Sweet Potato Heaven Burgers

Hi everyone! It's been such a crazy time for us here. School is in full force, work is taking over our lives....but we are still cooking! We have plenty of recipes stored in our overly saturated brains, just waiting for the right time to be posted. (When I say "right time," I mean time. Period.)

It's time.

So, we all know that red meat is not the healthiest source of protein, due to its high content of artery-clogging saturated fat. If you didn't know that, you'll quickly learn here!

Anyway, while the rest of the country is enjoying some chilly weather, it's beginning to get warm again here in Arizona. It feels as if summer, baseball, and BBQs are quickly approaching. The holidays may be a difficult time for people to make healthy choices, but the burgers, hot dogs, and sausages of the summer don't do much for our waistlines either.

Oh, the burgers. Yum. There are so many ways to eat a burger. With bacon. Avocado. Egg. Blue cheese, ranch, cheddar, onion rings, double patties, triple patties, the list goes on and on. And we totally encourage indulgences here and there. But guess what. We have a recipe that belongs on a list of gourmet burgers. You don't have to treat it as an indulgence, because it's so deliciously healthy. But the taste screams indulgence. Seriously, neon flashing lights, indulgence.

This burger consists of turkey, sweet potato, and fennel, among other ingredients. Turkey is an amazing lean source of protein, and it's a nice substitute when you feel like one more piece of grilled chicken may drive you to the nearest insane asylum. Sweet potatoes are packed with various nutrients, phytochemicals, and antioxidants. (Generally, the richer in color a fruit or vegetable is, the more nutrients it has!) And fennel. Don't be afraid of the fennel. Embrace the strange, bulb looking vegetable for its incredible flavor. Fennel has a slightly sweet, licorice flavor when raw, and when cooked, transforms into a magical ingredient given to Earth from the gods.

Is your mouth watering yet? Give in to your taste buds.


Servings: Three approximately 3.5 oz burgers

You'll need:

• 4 oz 99% lean ground turkey breast, raw (try Jennie-O brand or any other you like)
• 1 small sweet potato (if you have a food scale, somewhere around 4 oz)
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1/4  cup chopped fennel
• 1 1/2 oz goat cheese
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• Sliced tomato
• Salt and pepper, to taste

What to do:

• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. 
• Poke holes with a fork into your sweet potato. Put into the microwave for 2-4 minutes, until soft enough to mash. 
• Mash the potato, turkey, onion, fennel, basil, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Mash it really well! Pretend it's your ex-boyfriend's head and mash it. Leave the skin on for some added fiber (just make sure you washed the potato really well beforehand!) Squish it around until it's really well mixed. Mix, mix, mix.

• The consistency should now be sticky, but firm enough to form patties and have them stick together. Form 3 patties. 

• Place on cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes. This is really an estimate, because I have no idea how long it should take in other ovens. Just make sure your turkey is thoroughly cooked! It shouldn't take too long, since there isn't much turkey, and a lot of vegetables. 
• After the patties are cooked, put 1/2 oz of goat cheese on each burger, and let cook for another 5 minutes or so.

• Take out, top with sliced tomato, and ENJOY! It is so delicious. Mushrooms and balsamic would be even more delicious (A second round of pictures was taken with this combination) Be adventurous. Tell us about your adventures. We aren't jealous here. We just like really good food.

Being a vegetarian would be easy if this was what was on the menu everyday. 

Nutrition info per patty (including cheese!):

• 135 calories
• 14 g carbohydrate
• 2 g fiber (this is actually probably more since we left the skins in!)
• 4 g fat
• 2 g saturated fat
• 14 g protein

Hello?!?! At these stats, you could eat the entire recipe. And you'd be so, so full if you did that. Serve with a side salad of seasonal veggies from your local farmers market, and eat to your heart's content!