The Quinoa Quotient....

This blog is a little late in being written as we were on holidays this past weekend.  What is it about holidays that makes me want to come home and drink nothing but water and eat nothing but salad?  We ate pretty healthy and swam twice a day, but still...with all the eating out we did - all the sodium I consumed was evident by my wedding bands not fitting by Sunday!  (they fit fine now, thanks for asking).  Its amazing how quickly your body reacts when you stray from your normal eating patterns.  I guess it was the copious amounts of fries I had between Friday and Monday that did me in.  And I was SO GOOD in the days leading up to said vacay!  The Moroccan Spiced Turkey burgers were delish and there were so many leftovers that I didnt have to cook until we got back (and I had to put a few in the freezer too!). 

While on holidays we met up a few times with my old friend Lisa and her hubby and their kids.  For those of you who dont know, Lisa is probably the first friend I ever made in my life.  Our moms were (and are still) BFF's  and we lived across the street from each other for the first 18 yrs of my life.  Its a friendship I hold dear to my heart and even though we dont talk as often as our moms, I consider her one of my closest and dearest friends.  After 10 yrs of wedded bliss I finally got to meet her hubs and we actually double dated!  Left the kids at home with our moms (oh, mom came on vacay too) and hit up Hopkins in MJ.  It was a great night out!  Great conversation, great food and great friends!

A few nights later (after the maple leaf donuts made their appearance), we made our way back over to Lisa's parents place for supper.  And oh man....was it good!  Lisa busted out the Quinoa and made this phenomenal greek salad.  Ah-may-zing!  I think I may have just found a new favorite!  

On the way home we stopped in Brandon to pick up some groceries (we knew we wouldn't get back to Winnipeg in time to do so).   While chasing the little dude around Safeway, I spotted a brightly coloured, super yummy foodie mag on the display.  I quickly grabbed it and put it in the hubs basket.  He bought it for me and I poured over it for the next 2 hours.  Only when we got home did I look down and discover that said magazine cost a whopping $11!  My first thought was 'I could've bought a cookbook with that kind of cash!'.  But let me tell you, this mag has already paid off!   Tonight's salad supper was courtesy of the mag and theres TONS of recipes for Quinoa, wheatberries, salmon, and a whole section on flexible meals (making the same meal for the vegetarians, and some for the carnivores).  It shows you exactly where to stop cooking for the vegetarians and when to add meat to make it non-veg.  Super cool!

So be prepared in the coming summer months to see not only the burger challenge continue, but also once a week salad meals and the odd quinoa recipe to pop up!  This weeks recipe will be for the Moroccan Spiced turkey burgers.  While I was making them, it occurred to me that these would make excellent appy burgers.  Get the mini pita's and make mini burgers.  Best thing about Turkey burgers?  THEY DON'T SHRINK!  yay!



MOROCCAN SPICED TURKEY BURGERS
3 1/2 - 4 LBS ground turkey
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp paprika
1 tbsp coriander
1tsp cayenne (left this out b/c of the wee dude)
1 tbsp curry powder
1 sm onion grated
3 garlic cloves chopped
1/4 c fresh cilantro or flat leaf parsley chopped
zest and juice of 1 lemon
s & p
EVOO
1/4 c. mango chutney
1/4 c plain greek yogurt
1 sm. bag coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage mix)
8 pita breads, any flavor (i used the weight watchers ones.  way less calories and whole grain too!)


Preheat BBQ to med-high

Combine turkey, spices, onions, garlic, cilantro, parsley, lemon zest, s & p in a large bowl.  MIX WELL WITH HANDS!  Form mixture into 8 - 10 patties (depending on the size of those eating them - i made mini ones for the mini dude).  Drizzle with EVOO and bbq for 6 min each side until cooked through.

While burgers are grillin', mix chutney, lemon juice and yogurt in a bowl.  Add the cabbage and a little s & p  and toss to combine.

When the burgers are done, place the pitas on the grill and heat on each side for a few minutes until warm.  Tear (or cut) each pita in half, open the pocket of the pita and place a turkey burger inside and top with the mango chutney slaw.  Enjoy!

On the menu for this week:

Southwestern grilled chicken salad with tomato and black bean salsa (made it tonight.  SOOOO GOOD!)
Sirloin burgers with garlic black pepper parmesan sauce and roasted tomatoes with basil and balsamic drizzle
Buffalo Chicken Pizza (from scratch.  including crust.  I've made this before and its DELISH!  Great way to use up left over chicken!)

Have a great week :)

p.s. the little dude saw me taking pictures of the burgers and wanted me to take a few shots of his plate.  he put all his food back on it and said 'mommy take picture?'.  so of course I had to!  here's his creation.  reminds me of a pic my dad would've taken!  lol!