WIAW: I'm Back...with a Turkey Burger

Guess who's back?
Back again?
WIAW's back!
Tell a friend ;)

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Sorry, I had that Eminem song stuck in my head..and what is a more appropriate place to type rap songs than my very own food blog?!

Well, it's been a while since I posted on the ole blog, huh?  I wish I had a good reason for ya, but lack of motivation is really what is to blame.  In fact, almost every Tuesday since my last post, I will take pictures of my eats with the intention of posting them on WIAW, but then it comes time to do it and I'm like "meh."  I think it's because I haven't been making too many dishes that I feel are spectacular, ya know?  Just the same old same old.  Maybe that's not entirely true, but whatever.  I'm back and happy to share my eats with you once again!

Breakfast: Waffles

I've been loving frozen waffles lately!  These are multigrain waffles from Aldi topped with a smear of natural peanut butter, some banana slices and a smattering of sugar free syrup (<--seems like an oxymoron, no?).

Snack: Pineapple

Now, I rarely buy precut fruit at the store, but I just HAD to this week.  I needed to force myself to eat some fruit.  I've been buying the usual apples and oranges, but just had to throw away a few that were withering away in the fruit bowl.  I figure if it's already cut for me, I just might eat it.  I ate about half of this pineapple, then stashed it back in the work fridge for later.

Another Snack: Fiber One Bar

A little while later, my tummy was still hungry, so I noshed on a snack bar.

Lunch: Salad

After a very hottt walk with the dogs (heat index of about 97!) I put together some salads with chopped romaine lettuce, leftover grilled chicken, broccoli/cauliflower mixture and lite poppy seed dressing.  My guy and I noshed on some pita crackers with hummus, also.

Snack: Yogurt

Later in the afternoon, the hungry monster started stirring once again, so I enjoyed this yogurt.  I like the strawberry one better, but this one was alright.

Dinner: Turkey Burger with Veg

Dinner tonight was quick and easy, thanks to my lovely indoor grill (this one from Cuisinart, if you are interested).  I grilled up some zucchini while I partially cooked a big sweet potato in the microwave, then I sliced the sweet potato in wedges and grilled them, too.
For the turkey burgers I mixed together the following..

3 Cheese Turkey Burgers
serves 4

1 lb 93% lean ground turkey
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp grilling rub
salt, pepper & garlic powder once pattied

So, yeah, mixed it all together and grilled until done.  Can't get simpler than that ;)

I topped mine with avocado and went bunless!
~~~~~~~~~~

For dessert, I could not decide between these two ice creams...so I had a scoop of each in a cake cone.

Bizzy will never give up begging for ice cream!

Speaking of Bizzy, here's a few pics after our walk yesterday for your viewing pleasure.

Do you know that Shakira She-wolf song?  I was making the howly noise from that when she made the above face-lol (Ah-woooo!)

She is my little love!

Ok, hope you have a fantastic rest of the week!  Thanks for reading! :)

WIAW: Spinach Dip Buffalo Turkey Sliders

So, it's a holiday week and I'm lazy.  In lieu of our normal What I Ate Wednesday shenanigans, I bring you a proposed party food.  You can make it for a party of one or twenty.  That part is up to you.

People loooove spinach dip with sweet Hawaiian bread at a party, no?

Well, this slightly spicy turkey slider topped with creamy spinach dip on a Kings Hawaiian bun will knock your socks off.  You will be barefoot with taste buds that are completely satisfied.

And you know what?  So quick, easy and delicious.  My favorite combo for dinner :)

Do it.

I think turkey burgers get a bad rep for being dry.  This turkey burger is not, by the way.

Spinach Dip Buffalo Turkey Sliders
serves 4 (serving--2 sliders each)

For the sliders:
1 lb ground turkey (I used 85% lean, but up to 93% lean would work beautifully)
2 tbsp buffalo sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
grilling rub or spice blend (I used one similar to this)

For the spinach dip (recipe adapted from Skinny Taste):
1 10 oz package of frozen spinach, thawed and drained of excess moisture
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
3 tbsp reduced fat mayonnaise
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste

For assembly:
Kings Hawaiian sweet rolls (I used honey wheat)
lettuce leaves (optional)

Combine spinach dip ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Mix all your slider ingredients together, except the rub and divide into 8 equal balls.  Form little patties and sprinkle with rub.  Grill the burgers for about 3-4 minutes per side or until done.
Toast your buns.  I used a grill pan for my sliders, then wiped it down and used it for the buns, as well.
Assemble burgers with lettuce on the bottom, a slider and a large spoonful of spinach dip.

**You can also make full sized turkey burgers using the same ingredients.  You will just portion the lb of ground turkey into 4 or 5 patties and cook a little longer.  Kings Hawaiian also has full sized sandwich buns. 

Holy yum, this is amazing!

I served mine as a quick weeknight meal with my new favorite method of preparing sweet potatoes (alongside some microwave steamed broccoli).
To make grilled sweet potato wedges for 2, clean 2 small to medium sweet potatoes and poke a hole with a knife.  Put them in a Ziploc, but leave a little bit unsealed.  Microwave for 5-6 minutes.  Cut the potatoes lengthwise in half, then in half again to make 4 wedges per potato.  Spray with cooking oil, sprinkle with salt  & garlic powder and grill in grill pan until crispy on the outside.  So much quicker than oven fries!

Ok, I hope everyone has a super fantastic holiday week!  See ya on the flip side!

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WIAW: There's a Plan & Bruschetta Turkey Burger

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Have you ever had one of those pivotal moments of realization that you are exactly where you are supposed to be?

Well, I had one.

I try to keep it light and fun on the ole bliggity blog, but today, I just want to share something a little personal.

Is that okay?

Well, if it's not, I guess you can stop reading at any time.

It's super easy to just say you regret mistakes in your life.  Decisions you didn't think through.  Times when you didn't look inside your soul and ask if what was happening was right for you.  But I just can't.  Mistakes and poor decisions (with some good sprinkled in there, too) made me who I am today.

There's a plan and it's working itself out.

I was married and now I'm not.  After a yearlong divorce battle, it's finally over and done with.

Most of the time I just took things day by day and was really happy and content, but these last two weeks had me stressed to the max.

So I stopped exercising.  I stopped thinking about what is healthy for my body.  I just couldn't deal.

My weight is about the same, but I feel like crap physically.

Soooo, getting back to it like now!

Get ready for lots of health all up in this site, y'all.

Now, What I Ate Wednesday (and other blog posts, of course) will hopefully reflect a much freer, happier and super productive Renee.

I guess I'm sharing this to say that if you are going through something that seems endless, keep going.  Be true to yourself and all those cliches, because there's a plan.  For real.

Okeedoke.  Let's talk about food, shall we?

Breakfast, Part I: Vita Top

I ate this bran Vita Top before heading out to make my triumphant return to 5 a.m. boot camp.  Unfortunately a train stalled on the tracks.  I waited 20 minutes at that stupid train, then my mom and I headed to the park to do some walking.  Not exactly high impact, but better than nothin'.

 Breakfast, Part II: Eggs & Fruit

I hope the beauty of these berries makes up for my ugly attempt at an omelet ;)  Whatever.  This scramble (that's what we'll call it) contains diced ham, mushrooms, shredded cheddar an Egg Beaters.  Strawberries & blueberries on the side, along with some coffee.

A.M. Snack: Apple & Cheese

My mom told me yesterday that sometimes she is not hungry for a morning snack.  I cannot even fathom that, because by 10:30 I am ravenous.  I guess that's just me.  I'm either not hungry or starving.  There's no in between for this hungry monster ;)  So, I had a snack of a super shiny honeycrisp apple and a cheese wheel.

Lunch: Salad

For lunch today, I had some leftover chicken that I made on Monday, along with leftover broccoli and some almost gone avocado.  Kraft light Asian sesame dressing on top.
Then, some dessert.

P.M. Snack: Hummus & Carrots

Obviously I had more carrots than pictured.  Loving this white bean hummus!

Then I had some time with Jillian.

It's been a while, old friend.

Dinner: Bruschetta Turkey Burger, Sweet Potato & Veg

This meal was easy to throw together & super duper flavorful.  I roasted some sweet potatoes, zucchini and brussels sprouts for about 25-30 minutes in a 425 degree oven.  Then I pattied out some basic turkey burgers and cooked those in the pan.  For the bruschetta topping...

Bruschetta Burger Topping

1 large tomato, diced

1-2 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp grated parmesan

salt & pepper to taste

Mix all this together and let it sit for about 20 minutes, drain and serve.  Makes about a cup.

Yum!  So good.

Topped the evening off with some television and the teeniest ice cream sandwich I ever did see.  It's the So Delicious coconut milk mini ice cream sandwiches (90 cals, I think).

Gotsta have my sweets!

Have a great week, everyone!  Thanks for reading :)

WIAW: Spinach, Feta Turkey Burgers

Before I start What I Ate Wednesday, I gotta give a shout out to my little brother who turns 28 today!

Ole!

This was last year's birthday at the best Mexican restaurant in town.  He doesn't normally wear a sombrero.  My bro is definitely on my list of my top 5 favorite people.  He is super fun and awesome.  Definitely a great brother.

Happy Birthday, DJ!  I hope you have a great 28th birthday!

Ok, let's talk about food stuff now!

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Breakfast, Part 1: Rice Cake

This caramel rice cake with almond butter was consumed at 4:45 this morning (Tuesday) before a very challenging boot camp workout!

Breakfast, Part 2: Egg & Avo Sandwich

It was pretty cloudy today, so I guess my pictures are gonna be less than top notch.  Oh well.  For breakfast's main event, I had a toasted whole grain English muffin topped with half of a sliced avocado and a fried egg.  I smushed it all together to make a dippy egg sandwich delight.

I also had some Trop50 orange juice & the most delicious coffee!

Here it is, y'all.  Normally I would not spend $11.99 (seriously, Fresh Market, what are you thinking?) on coffee, but for peanut butter cups, all bets are off.

This coffee is super delicious!  The peanut butter flavor is very subtle, but it is decadent and totally worth the large price tag!  {weird coincidence: June 12th is National Peanut Butter Cookie Day!  I guess I celebrated with peanut butter coffee ;)}

Mid Morning Snack: Cottage Cheese Single

This is a Breakstone's 100 calorie Cottage Double, strawberry flavor.  It is a little snack pack of cottage cheese and some strawberry preserves.  I like to grab these at the store for on the go snacks.  My favorite is the pineapple (but they were out at the grocery store this week)!

Lunch: Wrap, Fishes & Cherries

Today's bento box lunch included: turkey, cucumber, spinach & hummus wrapped up in a high fiber tortilla, whole grain Goldfish crackers & the last of my fresh cherries.

Afternoon Snack: Almonds & Apple

I know you have seen this "sensible snack" a time or two from me ;)  It's a great afternoon pick me up!

Dinner: Spinach, Feta Turkey Burgers w/ Sweet Potato Fries & Veggies

I felt like I already had more carbs today than intended, so I just had half a wheat bun with my turkey burger.  I paired it with some Ore Ida sweet potato fries (ooh, more carbs) and some baby carrots.  Two orange sides ;)

I originally posted this recipe over at Endless Simmer (see original posting here), but I'm totally going to give it to you now.  No clicking necessary ;)

Spinach & Feta-Jalapeño Dip Turkey Burger

serves 4

1 lb ground turkey (I used 93% lean white meat)

half a batch of feta dip (recipe below)

3-4 handfuls baby spinach, roughly chopped

1/2 cup bread crumbs

2 tbsp egg substitute

Saute baby spinach in an oiled skillet until wilted. Combine half of feta dip, sauteed spinach, breadcrumbs, egg and ground turkey and form into 4 patties. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Cook over medium high heat on the grill or in a pan (about 4 minutes on each side).

If you are grilling these turkey burgers, oil the heck out of the grill grates with a folded paper towel dipped in oil and held with grilling tongs. These burgers tend to stick a bit.

Feta Dip

makes 1 cup

adapted from How Sweet It Is

1 brick of feta cheese (8 oz)

1 whole jalapeno pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic

the juice of 1/4 a lemon

the zest of 1/4 a lemon

salt & pepper

Mince garlic & jalapeno (after seeding) & saute it in a skillet with some olive oil.

In a bowl, crumble the feta brick, add all other ingredients and mash to combine.

Dessert: Crispy French Toast Roasted Strawberry Shortcake

I created this dessert recipe for my Endless Simmer post this week.  It's not up yet, so keep an eye out.  I taste tested this and ate about half.  It was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.  In other words, it rocked.  [Update: recipe posted here]

'K, have a great rest of the week, everyone!

Want more?  Check out some more What I Ate Wednesday posts:

WIAW #1

WIAW #2

WIAW #3

WIAW #4

WIAW #5

WIAW #6

WIAW #7 

WIAW #8 

WIAW #9 (last week's)

Parmesan, Pesto Turkey Burgers

Turkey burgers are often in our rotation of repeated dinners.  They are really flavorful without adding the heaviness of a beef burger (sorry, beef).

I made this variation that adds the punch of pesto and the richness of Parmesan.  A perfect way to beat dinner repetition boredom.

Parmesan, Pesto Turkey Burgers

serves 4

1 lb ground turkey (I used 93% lean--go leaner if you like)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 

1/4 cup bread crumbs (I used a mix of panko & Italian breadcrumbs)

1 egg

2 tsp (or more) jarred pesto

salt & pepper

Mix all these ingredients with your hands and form 4 patties.  Get a large skillet hot and add some non-stick spray.  Cook the burgers on one side until brown (about 5 minutes), then flip over and cook an additional 3-5 minutes.

Note: The t-burgers (I'm trying a new abbrev, here) will try to stick to the pan.  Just add more non-stick spray as you flip them.  No biggie.

I served our turkey burgers on thin bread with spinach and a side of veggie hash with quinoa.

Yum :)