I’m now resting after some planting in the veggie gardening this morning. This seemed like a good time to write about healthy eating and food preparation. Let me state emphatically…I am not an expert on anything! Every recipe I send out is one I have made, then re-made and tweaked some more to be as healthy as I can make it but I am NOT a nutrition expert….or any other kind of expert.
My Honey and I love food, I love to cook and we both love to eat…this can be a dangerous combination if you do not use wisdom and health advice when you can. Most of the year I cook food that my cardio guy would approve of; during the holiday season I make a huge batch of seafood gumbo, a family tradition, and tamales, another family tradition. I have switched from using butter in making the roux for the gumbo to veggie oil and I no longer use only lard for the masa in the tamales. Other than that, they are made traditionally as our holiday indulgence. I did make a batch of tamales using olive oil one year…don’t do that…..yuk! My gumbo has fish, shrimp, oysters, scallops, crab and anything else fresh I can get my hands on. I make a variety of tamales: chicken, pork, venison, been/cheese and only the occasional beef tamale. Quiche, hot and moist gingerbread with a dollop of real butter melting down the sides also make up some of the holiday favorites and regulars. They are the exceptions….healthy eating is the lifestyle we live.
Sometimes it requires a continuous effort to turn your eating habits around; it does not happen overnight for the majority of us….nor does it come easily. When my Honey ad I married I was aware our eating habits were very different; I chalked it up to a cultural difference. I grew up with a diabetic mom, veggies, fish and gardening. He grew up in the city in a Hispanic culture with pan dulce (sweet bread/pastry), barbacoa (shredded meat kind of like what you get on a chopped BBQ sandwich) and tacos, tacos, tacos! If WE can do it, anyone can! More on that another time.
Today’s recipe isn’t so much Food Tweaked a Bit as it is something I came up with to substitute a craving I was having one day. You know those days when your mouth decides it wants something and wants it now!!? I was struggling thru one of those days fighting the desire for a big ole’ fat juicy hamburger….it had to be fat and loaded. Choosing not to give in, mind over burger desire, if you will…I created the Happy Heart Burger. Here it is……
Happy Heart Burgers (for two adults or 4 kids) You may wanna double up for teens...LOL
1 lb of ground pork, chicken or turkey
4 Multi-grain English muffins
1 avocado – peeled & smashed with fork, salt & pepper to taste (no mayo, please!)
¼ small onion thinly sliced
Garlic clove finely diced
4 slices Muenster cheese
1 carrot cut in ½ across then into ¼ inch strips
Salt, pepper, turmeric, smoked paprika
Mix ground meat with garlic, salt, pepper, pinch of turmeric, little more of the paprika. Divide meat mixture into 4 equal parts making each patty muffin sized. Cook in hot skillet or grill covered with cooking oil spray.
Separate English Muffins; spread
Happy Heart Burgers have everything I insist on; the familiar feel of comfort food, the crunch of the toasted English muffin, the savory meat patty, the gooey melted cheese, the cool creaminess of the avocado, the sweet semi-caramelized onions, the hint of tartness & tongue tingling from the Dijon. It a good combination! Add the crunch of the carrot sticks and call it dinner! My Honey had two, I had one and the last one went to work with Honey the next day for lunch. Burger obsession satisfied, I walked away from the table with happy taste buds and a content (but not over filled) belly. Satisfying food can be healthy food....they are not mutually exclusive.
Let me know if you try them and how they work for you! Enjoy!
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