Quick, easy, cheap turkey burgers!

I didn’t try ground turkey until recently. I always thought it sounded weird, and honestly a little bit sad: I love beef, especially good quality grass-fed beef. The grass-fed flavor can’t be beat. But I decided that for the sake of my caloric intake that I would try ground turkey, and I was pleasantly surprised. The first thing I ever made with it is still one of my favorites: turkey burgers. It’s super cheap, you can make a bunch at a time, and they’re incredible versatile. You can use them to replace beef patties (duh), crumble them for taco meat, or eat them plain, as the protein part of a meal. I usually do the latter and just eat the burgers with a little bit of Stubb’s BBQ sauce, no bun, served with a side of veggies and wild rice/quinoa pilaf.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb 99% fat free ground turkey (I had to use 93% since that’s all Costco had, and I definitely like the 99% better)
• 1 shallot
• seasoning salt of choice, my favorite is Johnny’s
• coconut oil for the pan

1. Take ground turkey out of your refrigerator and set on counter. The warmer the turkey is, the less it will freeze your hands when you shape the patties later.

2. Peel your shallot, and dice it.

3. Put the turkey and shallot into a mixing bowl.

4. Shake a bit of seasoning salt into the bowl. I would rather go the route of under-seasoned than over-seasoned, because you can simply add more seasoning salt to the finished product.

 

5. Mix with either your hands or a spoon until the shallots and seasoning are well combined.

6. Roll mixture into balls, making them as even as you can. You can make as many as 10 patties, or as few as 3, depending on how big you want them to be. I roll them into balls first to better gauge the size. Once the balls are formed, press into patties.

I made about 9 or 10, but didn’t get a chance to take a picture until some of them were already in the pan.

7. Heat pan over medium heat, and add oil. Place your patties evenly around the pan with at least an inch between them, to allow room for flipping.

8. When just over half of the patty is cooked, and flip them (about 4-5 minutes). Cook until pink is no longer visible on the outside.*This is just how I cook mine, I don’t check the temperature because I’m lame. If you are concerned about them being completely done, cook them until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.*

9. Remove finished patties from pan and set on a plate. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes to finish cooking/allow the juices to settle before serving.

And there you have it! The shallots add a great flavor and a small amount of difference in texture, while the seasoning salt rounds everything out. Enjoy!

 

-L

 

Healthy Food Substitutions

Oof. It’s been a long time since I’ve posted, I’ve been slacking. Well, not entirely slacking, just in this category. I’ve been trying to improve my social life, go to the gym more often, and cook at home even more. Which basically equals me being way too exhausted to make coherent blog posts. But I’m trying to incorporate posting into the whole improvement thing! Anyways, onto the post!

There are some things that are just really difficult to give up entirely when you’re trying to eat healthier. For some people it’s peanut butter, for others pasta; you can struggle with giving up any type of food. So I thought I’d make a big ol’ list of foods like these that have healthier alternatives.  It’s always nice knowing you can get the satisfaction of the food you want, with the relief of a food that is way better for you.

PB2

PB2 is awesome. It’s a powder that you mix with water to make peanut butter. The only difference (other than the rehydration) between this and regular peanut butter is that the peanuts are pressed to remove the oil/fat, so it has WAY fewer calories than regular peanut butter. It tastes a little different – it’s less smooth and a bit less satisfying, but two tablespoons only has 45 calories.  Two tablespoon of regular peanut butter has about 190. My solution to the taste issue? Don’t eat it on its own. At the very least, dip celery or apples into it. You could also mix it into your oatmeal, blend it into a smoothie, or make a dip with some Greek yogurt, PB2 and sweetener (more on that further down).

Greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt, sour cream, and mayo

I’m sure mos tpeople have tried Greek yogurt at this point. It has more protein and (typically) less sugar than standard American yogurt. And it’s delicious! But it has more uses than you’ve probably realized. You can use plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt as a replacement for sour cream or mayo. The consistency and taste are similar for both. If you really want to go all-out in your efforts, try skyr, a yogurt-like Icelandic dairy product. The brand siggi’s, which I’ve used before, has 17 grams of protein per cup. Way more than most Greek yogurt out there.

As for Greek yogurt on its own, I’m a fan of Liberté, Oikos, Greek Gods, and certain flavors of Zoi. I’ve heard good things about Fage, but have yet to try it. I’ve noticed that Chobani is really popular, but it just tastes too sour for me, and the smell is a bit too reminiscent of vomit

Stevia

My preferred brand!

Oh god, I am so in love with stevia. I have finally found a no-calorie sweetener that doesn’t upset my stomach (no artificial sweeteners for me, ever). It tastes more like an artificial sweetener than it does sugar, but I don’t mind the taste. If you buy stevia, make sure to check the ingredients list on the product you buy, as some products list sugar as their first ingredient (sugar, really!?). My favorite is the bulk brand that I get at my local Town & Country Market – it has the least bitter aftertaste, which is a common complaint about stevia.

Since it’s a relatively new product, not a whole lot of studies have been conducted (relatively speaking, of course). Taking a look at this Wikipedia page suggests that there are very few, if any negative side effects. Most studies have found none, but because no one can say with absolute certainty that it’s 100% safe, I try not to consume it too regularly.

Zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash

Here’s a link to Nom Nom Paleo’s Zoodles and Meatballs recipe.

Oh. My. God. Zucchini noodles are just amazing. You get the nutrients and low calories of a vegetable, but the same pasta feel. I use a julienne peeler and saute them in a little bit of olive oil until they are tender, but still slightly crunchy. I’ve used them as a replacement for spaghetti (spaghetti and tomato/meat sauce), and as the “noodles” in chicken noodle soup (I’ve got the recipe all typed up, I just need to make it again and take pictures along the way!).

I haven’t personally tried spaghetti squash, but I’ve heard great things about it. It also works as a pasta replacement (hence the name), but I’ve also seen it used in a macaroni and cheese recipe. You can just microwave it for several minutes and pull out the flesh using a fork – from there it resembles a spaghetti texture.

Ground turkey instead of ground beef/pork

I recently started using ground turkey in place of ground beef and ground pork. It’s much lower in calories and fats (nothing wrong with fat, but there is such a thing as too much, and it’s high in calories), and if it’s in the right dish, there’s little difference. My personal favorite is making turkey burgers instead of regular burgers. It’s great, because if you just put the right seasonings in it, you won’t even notice.

Avocado instead of mayo

A recipe for “The Queen’s Chicken Salad”, a Venezuelan dish!

Avocado makes a great substitute for mayo, particularly in chicken salad. It has way more nutrients, and the fats in an avocado are much better for you than the store-bought mayo fats. It’s still pretty high in calories, but luckily it can go a long way.

Mashed cauliflower/parsnips

Here’s a lovely picture of/recipe for mashed cauliflower with cheese and dill (but for the love of all that is holy, don’t use margarine. Bad fats, remember?).

Potatoes aren’t particularly nutritious. Tons of simple carbohydrates – which means if you’re keeping track of your macros, one potato will be almost all your carbs for the day – and high in calories. Try making your mashed potatoes with steamed cauliflower or roasted parsnips instead – more nutrients, and fewer calories and carbohydrates.

Soda water instead of tonic water or soda

For the most part, I’ve stopped drinking soda entirely. The only time I have it now is when I’m at a party, a bar, or at a family function. I used to be so jealous of my cousin when we were younger because they would have soda at their house, and my parents would never buy it. I had always wished we’d had something other than milk or water at our house, but now I’m so glad they didn’t buy sugary drinks when I was little.

Sometimes you just want some carbonation, or a flavored drink, but you don’t want to drink your body weight in empty calories.  My solution is to drink flavored soda water. Not the kind that has aspartame or sucralose in it, because I don’t think it’s necessary, and because I just can’t drink them. Some of my favorite flavors right now are the Talking Rain Peach Nectarine and Cascade Raspberry Lemon. I also love the Hint flavored water. It isn’t sparkling, but the flavor is really intense and delicious. [Edit: they do have carbonated flavors! They’re harder to find, but they are wonderful.] I’ve tried watermelon, blackberry, and mango grapefruit and they’ve all been incredible. It’s been somewhat harder to find, so when I do find some, I buy like 10 bottles at a time.

Protein powder recipes to replace sweets

Protein Pumpkin Brownies from Derek Howes Fitness. Instructional video, recipe and nutrition breakdown via the picture. [122 CAL, 9.5G PROTEIN]

Something I’ve recently found is protein powder dessert recipes. The idea is that you can still have your sweets, but with much healthier, nutrient-richer recipes! I’ve seen brownies, cakes (including tiramisu), protein fluff, peanut butter cup sludge (no really, it actually tastes great), souffle and icing, just to name a few. My only warning is that you’ll want to take a look at the nutritional breakdowns, as some of them can be high in calories to help the people who are bulking.  Here’s some resources for recipes:

• Derek Howes Fitness – DHFTNS
• Protein POW
• Muffin Topless
• Here’s my Pinterest board for protein recipes I’ve found that don’t sound too hard, have relatively low calories/high protein, and use ingredients that I either have or can buy easily

As I find new healthy substitutions, I’ll add more to the list. Hopefully these can get you the fixes you want without compromising your diet plan!

Healthy eating on a budget

Most overweight or unhealthy people can come up with a reason for why they can’t better their health. “I don’t have enough time.” “I don’t like vegetables.” “It’s too hard.” With the economic recession, one of the biggest excuses is “It’s too expensive to eat well.” And now for the big news:

Eating healthy on a budget is doable.

It may take more time and effort, but eating good, healthy food (and food that isn’t boring, at that) is not hard even if you have a tight budget. In this post, I’m going to give you some guidelines to help you get the best bang for your buck, and the best food for your body. So let’s get started!

Cut the Junk

If you haven’t yet, you need to cut back on the amount of sugars and refined carbohydrates you eat. That means fewer cookies, candy, chips, bread, fried foods, and crackers. Soda should be eliminated entirely. If you’ve got a tight budget, you need to make sure the food you are buying is nourishing your body. It’s better to spend $5 on a couple crowns of broccoli than $3 on a bag of chips.

Limit How Often You Go Out to Eat

Restaurant food can be very expensive. Sure, there are some places that provide great food at a low price, but you can stretch one night’s cooking into 3 or 4 meals depending on what you make. Last night I made sautéed chicken breast with wild rice/quinoa veggie pilaf and green beans, and it fed me and my boyfriend, gave me today’s lunch, and extra chicken and pilaf.

Fast food may be cheap and quick, but you’ll pay for it in the long run with your health. It’s fine for the occasional, and I really do mean occasional, meal, but it’s full of additives, bad fats, unnecessary calories and non-nutritous food. As for typical restaurant food, you ultimately have very little control over what goes into your body when you eat out. You might not know how your chicken breast was prepared, or how many calories are packed into that quarter cup of salad dressing. When you do eat out, take measures that will cut back on calories (grilled meat over fried, balsamic dressings instead of creamy ones, etc).

Planning ahead

Planning ahead is the most important thing you can do to eat healthier. With weekly meal plans, you will seldom end up having to scrounge around in the freezer for those burritos you bought four months ago, or resorting to McDonald’s out of convenience.

If you’re going to a grocery store, see if you can find a weekly ad either in your paper or on their website, and plan meals for the week around what is on sale. Right now, Draper Valley chicken breasts are buy one get one free – I could get one for this week, and freeze one for later use, or use them both this week. I tend to adjust the food I eat to what is cheap that week – when broccoli is on sale, I’ll buy a few crowns and roast it, or use it in stir-fry.

Plan out your meals so that they incorporate these discounted items, and stock up on non-perishables that are on sale, if you can afford it. I love flavored, unsweetened sparkling water, so when they’re on sale at 50% off I’ll get a couple and store them in my garage. It only saves me about $.50 per bottle, but it’s better than nothing.

If you’re able to, spend a couple hours one day of the week prepping and cooking food for the rest of the week. You don’t have to cook every meal ahead of time, but if you can get some of the prep work out of the way, and even some of the cooking, it can give you more free time during the week. I stayed with some family friends for a few days in Ireland in 2011, and since the mother and father both worked, and the kids had school and after-school activities every day, they would cook all the dinners for the week on Sunday. The food that would be eaten Monday-Wednesday would stay in the fridge, and the Thursday and Friday meals went in the freezer. If you can figure out a way to incorporate at least a little bit of food preparation for the week, and it will make your week go smoother, and you’ll be less likely to resort to something unhealthy but convenient.

Whenever you go grocery shopping, you should always have a list. Try as hard as you can to stick to your list, and don’t give in to impulse buys.

Stick to the Perimeter of the Store

When you go grocery shopping, stay primarily on the perimeter of the store. It’s where you’ll find fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, eggs and dairy. The inner part of the store is where you’ll find junk food, condiments, and basically all the sugar and empty calories. There are only a few things you should get from the inside of the store – oils for cooking (but never vegetable oils), spices, dried herbs, tea, coffee, healthy bulk foods like nuts, canned/frozen fruits/vegetables (these are fine as long as there’s very few additives – they are frozen/canned at peak ripeness and nutritional value). Okay, so that’s more than a few. But all of those things together probably won’t make up the majority of your diet.

Eating in Season

One factor that you might not have considered is buying produce in season, especially locally. Doing this can drive your food bill down a lot, since the foods that are in season are going to be less expensive because the grocery store  has an abundance of food that they don’t need to reach out 5 states away for it.

Your location will determine what’s in season. In Seattle right now, asparagus, rhubarb, and lots of greens are in season. Up here, avocados aren’t cheap until the summer, and a few months ago you could buy tons of kale for five bucks. Keep in mind though that different fruits and veggies will be in season in different regions, so find an online resource that tells you what’s in season in your area.

Farmers Markets

I love farmers markets. I think it’s because I went to the market with my family when I was young and lived in France. They’re full of beautiful food grown and made by people who actually care about food quality. Farmer’s markets are a fantastic way to get produce that is local, (usually) organic, and tastes better. It is also one of the easiest ways to eat food that’s in season. If you’ve never been to a farmers market, keep in mind that a lot of the food there will look very different from its grocery store counterpart. Apples won’t be as pretty, potatoes will be dirtier, radishes will be smaller, and everything will come in more colors (hello purple carrots!).  Big farms grow food to last as long as possible, and look as traditionally pretty as possible, but it’s usually at the cost of taste. Your pears from the market will most likely taste better than the ones from the grocery store. Buying food from the market is also cheaper.*

Another benefit from markets is the community. You’re supporting local farmers, and get a chance to build a relationship with the people who grow your food. Sometimes you can even get better deals by establishing rapport with the people working the stands, but don’t try to low-ball them for their awesome products – they’ve put in a lot of hard work.

*In Seattle, the farmers markets are more expensive than buying from grocery stores. I looked it up to find out why this is the case, and it seems like it’s a combination of very little illegal labor being used, and high real estate prices. The best alternative I’ve found is an awesome place called Top Banana, where their produce is super cheap ($.069 for a red bell pepper instead of $2.00), there’s tons of it, it’s all really good quality, and more local than a grocery store.

Buy the Right Things in Bulk

When I say buy in bulk, I don’t mean go to Costco or Sam’s Club and get all the flour you could hope to use in your lifetime, and 40 pounds of coffee that’ll go stale before you get through the first pound. But if you love chicken breast, then buy a big Costco pack! Keep one or two portions in the fridge, and put the rest in the freezer with the date purchased marked on them. Here’s a list of things that work well in bulk, and how to use them properly:

• Raw meats – chicken breast/thighs, pork shoulder, ground beef/turkey/pork etc.  Put what you’ll use that week in the fridge, and store the rest in the freezer. For ground meats, you can portion them into specific sizes, like quarter-or half-pounds, and store them in separate containers.  
• Fruits and vegetables – only buy what you can use. If you’ll eat two pounds of broccoli before it goes bad, then go for it! If you have a hobby like canning, you can make jams, jellies, pickles, fruit butters and conserves with what you have leftover.
• Oils – if you buy olive oil, funnel it into a smaller, easier to use bottle, since their jug is about a gallon. You can now get coconut oil at Costco too, but make sure you can use it before it goes rancid (not sure how long this is, but heat may be a factor).
• Dried goods, like beans and brown rice or quinoa.
• Canned goods – look for low sodium and minimal additive options.
• Packaged frozen foods – one of my favorite new finds is the frozen mackerel that Costco carries. They come in a big bag of individually sealed half-fish portions, and they’re a breeze to make. I bake them when I have a side, but no protein for dinner. Other things you can get include frozen chicken breast, sausage patties/breakfast sausages, etc.

Grow your own food!

A great way to save money on seasonal food is to grow it yourself. You should take a look at what grows well in your region this time of year. Don’t forget to check for herbs – whenever I buy a bunch of parsley or cilantro from the store, I can never use all of it. So having a plant you can just pick what you need from can help reduce food waste as well as save you some money. I prefer plants that don’t just give you one harvest – think pepper and tomato plants, pea vines, and berry bushes/fruit trees. However you can plant every week or so over the planting period, so you can have a harvest once a week, as opposed to more food than you can eat, all at once.

You should also look into the produce that tends to be pricier in your area. Red, yellow, and orange bell peppers tend to be on the pricier side, so those would be a good choice for me in the Seattle area.

Recipe Resources

• Poor Girl Eats Well – an awesome blog with lots of cheap meals, which have per recipe/ serving/ingredient cost breakdowns.
• Budget Bytes – similar setup to PGEW, but different recipes from a different lady!
• reddit.com/r/fitmeals – a great resource for healthy meals. Users post blog recipes or their own creations, and you can search by using various tags, such as “low cal”, “high protein”, and “cheap.” They sometimes have tips on there as well.

Eating healthy on a budget isn’t impossible. It may be harder, since you need to plan things out ahead of time and cook at home, but it is doable. Taking just an hour or two out of your week to shop, prep, and cook can spare you from making poor last-minute food choices.

Eating to Lose Weight Pt. 1 – Diet Myths

*I am not a trained nutritionist, dietician, or physician of any sorts. Before you make any big lifestyle changes, you may want to first speak with your doctor.*

Let’s talk about diet, and focus on weight loss. When I refer to your diet, I’m talking about the way you eat, as a lifestyle, a habit, and a long-term thing. I don’t mean going on a diet. I have no interest in quick fixes like the Beyonce diet, the cabbage soup diet, or any of that short-term, I-want-results-now fads that only reduces your water weight (yes, you weigh less because there is less water in your body, not because you’ve lost fat). It’s not sustainable, it doesn’t work, and no one wants to live like that.

Another important clarification – weight loss is affected by your diet more than it is by how much you exercise. To put things in perspective: in order to burn off the calories in one single M&M, you need to walk the length of a football field. It is damn near impossible to out-exercise a bad diet. However, a combination of proper diet and exercise will be extremely beneficial to your weight-loss goals.

But even if you talk about diet as a long-term lifestyle change, there’s tons of differing opinions about what’s the best. There’s people telling you to eat 6 small meals a day, or avoid all carbs, or don’t eat after 8pm. In one way or another, most of this advice and these diets are myth-based, so let’s start out by squashing some of them.

Myth # 1: Fat makes you fat/unhealthy

This kills me. Even just typing it is painful. First off, there are fats that are good for you, and fats that are bad for you. The good ones are monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, and saturated fat*. Think fish, meats, nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil, coconut oil, sesame oil. The bad one is trans fat – fried foods, margarine, shortening, and candy bars. Fat is an essential part of your diet – it carries fat-soluble nutrient, forms cell membrane walls, is a vital source of energy, and helps keep you full.

Now, what will make you gain weight is calories, not fat. High-fat foods may be higher in calories, but it is not the fat content that will cause you to put on pounds. Also, foods that are advertised as reduced fat or fat-free are typically less healthy than their fuller fat version – companies add in sugar and other additives in order to make the product taste more like “the real thing,” and you’re ultimately getting a product that isn’t better for you, and tastes worse. As an example: if you want sour cream on your taco salad, use regular sour cream, but measure it out. Or use Greek yogurt instead – it’ll give you more protein.

*There’s debate on whether saturated fat is good or bad for you. From what I’ve read, it is generally good for you, and the politics of food has played a big part in the demonization of saturated fat. I will try to find studies that support this, and if I’m unable to, I may alter my stance. I would also like to add that oils such as vegetable oil, canola oil, and corn oil are not as good for you as olive oil and coconut oil – I will expand on this when I find the supporting studies.

Myth # 2: You must eat small, frequent meals to keep your metabolism up

If this were true, the people who do intermittent fasting, or IF, would never lose weight. With IF, you have a set window where your can eat your daily calories, with fewer calories on rest days and more on workout days. Some have as few as 4-5 hours where they can eat, others have 8, and everything in between. Some of people eat two huge meals, and others are able to fit in three slightly smaller meals. Either way, they simply don’t have enough time to fit in 6 small meals, and despite this, tons of people have had great weight loss results with IF.

Food frequency has little effect on your metabolism – muscle will be a greater factor in your metabolism, which I will address in a future post.

Myth #3: Going on a quick diet will help you lose weight

Okay, technically it can help you lose weight. But it’s all water. You may have dropped 5 pounds over the last 3 days, and shrunk a bit after drinking that cayenne pepper, lemon juice, maple syrup water, but that is all water weight and it will be gained back within a few days of stopping.

Myth # 4: You need to drastically cut calories if you want to lose weight

If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight. The higher your net burn, the more weight you will lose. It is typically not a good idea to eat fewer than 1,200 calories, as your body does still need the energy to function properly, especially if you’re active. However 1,200 calories is a baseline “don’t go below this,” not a hard set number. If you’re around 5 feet tall, that may be a very good daily calorie allotment to allow you to lose weight.

Myth # 5: Starvation mode

Starvation mode: where your metabolic rate declines during caloric restriction or weight loss so drastically that further weight loss becomes impossible or you begin to gain weight. I’ve seen many accounts of people worrying about their body going into starvation mode, and because of this they are afraid to cut calories from their diets.

Now, starvation mode does happen, but it happens when you’re literally starving. Not when you say “oh, it’s 2pm and I haven’t eaten all day!”, or “I’ve been eating way less than usual the past three days!”. Here’s what the reddit.com/r/fitness FAQ (a great fitness forum and community) has to say about starvation mode:

Starvation mode is a myth that was popularized due to the Minnesota Starvation Experiment in which subjects were given 50% of their daily calorie intake for months. The result? Well, they lost weight until they had almost no weight left to lose and their bodies simply could not get the calories ANYWHERE. Concisely put: starvation mode happens when you are, quite literally, wasting away. Not when you have a simple caloric deficit. Your body will make up for it with fat stores. That’s what they’re for. Do not worry about starvation mode.

Myth #6: the food pyramid 

You know the one. This sucker up there^^ that we learned in grade school. It has no basis in science or nutrition, but in what companies were paying the government the most money at the time (hello, wheat!). You should not be eating more bread, pasta and rice than you are vegetables and fruits. These foods are nutrient-sparse, and serve as calorie-filled vehicles for better food. The only food that I think you should try to get x number of servings of is vegetables – shoot for 5-8 servings daily. Everything else should be gram and macronutrient-based: x grams of protein a day, y grams of fats, and z grams of carbohydrates.

Myth # 7: Fruits

I wasn’t entirely sure how to word that title. But there seems to be a misconception, especially in the female community that fruits are some end-all to weight loss. I’ve seen titles from “What’s more healthy than a big bowl of fruit?”, to “MIRACLE FRUIT”. If there is any “miracle food,” it would be vegetables – the majority of them are low-calorie and filling, and incredibly nutrient-dense. Fruits tend to have fewer nutrients than vegetables, more calories, and are much higher in sugar. But don’t get me wrong, fruit can be wonderful. A couple of cold slices of watermelon on a hot day are amazing, and eating a peach or apple instead of ice cream for dessert is always going to be a better choice.

Myth # 8: This food/drink will make you burn fat!

A calorie deficit will burn fat, not any specific food or drink. Foods and drinks cannot burn fat. Some stimulants, such as coffee, will give you an insignificant and temporary increase in metabolism, but there’s no fat burn unless you burn more calories than you consume.

 

I am sure that this list will grow over time, as I remember more and more myths that people consider to be fact. I will also add sources as I find them to support these claims.