Naked Turkey Bruschetta Burger

Lean, delicious, juicy turkey burgers made with zucchini and topped with a summer garden tomato bruschetta topping over a bed of baby arugula – no bun required!

I thought I would share this fabulous turkey burger recipe from the archives for those of you who may not have tried this.

This dish was inspired by a meal my girlfriend ordered during a girl's night out. I always get inspired when I go out to eat, and created this lighter version which turned out delicious. For the turkey burger, I went with my skinny turkey burger recipe I posted a few years back, it's made with shredded zucchini which gives it lots of moisture and great flavor. They are delicate, so I prefer to make them on a skillet instead of the grill.

This is the perfect summer meal for under 300 calories, especially if you have lots of tomatoes in your garden. You can easily make these vegetarian by using a boca burger or veggie burger of your choice. By the way the lovely fork is by For Such A Time Designs. Hope you enjoy!

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Skillet Harissa Turkey Meatloaf

Making meatloaf in the skillet is perfect for busy weeknights – it's ready in less than 30 minutes!

I took my basic turkey meatloaf recipe, swapped the ketchup for jarred Mina Harrisa (or you can use homemade), added shredded zucchini and made them in the skillet. The results were juicy, quick, delicious round meatloaves with a little kick! I served it with a simple chopped cucumber and tomato salad which I tossed with a little olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper.

You can purchase Mina Harissa on Amazon and I think Whole Foods carries it, it's a bright red Moroccan condiment that can be used with couscous, vegetables, meats or whatever you want. You can also make it from scratch which I often do, but for this recipe, Mina was perfect.

If you prefer to make this in the oven as a large loaf, you can! Bake it at 350°F for 1 hour.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Asian Turkey Meatballs With Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce

These Asian inspired meatballs are out of this world! Made with ground turkey, ginger, scallions, cilantro and sesame oil with a wonderful tangy sesame-lime dipping sauce. You can make them for dinner or serve them as an appetizer by making them half their size and setting out toothpicks for dipping into that delicious sauce.

I first posted these meatballs back in 2010 and the quickly became a fan favorite! Often I served them with brown rice or Asian "fried" brown rice, but lately I've been on a zoodle (zucchini noodle) kick and made them for dinner this week served over these zucchini noodles for a low-carb meal and they were fantastic!

To make the zucchini noodles, you'll need a spiralizer (I love my Paderno Spiral Vegetable Slicer) or a mandolin fitted with a julienne blade. You can see my Italian Zoodles and Meatball recipe here for more detailed instructions if you wish to make this as a side, the only difference was here I used sesame oil to cook the zucchini.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Easy Macaroni Casserole

This easy baked pasta dish is made with whole wheat elbows, ground turkey, veggies, marinara sauce and cheese. I can't say enough good things about this casserole! It's comforting, kid-friendly and so easy to make because there's no need to pre-cook the pasta!

I come from the school of having to cook your pasta in plenty of water, so when someone kindly shared this recipe with me, I won't lie, I was skeptical! But I loved the outcome, and since then I've made it a few times over tweaking it to my taste and we love it!

And the whole wheat elbows from DeLallo - I'm so impressed with their taste! In fact, I like their pasta so much that I am partnering up with them this year as a brand sponsor. If you've been following me for a while you'll know that my family and I don't like the taste of whole wheat pasta. But that completely changed when I tried DeLallo, and my kids and husband liked it too!

I used whole milk mozzarella on top because the points didn't change by using reduced fat, and I love my cheese melted and gooey, but you can use whichever you prefer.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Turkey Santa Fe Lettuce Wraps

These Santa Fe turkey lettuce wraps are SO good, you'll WANT to save some leftover turkey just to make them (or leftover chicken breast would work too)!

Have you ever had the Spinach Santa Fe Egg Rolls with the Cilantro Ranch Dipping Sauce from Chili's? They're dangerously good – I don't even want to know how many calories they are. That's where the inspiration for these lighter lettuce wraps came from. The lighting in these photos don't even do them justice.

I actually made my turkey breast in the crock pot last week just so I could have leftovers to create this recipe. I had one for lunch (only 4 WW pp) but since they are so light I think two would be perfect for dinner. If you want to make them Paleo, leave out the beans and add more spinach. I used my Avocado Cilantro Ranch Dressing as my sauce and it was perfect. If you're lazy, you can mash 1/4 avocado into 1/2 cup light ranch dressing instead.

This time of the year is so challenging to eat good. Holiday parties, staying over at relatives, Christmas cookies – I really need will power. So I wanted to create a leftover recipe for turkey that's not just delicious, but also light after a day of indulging on mashed potatoes, gravy, and pumpkin pie.

Some of you were asking me on Instagram how I stay motivated and I thought I would share what I am doing this year to avoid the Holiday weight gain.

1) I just started tracking everything I eat on my Weight Watchers app to help keep me accountable for everything I eat, plus it reminds me to exercise more (such a great app). Some of you may be using My Fitness Pal, that would work too!

2) Yesterday while at the gym, I paid for 10 sessions of personal training. This was my Christmas present to myself, and it was not cheap. I know it will give me that extra push to make the most out of my workouts, especially since I am paying for them.

3) On days I'm too busy to head out to the gym, I started doing the Shrink Session Workout at home. I love Erin Stutland, I met her a few years ago at Fit Bloggin and instantly felt connected to her. She's a coach, fitness expert, former dancer and feels like your BEST friend all wrapped into one. It's different from your average workout (yes you'll tone your body and burn fat) but what it really does, is help you step into a more a confident, powerful, rock star part of yourself that you may not be in touch with on a daily basis. She's doing a free week long challenge called the Say it, Sweat it, Get it FREE Challenge. If it looks like something you could use, sign up and join me (it's free!)

If you have any tips to share on how you stay motivated, I would love to hear it!
Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Turkey Pastelón (Sweet Plantain Lasagna)

Sweet strips of plantains are layered with savory picadillo and cheese. It's that sweet salty thing that makes this taste SOOOO good!

It's Hispanic heritage month and in it's honor I thought this delicious Puerto Rican comfort dish (made light of course) would be an excellent recipe to honor it. My Mom is from Colombia, so we grew up eating plantains a lot in my home.

Plantains are like a cousin to the banana, and depending on the ripeness you'll cook them in different ways. For this recipe, you'll want them pretty ripe (they should be browned and soft). My plantains could have used a few more days to ripen, but I couldn't wait, I needed to make this.

I spent many summers as a kid with Aunt and cousin who moved to paradise (Puerto Rico). Those were some of my best childhood memories and the food I ate their were some of my favorite meals. Pasteles, empanadillas, pernil – their food is like no other, and they cook with so much flavor, only sometimes they tend to be a little on the not-so-light side. But with a few tweaks I was able to make this dish lighter, I just used a little less oil to cook the plantain, and to further lighten it, I made the picadillo with turkey instead of beef, and part skim cheese and I think it's just as good as the real deal – without the extra fat. To serve this, I sliced it into 9 slices and served it with a big salad on the side and my husband and I felt totally satisfied.

This is delicious (and gluten-free!), and now that it's gone, I'm craving some more! I just bought more plantains and this time I'm letting them get really ripe. Enjoy!

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Loaded Turkey Chili Baked Potato

This loaded baked potato is stuffed with lean turkey chili, reduced fat shredded cheese and topped with some fresh chives – a quick, easy weeknight meal.

I love a dish that can be served many ways. Last night I asked my husband Tommy how he wanted his chili (yesterday's crock pot kid-friendly turkey chili) and he told me on a baked potato. Of coarse he would. So I popped a few russet potatoes in the microwave (sure, you can do this in the oven too) topped it with shredded cheese, turkey chili and some chopped chives from my garden and dinner was ready in less than 10 minutes – and my husband was a very happy man.

Can you do this with sweet potato? Sure you can! But just to clear up the confusion, white potatoes aren't all that bad for you. Potatoes are have gotten a bad rap as a white starchy food, but when they're not drowning in butter or deep fried as french fries, they are actually a healthy, low calorie, high fiber food and a good source of vitamin B6, vitamin C, copper, potassium and manganese. They also contain a variety of phytonutrients that have antioxidant activity so if you want to stick with a traditional baked potato, go ahead... enjoy!

Tip: If you buy bag of russet potatoes, the potatoes are much smaller than the ones they sell individually, they average about 5 to 6 oz each.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Crock Pot Kid-Friendly Turkey Chili

This one's just for the kiddos (or picky family members)! A mild, kid-friendly chili is made with ground turkey, corn, bell pepper, tomatoes and spices. Top it with your favorite toppings, and serve it with some chips on the side for the perfect, back to school lunch.

My youngest daughter is heading to school next week (Pre-K) and this year she'll be bringing lunch to class for the first time. She doesn't eat sandwiches (neither did my oldest), so I'm going to have to get pretty creative to make sure she's still eating healthy balanced meals. I just ordered this Foogo Stainless steal leak-proof thermos from Amazon, which I also did with my oldest daughter and I'll be filling it with some of her favorite warm meals.

Now I love me some chili, and I'm super excited for the colder weather to make some of my faves like Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili, Turkey White Bean Pumpkin Chili, and Turkey Chili Taco Soup, but for my little one who doesn't like beans... or spicy food, this recipe is perfect (it's also gluten-free). It's super easy to make, I did it in the crock pot, but you can also simmer it on the stove. It makes 5 adult size servings, and you can easily double the recipes and freeze it for future freezer-friendly meals.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Zoodles and Meatballs (zucchini noodles)

 

The weather is changing, and I kind of like it. I'm looking forward cooler weather, but I'm not quite ready for zucchini season to end – we've been eating "zoodles" all summer long!

This is sorta a two part recipe, I made a pot of my Crock Pot Italian Turkey Meatballs at my toddler's request but rather than eating mine with pasta, I served it over zoodles (zucchini noodles) for a lighter low-carb alternative (perfect for using up zucchini from your garden).

A good rule of thumb is one medium zucchini per person, since you lose some when you cut them and the shrink a bit when they cook. To cut them I used my OXO mandolin with my julienne blade and I stop right about when I get to the seeds, then I rotate and slice. A word of advice, please be careful when using a mandolin, the blades are VERY sharp.

You can also use a spiralizer instead to make them more spaghetti-like. I'm going to be making these as much as I can as long as I can find zucchini at my local farmer's market!


Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Buffalo Turkey Burgers with Blue Cheese Broccoli Slaw

It's 80° today, perfect day for grilling so I thought I would highlight this recipe from the archives. Turkey burgers with a cayenne pepper kick! Here's a fun way to turn boring turkey burgers into something with a little more exciting. If you're a buffalo wing fan, you'll love the flavors in this turkey burger topped with a broccoli slaw tossed with my very own homemade blue cheese dressing.

Someone recently emailed me and gave me this idea, she took my zucchini turkey burger recipe and dipped it in hot sauce after. I decided to add it to the turkey meat instead, and figured you can always serve more on the side if you wish!

And by the way, there's carrots in these burgers but I promise, you can't even tell. It's a great way to add more fiber and vegetables into your diet whether it's for yourself or your family.

I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to spicy food, so Frank's hot sauce is perfect for my taste, but if you really like it hot you could use Tabasco or your favorite cayenne hot sauce.

To make these burgers gluten free, you can sub the breadcrumbs for gluten-free oats.


Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Crock Pot Turkey Breast with Gravy

Juicy slow cooked turkey breast with rich turkey gravy, all in your crock pot. This was my first time making a turkey breast in the crock pot, but it won't be my last!

What an easy way to prepare turkey breast that doesn't require too much attention. The vegetables are first browned with a roux on the stove to ensure the gravy has a rich flavor base, then it's all slow cooked in the crock pot. At the end, I simmered the braising liquid on the stove until it reduced and thickened into a delicious, easy gravy.

I modified this recipe from the Slow Cooker Revolution cookbook. It's a great base, and I can see playing around with the ingredients in this recipe.

Madison, my toddler said yummy juicy meat (that meant she liked it) and my husband was thrilled there were mashed potatoes AND gravy on his plate. This was like a mini Thanksgiving feast, I made some skinny mashed potatoes on the side, (you could also make cauliflower mash if you want to go low carb) and I also served this with some sauteed broccolini which is not pictured.

Today, I guess I'll be making some turkey noodle soup with the leftovers!

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Crock Pot Italian Sloppy Joe

Turkey sausage, peppers and onions slow cooked in the crock pot with crushed tomatoes and spices for an easy weeknight meal. Serve this on a roll with baby spinach and melted cheese if desired for a sloppy yet delicious sandwich.

This is good stuff! We all gave it a thumbs up, and I will surely be making this again. Next time I may even serve this over spaghetti squash or pasta.

For those of you on Weight Watchers, the filling alone is 4 points plus, with the bun and cheese it comes to 8 for a filling complete meal; perfect for lunch or dinner. This is easy, inexpensive and perfect for football; you can double the recipe for more servings. If you want to do this on the stove top, simply simmer in a heavy pot for 30 minutes.

For a more traditional Sloppy Joe, made on the stove, try my Skinny Sloppy Joe Recipe! And for those of you who don't have access to turkey or chicken sausage, you can easily make your own with this recipe, homemade turkey sausage.

I've been getting so many emails asking me what slow cooker I use, I've had many bad experiences with crock pots cooking to hot and turning out strange tasting food... but my current Slow Cooker, the Hamilton Beach Set and Forget 6 Quart Slow Cooker is great and I've had good results each time. I'm sure there may be others that are just as good, but I can only vouch for this one.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Sweet Potato Turkey Shepherds Pie

Ground turkey sautéed with mixed vegetables, sliced mushrooms and fresh herbs with a savory garlic sweet potato topping. Comfort food without the guilt!

This is a crazy month for the North East. First we got slammed with a hurricane, and yesterday a Nor'easter. This is what it looks like outside my door...

Thousands of people, including myself are still without power. Here on the south shore of Long Island, the fear the power company has is if they turn the power back on, it may start fires to the homes with severe water damage. There of talks of having to inspect every home before they turn the power back on... I'm afraid this means it could be a while before I get my power back.

I'm not complaining, I'm managing fine for now thanks to my generator to keep my house warm, but many neighbors aren't so lucky. Yesterday I visited an elderly woman who lives by herself, was cold, had no food and it just broke my heart knowing she is one of many. My girlfriend and I went grocery shopping for her and brought her some food and batteries and a warm hug, but she insisted on staying home despite the cold.

Talk about a month to give thanks, I just want to remind you all to count your blessings! Be thankful for the little things: heat, clean water, hot showers, electricity, and hot food on the table. The simple necessities we often take for granted.

This dish can be assembled ahead of time, then baked in the oven when you are ready to eat. It also freezes well and reheats great. I made them in individual oven safe dishes for perfect portion control, but you can also make this in one large pie dish.


Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Kale and Potato Soup with Turkey Sausage

A hearty soup made with kale, potatoes, carrots, and sausage.

I'm feeling a bit under the weather this week. It seems I caught a cold from my toddler who just entered Pre-K. Along with her projects, crafts, and books, she's been taking home a new cold each week (lucky me!)

Right now hot tea and soup are on the menu. I thought I would make something from the archives that I haven't made in a while, something with lots of vitamins and antioxidants to help me kick this cold.

So I made this soup, which really hit the spot. It's a meal in a bowl and kale is one of the healthiest vegetables around, high in vitamins K, A and C with both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.

This soup will taste as good as the sausage you purchase, so be sure to find an Italian turkey or chicken sausage that you like, either would work. If you want this a little spicy, you can certainly use a hot sausage instead. Vegetarians could swap the sausage for soyrizo and vegetable broth.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Santa Fe Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Santa Fe inspired stuffed bell peppers loaded with a zesty filling of ground turkey, corn, black beans, hot peppers and tomatoes, topped with melted cheese and scallions.

These were sooo good I heavily debated saving this recipe for the cookbook! They have just the right amount of kick, but you can certainly turn the heat up a bit more if you like.

High in protein and fiber, one serving filled me up with a side of sliced avocado and a little sour cream on top, but if you want more carbs, a side of cilantro lime rice would be perfect!

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Escarole Soup with Turkey Meatballs (Italian Wedding Soup)

A delicious, easy one pot meal!

It makes a lot, which makes it perfect to make ahead and freeze in portions for lunch or dinner for the month.

This recipe is one from the archives, I re-made it this week and thought I would re-photograph it and give it a face-lift. My teen loves this soup, so I make it often just for her. When she was younger I used to pack this in her thermos to bring to school as a hot lunch.

The name "Italian Wedding Soup" as a reference to the "marriage" of greens and meat in the soup. A favorite in my house, this lightened up version is delicious and satisfying. If you want to keep it low-carb you can leave the pasta out.

My toddler will eat it without the greens. If you can't find escarole, any dark leafy green would be great. Serve this with a good quality grated cheese on the side!

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Bacon Topped Petite Turkey Meatloaf with BBQ Sauce

If you like the sweet smoky flavor of BBQ sauce, then you'll love these petite turkey meatloaves combined with a little zucchini, my homemade Kansas City Style BBQ sauce, and bacon! A fun twist on an my classic Petite Turkey Meatloaf.

I've been playing around with this recipe for a few weeks to get it just right. This first started on the grill in foil pockets. When we go camping, my husband makes a meatloaf on the camp fire and we all really enjoy it. But doing this on the grill can yield different results depending on your grill so I decided to stick with the oven for more precision. Feel free to test this on the grill if you don't want to heat up the kitchen!

I love adding zucchini to the mix because it adds moisture to otherwise dry turkey. I've done this before in my turkey burgers and meatloaf cupcakes and it turns out great and no one knows it's in there! I've made this with both 99% lean turkey and 93% percent lean and we all like the 93% lean best. You can use either, the points remain the same. I used my homemade BBQ sauce, but you can certainly use any BBQ sauce you like. If you are watching your sodium, you could cut back on the bacon or eliminate it all together. Hope you enjoy!


Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Loaded Turkey Santa Fe Baked Potato Skins

Skinny potato skins loaded with mildly spiced turkey, black beans, corn and tomatoes topped with cheese - you won't be able to stop at just one!

Seriously, I doubled the turkey filling and couldn't stop eating it. I had it with eggs for breakfast and on tortillas for lunch, even made some enchiladas with the extra... it is THAT good!

The serrano peppers give the filling a little extra kick that I just loved. I found them jarred in my Mexican aisle, the brand I used was Goya, a little goes a long way. You can make the potatoes and the filling the day before, then bake when you are ready to serve!

And did I mention they are gluten-free? To make them vegetarian, simply leave out the turkey and add a little more corn and beans to the filling.

Let the games begin!!

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Make-Over Breakfast Sausage and Mushroom Strata

A make-ahead breakfast casserole made with day old bread, eggs, cheese, sausage and mushrooms. This recipe from the archives is perfect for Christmas morning so I thought I would revive it to give it some attention. You can make this with just about anything, just use your imagination!

Breakfast stratas can be pretty high in fat, generally using at least 8 eggs and 2 to 3 cups of cheese. To lighten this dish I used less eggs, turkey sausage in place of pork sausage, fat free milk, reduced fat cheese and whole wheat ciabatta bread.

You can easily swap out the mushrooms for asparagus or bell peppers, use ham instead of sausage, and make it with any cheese you like. Enjoy, whatever flavor combination you come up with!!

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Crock Pot Italian Turkey Meatballs

Crock pots are so convenient, plug them in and go to work... come home and dinner's ready! I've always wondered if I can make meatballs start to finish in my crock pot without having to bake them first. Well now I know the answer, yes you can!

I'm starting to experiment with some of my favorite recipes to see how they translate into the crock pot and I plan on posting the ones I have success with. For the stove top version of this recipe, see Skinny Italian Turkey Meatballs.

One thing I should mention, it's best to carefully form the meatballs with gentle hands, if you pack them tight they will get tough while cooking. If you prefer to bake them in the oven first, bake them for 15 minutes at 350°. Then add to the crock pot for 2 - 3 hours on low. If you want more sauce, add another can of crushed tomatoes.

The one step I wouldn't skip is browning the garlic in oil first, this is a must for best results. And of course, you all know I swear by Tuttorosso crushed tomatoes (green label.)

And since so many are asking, I have the 6 Quart Hamilton Beach Stay or Go Slow Cooker. I love it because you can adjust the time you want it to cook, and it automatically turns to warm when it's done. It also has a probe for meat that automatically shuts off when done. I hated my old crock pot, it burnt everything and my food had a weird taste. This crock pot is great, I am very happy with it and it's only about $28 on Amazon right now!

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...