Burgers on a healthy eating plan? You bet, if you make them with good quality ingredients like lean ground meat, onions, and spices. If you’re on the yellow phase you may be missing the bun, so you can tuck your burger into a small whole wheat or whole grain pita. For the orange and blue phase, wrap this burger in a large kale or collard leaf.
Ingredients Serves 4
½ medium onion, grated
1 pound extra-lean ground turkey or 95% or higher lean ground beef
2 tablespoons low-sodium tamari, soy sauce or 1 tablespoon Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Cooking spray
4 large kale or collards leaves
In a large bowl, mix onion, turkey, soy sauce, or liquid aminos, cinnamon, and black pepper. With clean, slightly damp hands form the meat mixture into 4-ounce patties-about 4 inches in diameter.
Place patties on a tray or plate. Coat a cast iron pan with cooking spray and place over medium-high heat. Add patties and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until juices run clear when pressed down with a spatula. Wrap in kale or collard leaves and serve immediately.
Tip: Make these at the beginning of the week for a fast, portable lunch. If you’ve run out of kale or collards, Bibb lettuce also makes a great wrap.
Nutritional Stats Per Serving
(Serving size: 1 4-oz burger with fixings)
574 calories, 113g protein, 3g sugars, 19g carbohydrates, 4g fat (2g saturated), 220mg cholesterol, 5g fiber, 1295mg sodium