Thrown Together But Scrumptious 

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With my busy routine of eating six meals each day, getting to the gym, going to work, attending our son’s sporting activities, cooking, grocery shopping and more, I rarely cook daily meals.  Sunday is my meal prep day and also the day I cook for the week for my family.

Rarely do I have the luxury to cook in the middle of the week.

Yesterday I was craving a burger so bad, that I contemplated eating a beef burger!  Yowza!  That is insane for me.  December 1994 or 1996 (I forget) was when I gave up red meat.  I haven’t had a steak or hamburger since.

My craving led me to the grocery store.  I bought salmon and ground turkey.   Last night I cooked the salmon.

 

Slamon, Kale/collard mix, baked sweet potato

 
Tho I desperately craved biting into a thick and juicy turkey burger, last night I was too tired to season and make the ground turkey. 

Today I still craved the burger. 🙂 Lol!

Before you ask, I am listing the ingredients.  I did not measure.  Sorry. 😦

  • 3 lbs of ground turkey
  • 3 eggs
  • Olive oil
  • Spicy Brown Mustard (approximately 1/4 cup)
  • Minced elephant garlic – 1/2 of a large clove
  • 1 sweet red pepper
  • 1 orange bell pepper
  • Granulated garlic powder
  • Black pepper
  • Sweet Spanish Papirika ( a dash)
  • Lowry’s Season Salt (a dash)
  • McCormick Grillmates Brown Sugar Bourbon (PLENTY)
  • Kikkoman Panko Japanese Style Bread Crumbs (at least 1 cup but not 2
  • *I usually mix a small can of tomatoe sauce with 1 Tbs. of mustard, 1 Tbs. of brown sugar and 1 Tbs. of lemon juice together.  I add half to the uncooked turkey meat and then spoon the remaining over the top of each burger, but I was in a hurry so I skipped this.  This mixture keeps the turkey nice and moist)

I thoroughly mixed everything together and used my old plastic Tupperware burger thingies to make perfectly thick shaped burgers. 

Plastic tupperware burger makers

 

I used a foiled covered cooking sheet and sprayed with olive oil.

Depending on your oven, you may need to cook them longer or shorter.  I broiled the burgers on low for 30 minutes, flipped them and let them cook for another 15 min.  

The mixture made 11 burgers; six in one pan, five in the other. 

 

I was chomping at the bits for these babies to cook!  Lol!

Since I rarely eat hamburger rolls and I was all out of Ezekial McMuffins, I pondered for a minute on how to hook them up.

The result?

Place the burger on a bed of baby leaf spinach, add a half of an avocado and top it with fresh hot salsa!  Oh man!!  That was delicious.  I could have also made a guacamole dip to put on the burger, but I was in a hurry!   I took a spin class this morning and was due for my meal.  🙂 

This quick meal is just another example of no fuss yet nutritious meal.  There are enough burgers for dinner too! #Love

Give it a try, you might like it.  If you like what you see here, please follow Lexa’s Journal and share.  Expect more healthy living inspiration in 2016! 

Thanks for dropping in. 🙂

  

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“You need to start posting ingredients and recipes along with your pics.  I gotta start eating healthy.”

Yesterday I posted a picture on my Facebook page of my lunch and it prompted the above comment.

salad

I cannot take credit for making this salad; however, there is a story behind the salad.

Long story short– Thursday of last week, hubby and I took B’Dazzle (our 13-year-old son) to College Station, Texas to see a big football game Auburn VS Texas A & M.  The spirit of Aggieland is unimaginably amazing.  We had a blast!

We arrived home late Sunday; hence, no time for food prep and Monday I returned to work.

So, since I eat healthy and I eat clean, what’s the plan?

Develop a plan!  Hahahah!

In my neighborhood, I have a go to for healthy food on the go.  Nearly two years ago, my friend, who helps me meet my fitness goals, hipped me to Frankie’s Famous Pizzeria and their grilled chicken fajita salad; I’ve been hooked ever since.

Sunday night, I was tired from the flight.  It was late but I knew that I needed lunch for Monday. Since I did not have any leftover cooked food, on Sunday, I ordered the salad (with extra chicken) and kept in the fridge overnight.  Monday morning, I packed my other foods: oatmeal, eggs, apple, shake, avocado half, and grabbed my salad.  All done.

Okay so what’s for dinner?  I had a plan Plan B… Always have a Plan B. 🙂

On Wednesday, I knew that once we returned from Texas, I would need food for the week.  I scoped out the frozen and pre-cooked seafood at Sam’s Club and BJ’s.  Please know, I am not a fan of pre-cooked and frozen foods. However, with a little patience, if you read the labels carefully, you can find some decent options.

bourbon salmon box

After reading the label, I could not resist the anticipated flavor of Bourbon Salmon and it’s Wild caught, so that is an added bonus.

salmon box label

Okay so while the salmon is boxed, the sodium isn’t too bad. Most frozen meals are nearly 1000 mg of sodium, so 173 is doable.  Total fats are hidden, but saturated and trans fats are low.  The 24g of protein makes this a winner for me.  I was very surprised by the 0g of sugar!  I’m jumping in the air!!!  Whoooooop!! 🙂

pre-cooked salmonThe salmon is individually wrapped so you can cook only what you need.

The instructions are quick and easy.  Remove plastic, place frozen fillet on a greased baking dish skin side down, and place on the center rack of oven.  Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Other cooking instructions are on the box to grill (cool), pan sauté (cool) or microwave (Eeew).

I baked mine; it came out really pretty.  Hehe!

Cooked salmon

The next question is, What goes with the salmon?

Well, as I said before, have a plan.  I keep fresh organic baby spinach in the fridge.

boxed spinach

Of course, nothing beats freshly picked out-of-the garden spinach, but the reality is, my life is busy and I don’t have time for that.  My solution is to keep this spinach in the fridge.  I buy it from BJ’s and Sam’s.

You can use the spinach in a salad or quickly steam it down via stove top or microwave for no more than a minute and 30 seconds.

The label and nutritional value of spinach is why I eat it regularly.

spinach label

plate of spinach

Uncooked spinach

I grabbed two big handfuls of spinach (approximately two cups) and tossed them onto the prettiest plates I could find.

Steamed spinach in a microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Steamed spinach in a microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Then I added the baked salmon…

finished plate

…finished product..  a healthy, colorful, quick, and nutritious meal.  Anyone and I mean anyone can do this.  I cooked enough salmon for lunch for tomorrow.  It’s all packed up.

Finger lickin good lunch!

Finger lickin good and nutritious lunch!

Although I did not add carbs, you could add spaghetti squash (minimal calories), a baked sweet potato, yams, brown rice, black rice, or quinoa.   All of the carbs are healthy carbohydrate options.

Now, tell me that you can’t this!  I betcha you can… As a matter of fact, I know that you can!  Give it a try and tell me how you like it!

Bona-petite! 🙂