"Bikini Ready" Greek Feta Basil Turkey Burgers

The snow is melting and the sun is shining and that means one thing -- bikini season is around the corner! As is wedding season... 

I've worked hard this winter to stay in the gym, despite long hours at work and no sunlight! I hate going home in the dark, going to the gym in the dark, coming out in the dark. It's all so depressing! But Louis and I did a good job at motivating each other to go, and honestly, seeing the results has made it SO EASY to get there.  Biceps, triceps, shoulders, glutes.. I see changes everywhere! And the fact that I had to use a bobby pin today to cinch my pants is the biggest reward! 

I have to credit my recent "body win" to a few things.

First, is an app that I absolutely love, called My Macros + which has helped me keep on track. It calculates your macros for you based on body fat you want to lose!  The My Macros + app has a bar code scanner, recipe maker and has access to the macros of basically every food, restaurant and beverage out there! I love it! It also has a compatible app called My Workouts + which has been great for tracking my workouts and targeting certain body areas. 

Secondly, meal prep. People find meal prep tedious.. I love it! If you're planning on making chicken breast for dinner, why not make 5 servings of it for work too?  I've been throwing 7-8 breasts in the crock pot with spices and boom, at least 10 portions of 4oz protein ready to go! I mix that with a cup of veggies (fresh or frozen) and 1/2 cup brown rice or sweet potato and I have lunch for the whole week!  That with the addition of fresh fruit, a protein bar and yogurt has helped me achieve the results I am looking for. 

Third, and least favorite-- skipping alcohol and cutting back on sugar. Which means sweets.. Which is hard. OH so hard.. But I credit Arctic Zero for releasing new delicious flavors like sea salt caramel and mint choco chip.. Never did I think non-dairy icecream would be appealing.. But I find myself craving it! And knowing half the pint is NO fat and only 75 calories is so comforting. Mixed with a little FF whipped cream and it's a dream come true for dieters!

Lastly, the food scale has helped me a ton. I've always dabbled with it, and always use it when baking, but the My Macros + app makes you measure EVERYTHING, and since weighing out all of my foods I've seen a major difference in how my body feels, and reacts to exercise and clean eating in general. It is so easy to overeat, and you don't realize it until you really see what 4oz of chicken really is! (No, it's not the entire chicken breast!)

If you're sick of chicken like I was this week, give these delicious Greek-style turkey burgers a try! They are protein packed, low carb and full of flavor and nutrients! I eat them with brown rice and veggies and they make a scrumptious lunch!

Greek Turkey Burgers

Makes 8 - 3oz burgers 

160 Calories / burger with P:17.17/C:4.34/F:8.19

1.2 lb package Lean Ground Turkey 

2 Eggs

1/4 C Instant Oatmeal, dry 

1.5 oz Feta Cheese 

3 tbs Ground Flaxseed Meal (I use Bob's Red Mill)

1 Medium White Onion

Fresh Basil, as desired 

Spices, as desired (I used oregano, black pepper, garlic, red pepper)

Coconut oil, for frying

Combine these ingredients.  Add some coconut oil to your pan and get it hot, around 350 degrees.  Plop your burgers in and fry each side for about 5 minutes. Make sure they are cooked through, internal temp should be 165 degrees. Plate and serve! So easy!

I like this recipe not only for the protein, but you also get a healthy dose of Omega-3 fatty acids that your body needs from the egg and flaxseed meal! You can throw that stuff in anything -- breads, pancakes, waffles, protein shakes, and it will help hit your healthy fat macro for a serving! Also, don't skip the fresh basil!! It totally ties in all the flavors and is very necessary! 

I portioned my food for yesterday so I'd have some carbs/fat left for dinnertime in order to accommodate my french fry craving, and a hamburger bun :) The whole meal with the bun, fries, cup of vegetables was turkey burger was 419 calories, P: 23.8/C: 52/ F:12.9! For an entire dinner! 

The hour I spent yesterday meal prepping is rewarding come lunch time the next day :) YUM!

Beat that, McDonalds!!! 

What are you doing to stay on "bikini bod" target? 

-Elena

A Truly Healthy, Sweet and Satisfying Butternut Squash Bisque

Two weeks ago, Lou and I stopped by Panera for dinner before my fall basketball meeting.  The picture of the "Vegetarian Autumn Squash Soup" topped with pumpkin seeds over the register was so inviting, and it was cold that night so I was craving something that would warm my insides! I ordered it and shortly after, devoured it, sopping up all the leave behinds with a warm french roll. It was so delicious and extremely satisfying!

This week, I was craving it. It was chilly out every day, I was wearing plaid and pulled out my scarves and was just like "AHH IT IS FINALLY FALL!" and I wanted that friggen soup from Panera.  However, at something like $7 for 1 1/2 cups was crazy and Louis and I have a vacation coming up that we are putting money aside for so Panera just wasn't making the cut. So I started researching "butternut squash soups" and what I found was a wide variety of soups but so many were made with cream and cheese and butter and FAT! Not interested...

Then I though hmm.. Panera advertises that this soup is "vegetarian" and "healthy".. But is it?

One serving (appx 1 1/2 cups) of Panera's squash soup is 350 calories, with 18g of fat (7g of saturated fat) 1240 mg of sodium, 1g of protein and 31g of sugar! (sourced right from panera.com).

So I found a Paleo recipe, and tailored it to what I was looking for, and it basically came out to be the most delicious soup I have ever tasted. I was a little nervous about how it would taste.. Would it live up to the flavor I got at Panera?? 

Well, it did, and I recommend this to anyone looking for a warm dish with the flavors of fall but without all the fat and calories!  And if you have a crock pot, IT IS SO FRIGGEN EASY!

Here is the base recipe:

• 1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed.  You can use the precut stuff, just get two packages! You want 3lb (6 cups).
• 1 can of coconut milk 14oz
• 2 cups low sodium chicken stock
• 1 apple (any kind), peeled, cored and cubed
• 1 cup of carrots, chopped 
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg

This base will get you an amazing soup, but I decided to elevate it with these amazing options:

• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 6 oz crispy bacon 

Basically, chop everything up and put into your crock pot! 

Cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 5-6 hours (depends on how much time you have!).  You'll know when it is ready, it will be bubbling, the squash will be very tender and easily squished with a wooden spoon.  Every hour or so, I stirred everything around but I don't think that is totally necessary. 

Once you've determined your concoction is ready, open the lid of the crock pot and let it air out for about 10 minutes. You will be happy you did once you start blending! You don't want to burn yourself!

If you don't have an emulsion blender, let this mixture cool, then put into a blender and blend!!!
If you have an emulsion blender, have at it! I left a few chunks because Louis and I both like a little bit of texture. Yes it will look like baby food, but that's the point! It is a bisque! Not Campbell's chunky chicken noodle soup!  I actually sauteed chicken on the stovetop and chopped it up and put it on the bottom of each bowl and poured the soup on top. This added texture, and heightened the protein content which we both were looking for after working out hard a few hours earlier.

The macros for this soup are sooo much better than Panera's!!! 

 

Panera:  350 cal for 1.5 cups

Elena: 201 cal for 1.5 cups

Panera: 18g fat (7g saturated fat)

Elena: 6g fat (4g saturated fat)

Panera: 1240mg Sodium

Elena: 150mg Sodium

Panera: 1g Protein

Elena: 7g Protein

Panera: 31g Sugar

Elena: 9g Sugar 

(ALL NATURAL! from apples & squash)

 

So delicious! I added 1 strip of crispy bacon on top for garnish! Can we just revisit the thought that my macros INCLUDED BACON! Panera's did not, and they still lose!

I added some cinnamon on top too, because it is fall. And there is no limit on cinnamon.

My love thoroughly enjoyed his portion!

Yea.. GONE!

In short, Panera is no where near as healthy as it advertises.. And you can ALWAYS whip up something better for your body with just a little more effort! I threw this all together after yoga this morning, around 11am, and then forgot about it! That is the beauty of the crock pot.

So whip this up and let me know what you think! I promise you will not be disappointed, and to my friends who live far away and can't experience the actual season of fall (cough couch Nick and Marissa), make this and instantly feel transported back to the Northeast!

-Elena

A Polish Hash

Happy Monday! I am feeling rested and rejuvenated after a successful weekend of errands, cooking, and relaxing!  My boyfriend and I spent a lot of time this weekend in the grocery store and local ethnic markets picking out some foods for new recipes to enjoy while sipping wine and watching The Walking Dead, which we are totally addicted to!  I know I feature primarily sweets on my blog but I do cook often and wanted to share the meal I made this weekend.  

On Saturday afternoon we were perusing the shelves of Stop and Shop when I saw perogies and instantly got a craving.  Louis is Polish and absolutely loves Polish food – golumpkis, sauerkraut, kopusta... Up until I met him, I had never had polish food, not even a perogi.  It was all foreign to me, but I am not a big cabbage person, and that is a main ingredient in a lot of polish foods, but I did grow fond of Polish sausage and perogies!

So when I saw the perogies, my craving kicked in and Louis was totally on board.  However, we left S&S and he decided to take me to Belvedere’s, a local Polish market in East Windsor, CT.  I loved walking through the aisles and not being able to read anything—it reminded me of grocery shopping in Greece!!(which was the most INTERESTING experience of my life and warrants its own blog post someday!)  The juices and spices and soups..and the Polish sausage! It all looked so good, we couldn’t even choose. We ended up walking out with two packages of perogies (one 3-cheese and one with potato and bacon), half a stick of sausage, some sesame crackers, a loaf of fresh rye bread and a package of flavor filled chocolates that smelled so heavily of liquor after opening the bag, I had to put them away instantly.. although they were tasty! Just strong.. after biting into one, Louis laughed at me and said “it’s candy made by Polish people, obviously it has vodka in it!”… I should have known!

Anyways, I created a delicious dish with the perogies, sausage, onions, bacon and sweet potato. I don’t really have a recipe… I am all about cutting up ingredients and throwing them in together with spices… measuring just takes up too much time, and this dish wasn’t going to be healthy from the start so who cares! It was the perfect Saturday night meal we needed, filled with warmth and carbohydrate goodness!  Not every meal you eat needs to be healthy! You have to indulge! It’s all in moderation.

First I thawed the packages of perogies, and chopped the onions, bacon and sausage.  I cubed the a sweet potato and a Yukon potato and threw that into boiling water with some garlic salt for 15 minutes, until they were tender but not cooked all the way through just yet.  I drained and set aside. 

I got my skillet hot and added ¼ stick of salted butter and melted that down before throwing in the perogies.  I let them brown on each side for about 10 minutes, then removed from the skillet and put on a paper towel to rest and patted dry.  Of course, a healthier route would be to boil them, but traditional perogies are browned in a skillet with onions and bacon!   

I immediately added the bacon, onion and sausage to the skillet and let cook for about 15 minutes on medium heat, stirring frequently until onions and bacon was browned, and the sausage turned a darker pink. I added spices at this stage, such as cracked black pepper, garlic salt, a pinch of red pepper flake and some parsley.

I then added the potatoes, and let them brown while soaking up the flavors from the onions and sausage.  Once everything was browned and cooked to my liking, I threw the perogies back in the pan to heat them back up.  I topped it all with a thin layer of a three cheese blend, but any cheese works.  The salt of the cheese and sausage marries with the sweetness of the perogi dough and sweet potato, and the combination is amazing!

I served the dish with a side of rye bread, and mhmm it was yummy!

  It is definitely heavy on your stomach… You could lighten it up by adding veggies like sauerkraut or asparagus, or use less perogis, but it is rare to eat this food so I say if you’re going to make it, really go for it!  It will definitely hold my craving over for a while! 

We hope to travel to Poland in the next few years and really try an authentic Polish spread!

-Elena