recipe: TURKEY BURGERS

Turkey burgers are a great alternative to beef burgers, or even if you eat read meat they are a delicious and filling source of protein.  Most people add some type of bbq sauce or ketchup to their burgers.  But since those sauces are made from mainly salt, sugar and artificial ingredients I decided to make mine with a sauce substitute that is actually good for you!  Check it out...

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/4 lbs ground turkey (I prefer dark meat but light meat will work)
• 1/2 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 teaspoons of fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 small carrot
• 2 large medjool dates
• 1 slice sprouted grain toast
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place ground turkey in a large mixing bowl and put aside.

Chop onions, garlic and cilantro and lightly saute in a pan with some extra virgin olive oil.  Saute until onions are clear.  (This is a little trick my friend Candice taught me; it makes the onions and garlic tender which ultimately makes the final burger more tender.  Thanks Candice!).  Add the saute to the ground turkey.

Shred the carrots.  Remove skin from dates and pull apart into small pieces.  Place both in a bowl and blend with a hand blender.  (You can use a regular blender if you don't have a hand blender, but since this is a small amount of food it is easier to blend with a small hand blender.)  Blend as smooth as you can, it won't be perfectly smooth, and add to ground turkey.

Toast the bread until crisp.  Crumble the toast into fine bread crumbs.  Place crumbs in a separate bowl and add a bit of water let the crumbs absorb it.  I like to add 1 or 2 spoonfuls or until bread is lightly saturated.  Add crumbs to ground turkey.

Add egg, plus a dash of salt and pepper to the ground turkey and mix with your hands until everything is evenly distributed.  Patties should be about 1 handful each.  Grill and serve!

Makes 7 - 8 patties.

*If you're cooking for 1 you can eat these patties in creative ways all week.  I like to cut up a patty and add it to a salad for protein.  I also like to make turkey burger pitas; use a whole grain pita, sliced avocado and tomato and you've got a delicious lunch!

GTBB,
Bad Joan