Burgers & Poppers.

Tonight for dinner I made Garlic and Ranch Turkey Burgers with Baked Cauliflower Poppers as a side. The turkey burgers (with cheese and an english muffin bun) were 370 calories and the cauliflower poppers were 150 calories (40 calories per serving).



The blog I got the cauliflower poppers from said they tasted like french fries...that's a lie...but they were a good side dish to avoid eating fires.



The "poppers" were really simple to make. Just cut the cauliflower and toss the pieces in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then bake them on 425 for an hour, turning them every 15 minutes.



For the the turkey burgers you mix 1 pound ground turkey, 1 package ranch dressing mix, 1 egg, 3 cloves garlic (1-1/2 tsp minced garlic), 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

This was my first time cooking burgers that weren't already formed into patties...so that was fun. Kind of felt like a kid again playing with play-doh...only it was much slimier.



The [obvious] next step is to cook your beautifully formed patties.



And voila, you have a cheeseburger and cauliflower poppers.



You're probably thinking, this idiot forgot the cheese. Well you're wrong, its on the inside!!



I definitely recommend this recipe.



It was dietlectable.

Fake Pizza.

If you're like me, your normal dietary food groups don't consist of the usual fruits, vegetables, dairy, protein, etc. My food pyramid looks a lot more like this one...



Broken down, my basic food groups can be described as the following::

1. Pizza - including every variety of pizza and pizza-like (Italian) foods, from cheese sticks to calazones. You can't have good Italian without good wine, so I include that in this group as well.


2. Mac n' Cheese - obviously this includes every variety of mac n' cheese you can imagine, but more generally, this encompasses carbs and cheese, cheese and carbs...nomz. Some breads and cheese dips are made with beer, therefore beer also belongs in this group.


3. Mexican - authentic, American, upscale, fast-casual...whatever, if it's considered Mexican and pairs well with tequila, it fits in this group.


4. French Fries - waffle fires, curly fries, shoestring fries....I could go on for a while, but you get the point. Every other form of potato can also be included - tater tots, mashed potatoes, potato chips, etc. Oh and you can't forget potato-based vodkas (or just all vodkas in general) that also belong in this group.

Because these four groups pretty accurately describe my favorite foods/drinks, and I don't particularly want to die of a heart attack at age 30...or look like a hippo in a bathing suit...I have to find ways to enjoy my favorite foods without consuming thousands of calories in one meal.

Using portabella mushrooms as "pizza crust" is one of my favorite healthy pizza substitutes. Just take out the stems and bake them at 400 degrees for 7 minutes.



Then add whatever pizza toppings you like - here I added low-fat mozzarella cheese and turkey pepperoni.



After you add your toppings, put them in the oven on broil for 3 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.



Pretty simple, and very delicious. In college I used to eat these when I was making an attempt to be healthy...you know since not eating real pizza would negate the fact that I drank 100,000 calories the night before. Anyway, give them a try! K, byeeeee.