Carbless & Gluten Free Turkey Burger

I definitely enjoy my carbs, but sometimes when eating healthy limiting carbs are a great way to lose weight. I can’t in any way shape or form eliminate foods I love to eat entirely. As I have said before everything in moderation. This burger not only tastes good, but is low in fat, calories and no carbs. Very figure friendly and you can enjoy your meal without the guilt 😀

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 pound ground turkey meat
• 1/4 cup baby spinach, washed and diced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 2 tbs green onion, washed and diced
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp powdered ranch mix
• 1 egg white
• 1 oz pepper jack cheese
• salt/pepper to taste
• Coconut oil for cooking

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix all ingredients together except cheese.
2. Divide mixture into 4 equal parts and create a ball.
3. Add a piece of pepper jack inside and form meat mixture around it creating a burger patty. Continue with the rest of the mixture.
4. Pan fry with 1 tsp coconut oil until cooked through. I served mine with 1/2 slice of pepper jack cheese on top and 2 slices of avocado. 

Calories for 1 burger + avocado = 105 calories and 5.5 grams of fat!

I store the other burgers in the freezer in an airtight container until ready to cook!

Week 3 Healthy Eating

Week 3 brought out the BEAST in me 😀

I think this was one of the best feeling weeks yet. I can tell a difference in how some clothes fit, heck I even found a pair of capri jeans that fit and I don’t think I ever wore them to begin with! My shin splints are near gone and I can pick up the pace when I walk and I can alternate some running in. I feel great!

One of my staple foods this week was this Carb-less Turkey Burger! I am all for carbs, but when counting calories, you have to be careful where you use them. So for this burger I chose to eat it without, and it was just as good 😀 Hidden inside is a small piece of pepper jack cheese waiting to be let out!

Carb-less Turkey Burger

• 1/2 pound ground turkey meat
• 1/4 cup baby spinach, washed and diced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 2 tbs green onion, washed and diced
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp powdered ranch mix
• 1 egg white
• 1 oz pepper jack cheese
• salt/pepper to taste
• Coconut oil for cooking

Mix all ingredients together except cheese. Divide mixture into 4 equal parts and create a ball. Add a piece of pepper jack inside and form meat mixture around it creating a burger patty. Continue with the rest of the mixture. Pan fry with 1 tsp coconut oil until cooked through. I served mine with 1/2 slice of pepper jack cheese on top and 2 slices of avocado. Calories for 1 burger + avocado = 105 calories and 5.5 grams of fat! I store the other burgers in the freezer in an airtight container until ready to cook!

For lunches I found a quick and easy soup. I don’t like store canned soup, but I broke down and tried a few and liked them. My favorite was the Creamy Tomato Basil by Progresso. High in fiber and only 100 calories per 8 oz. I just heat it up and add 1/4 cup of Trader Joe’s Brown Rice Medley and I have a full meal that fills up my belly! This soup has been a staple lunch all week!

Motivating music for the week:

Kelly Clarkson: Stronger

My workout regimen has changed from walking & running 1.8 miles to 2.5 miles twice a day. Some days I struggle to get it done, I have a 2 year old that I have to bring a long and pushing his weight (30 pounds) plus the car stroller (10 pounds) is hard. I think of it as resistance training! hahaha When my other kids get home I have them watch him so I can do my second run alone and it is so much better. But we can’t always have things nice and tidy like that so I do what I have to, to get my time in.

This week I was nervous to get on the scale, yes I knew I had lost weight because those pants I tried on fit, but I just lost 4 pounds last week and was unsure if I could loose more again. To my surprise…I lost 4 more pounds!!!! OMG! I stared at the scale, got off, and re-weighed myself! Yep, sure enough, 4 pounds! WOO-HOO! That brings my total to MINUS 10 pounds from this bod! I am super stoked. 

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Missed a week? 

• Week 1 Healthy Eating
• Week 2 Healthy Eating

You might also like these healthy recipes from Sweet Heat Chefs:

Mocha Cappuccino Banana Bread Bites

Coconut Strawberry Cake Cocktail

Zucchini Lasagna

Spicy Avocado Deviled Eggs

I found this idea from a friend, you can visit her page here. She had shared it on her Facebook page and I snagged it as soon as I saw it! If you don’t know I have decided to try to lose weight, and prepare for a 5K in 5 months, so I have been looking for alternative food options and low caloric fat content. Deviled eggs is so not on that list! Eggs in general are good for us, but when you add in mayonnaise (which I LOVE) it throws it back into oblivion.

Anyway, my kids all like deviled eggs too and they usually like the same old same old. I have tried making variations to no avail, they just want the “plain” way. So when I made this I didn’t even think of them, I was just thinking this would be lunch and snacks for the next 2 days. As soon as the kiddos came home they instantly saw them and wanted to try, I mean they are green right, cool color, to the yellow version. AND it is creeping up on St. Patrick’s Day, they think I am trying to be festive! I love it 😀 They all grab one and chow down…EVEN my, “I hate mayo kid”! “Hey Mikey, they liked it!” (remember that commercial?)

Needles to say my plan of snack and lunch for 2 days went down the drain at that point, but that is ok, a good fat & mayo free snack has now been added to our repertoire AND it is holiday friendly!

WIN WIN =  HAPPY MOMMA = HAPPY BLOGGING = HAPPY  YOU!

Click here for the original version. Read on for mine 😀

INGREDIENTS

• 6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut lengthwise
• 1 fully ripened avocado; peeled, pitted and diced
• 1 tablespoon of my Home Made Plain Greek Yogurt
• 1 teaspoon stone ground brown mustard
• 1.5 teaspoon Dijon mustard (recommend French’s Dijon with Chardonnay)
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 of a jalapeno; seeded, ribs removed, diced fine
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion ( I use the microplane)
• 1 small clove garlic, minced (I use the microplane)
• Garnish: Finely diced jalapeno & dash of hot sauce on top when ready to eat (recommend Tapatio Salsa Picante)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium sized bowl mash avocado and egg yolks until a creamy consistency.

2. Add yogurt, mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper, jalapeno, onion, & garlic; mix thoroughly.

3. Spoon or pipe back into egg white shells, dividing equally. Garnish with jalapeno and hot sauce before serving. Should last 2 days, crossing fingers!

If you like this recipe you might also like:

• Colorful Bacon and Chive Deviled Eggs
• Home Made Greek Yogurt

Bacon Guacamole…yes you heard right…BACON!

There is one thing my household loves more than avocado and that is bacon. That is why when I saw this recipe I instantly knew I HAD to make it, and soon.

This recipe is from my sweetest and most awesome friend Bernadette. Her fabulous blog is Rantz From My Crazy Kitchen. You can find many amazing recipes there including a page with 58 bacon recipes from breakfast all the way through to dessert, which means you can have a PORK PARTY all day! You can view Bernadette’s recipe for her outta this world guacamole here. Below is my version with just a slight modification.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 avocados
• 4 slices thick center cut bacon
• 1/4 cup purple onion, diced fine
• 3/4 tablespoon jalapeno, diced fine 
• 4 heirloom cherry tomatoes diced
• 1/2 lime juiced
• 1/2 lemon juiced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (small cloves or 1 big one)
• handful of freshly chopped cilantro
• dash of salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut up bacon in bite sized pieces and fry the bacon with the onions until crisp. (this is money right here, in the voice of Guy Fierre!) If you prefer less done/burnt onions, remove as you are cooking. I enjoy crispy bacon and crispy onion and they cooked together the entire process in a pan of marriage bliss! Drain everything on a paper towels when done.
2. In a small bowl mash the avocado
3. Next add; tomatoes, lemon juice, lime juice, garlic, cilantro and salt and pepper. Stir until well combined.
4. Stir in the bacon and onion, cover tightly with plastic wrap pressed right on top of the guacamole and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour. 

This recipe fed 3 of us, 2 boys and myself. We ate every last drop.

I TEENY TINY PIECE OF ADVICE ON THIS RECIPE…..The yield here is NOT enough, plan to quadruple it for your first try. That way you won’t be licking the container clean just to get a little bit more.

Taco Wreath

This recipe was inspired by Spice Gals version. Click here to see their version CHUCK full of yumminess!!

INGREDIENTS

1 roll Pillsbury crescent rolls ( 8 count)
1/2 lb ground beef, turkey or pork
2 tbs. olive oil
taco seasoning
1 cup cheese (I used shredded mozzarella and provolone)
1/4 cup queso fresco
parmesan cheese for dusting
1 egg for brushing tops with

DIRECTIONS

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium high heat and brown meat through.
3. Add taco seasoning and a little water and let evaporate
4. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with non stick cooking spray
5. Line up crescent rolls in a circle pattern creating a wreath, placing the wide end toward the middle. You will overlap the edges and press to connect them.
6. Add shredded cheese mixture across the wreath without a break for each roll, just keep it going in circle fashion
7. Next add meat in the same manner, also spreading meat up the crescent roll toward the thin end
8. Top with a little of the queso fresco.
9. Fold the narrow end of the crescent roll toward the center of the wreath until all are done. I connected them together, you can tuck them under each roll too.
10. Brush top with egg and dust with parmesan cheese
11. Bake for 15-18 minutes (mine took 18)
12. Remove from oven and immediately top with remaining queso fresco and let sit for 2-3 minutes.
13. Top with sour cream, hot sauce, sliced olives and avocado!

Related articles

• Taco Braid (sweetheatchefs.com)
• Taco Roll-Ups (spoonful.com)

Taco Braid

INGREDIENTS

1 loaf frozen bread dough, thawed
4 oz of Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup Salsa
1/2 lb ground turkey, with a Taco seasoning mix
1/2 can (15oz) of refried beans
1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
olive oil
sprinkle of Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Once dough is thawed, spray cutting board and hands with cooking spray and knead dough for a few seconds to form smooth ball.
2. Roll dough into a 15-in. x 12-in. rectangle. sprinkle a greased cookie sheet with the Parmesan cheese and place dough rectangle on the greased cookie sheet. It’s very important to place the dough on the cookie sheet before you fill it because once you fill it, it will be too heavy to move onto the cookie sheet. Mix salsa and cream cheese in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Spread the refried beans lengthwise down center third of rectangle leaving an edge for braiding.
4. Add turkey meat on top of the beans
5. Spread cream cheese mixture over the top of the turkey meat
6. Add cheese on top of turkey meat.
7. On each long side, cut 1 inch wide strips about 2-1/2-inches into center. Starting at one end, fold alternating strips at an angle across filling.
8. Pinch ends to seal and tuck under. Drizzle with olive oil. Let sit for 10 minutes.
9. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and let sit for about 5 minutes before cutting into.
11. Serve with sour cream, taco sauce, avocado, olives, limes, tomatoes or whatever you like on your tacos!

 

Roll dough into a rectangle. Before placing on cookie sheet I added some Parmesan cheese.

Spread the refried beans lengthwise down center third of rectangle leaving an edge for braiding.

Spread cream cheese mixture over the top of the turkey meat.

On each long side, cut 1 inch wide strips about 2-1/2-inches cutting toward the center. Starting at one end, fold alternating strips at an angle across the filling.

Kinda reminds me of a mummy! I think I will add olives and taco sauce to make a face for Halloween!!

Pinch ends to seal and tuck under. Drizzle with olive oil. Let sit for 10 minutes. Drink a beer since there is nothing better to do.

Remove from oven and let sit for about 5 minutes before cutting into.

Serve with sour cream, taco sauce, avocado, olives, limes, tomatoes or whatever you like on your tacos!