Week 3| Turkey

I recently decided to cut out most of my meat consumption due to health issues. It has been so hard for me because I love to eat it! I do still occasionally eat hamburger meat because I get some of the best :) Anyway, I have started to substitute turkey in all my recipes that I usually make with hamburger because:

1. it has fewer calories

2. it is lower in fat

When you are purchasing ground turkey it is important to make sure you are getting lean ground turkey breasts. It is often about the same price as hamburger meat, and comes in the same sized portions. I'm sure you could try this recipe with ground chicken but I prefer turkey.

You will need:

1 lb ground turkey or pre-made ground turkey breast patties (which i use)

Salt

Pepper

Any other various seasonings that you choose. Because turkey burgers have less fat than regular burgers they can be drier and have less flavor. Make sure you season them WELL! I brushed mine with A1 sauce on both sides and they turned out great. 

There is also many ways to cook turkeys burgers just like regular beef burgers. You can grill them, pan cook them, or broil them. I have tried to pan cook them and wanted to do something different so I broiled them. 

What to Do:

Preheat oven to broiler setting

Make sure your oven rack is 4 inches from the broiler.

Once oven is preheated place turkey burgers on broiler pan brush facing side with A1 (if you choose) and broil for 7 minutes. Take out of oven, flip, brush with more sauce and return to oven for another 7 minutes. I chose to add baby swiss to mine that I cut into slices and placed on the burgers one minute before the cooking time was over. I then returned them to the oven to let the cheese melt for the last minute. 

Note: Turkey burgers won't necessarily brown like regular hamburgers so make sure to use a meat thermometer to check that they are 165 degrees internally before eating! 

Week 2| Pizza

I love pizza. ANY kind of pizza. Something about the cheese, sauce, pepperoni... I just love it. However, pizza does NOT love me. Or my skinny jeans. A small frozen pizza averages over 500 calories! For one small pizza. That is insane. So I decided to try out some new ways to make pizza and I found one I absolutely love.

What you need:

1 whole wheat fajita size FLOUR tortilla ( corn tortillas do NOT work right)

Low Fat Pizza Sauce

Low Fat Pizza Blend Cheese

5 slices Turkey Pepperoni

What To Do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place tortillas on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed very lightly with cooking spray.

Bake 3 minutes, flip, then bake 3 minutes more.

Take tortillas out of oven. I used about two tablespoons of sauce, and spread around tortilla. Sprinkle on cheese and place on pepperoni. Place in oven and bake for 6 minutes or until cheese is melted. 

Take out of oven, let cool slightly and enjoy!

These are about 240 calories and are deeelicious :)

Week 1| Kale Chips

OK so I'm still not very good at this blogging thing but I will get better. For the first week I decided to make over a snack that I'm sure everyone love: Potato Chips.  I love to eat them but a 1 oz serving (about 17 chips) usually averages about 160 calories. That is not so good. And at $3 for half an air filled bag, they aren't very wallet conscience either. I have heard about people making kale chips and raving about how good they were so I decided to make them for myself. For those of you that don't know what kale is, it is a leafy green vegetable. Some facts about kale:

- it is very versatile and is incredibly nutritious. It has low fat, no cholesterol, and contain health benefiting anti-oxidant properties.

-it is rich in vitamin A, vitamin K, and vitamin C

-it is also rich in many minerals, such as copper, calcium, iron, and manganese.

A single bunch (about 6 ribs) only cost me $0.98 so it is very affordable as well. The recipe was very basic:

Kale Chips

Ingredients:

1 head of kale, washed and dried thoroughly

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Sea salt (or seasoning of choice), for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 275  degrees.

Remove the ribs from the kale and cut into 1 inch pieces. Put in a large bowl and toss with oil. Transfer to a baking or cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt or other seasoning. A little sea salt goes a LONG way. 

Bake in oven for 20 minutes, or until crispy. I took mine out and turned the leaves at 10 minutes to keep one side from getting to crispy. 

I know they make not look pretty but you can't judge them until you try them. Now don't get the idea that these will literally taste like potato chips, because they don't. I think they taste so much better :) Enjoy!

The Beginning.

"Tell me what you eat and I will tell you

what you are." - Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

I have decided to use this blog as my journal into healthier eating, I have found myself relying to much on pre-packaged, unhealthy, heavily processed foods. In return my body is paying the price. I am hoping that changing my eating will be a gateway into a healthier life and I'm hoping this blog will keep me motivated. I am going to take some of my favorite recipes and make them better for me without sacrificing the flavors that I love so much. I am going to try to post a new recipe every week for the next year. Healthy eating can be simple. Any comments or recipes are always welcome!