder
• Lettuce
• Tomato (I think I used hothouse tomatoes?)
• 1/4 of an avocado, sliced
• Dijon mustard
• Handful of spinach

Directions:  I take the turkey and sprinkle it with garlic powder because I love garlic and put it in just about everything.  Roll it in a ball and then flatten it so it's about 1/3 of an inch all around.  I cook it in a pan sprayed with nonstick spray, at a medium-high heat for about 3 minutes on each side, or until it looks done.  I happened to have some lettuce on hand, because I made chicken lettuce wraps this week for the Super Bowl (I'll be posting that soon enough).  Otherwise, I just use spinach.  Then sliced tomato and avocado top that, along with some mustard.  

I had a little spinach salad with tomatoes and pepper on the side as well.