Jun
03
2014

To-Die-For Greek-Style Lamb Burger Recipe

Fire up the grill for these unique and delicious greek-inspired burgers!

To-Die-For Greek-Style Lamb Burger Recipe

When I took my first bite of these homemade lamb burgers, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they were beyond delicious! We don't eat a lot of lambok, we never eat lambbut I've been trying to branch out a bit in the meat department, and when my Mom mentioned that she made Greek lamb burgers, I was intrigued. I love Greek food, and I needed a new burger recipe, so I found frozen, lean, Spring ground lamb at the co-op grocery store, bought some Greek fixings (such as feta cheese, olives, red onion, etc.), and proceeded to concoct a tasty Greek lamb burger. 

I wasn't shy with the ingredientsI kept adding as I went, thinking, "Oh, this would go nicely. Oh, and this!"so these burgers are jam-packed full of flavour. You can customize your ingredients to your liking, though most of the ingredients are optional if you feel like leaving one or two out. 

Lamb tends to have a bit of a higher fat content than most of the meats that we use more regularly, such as bison, extra lean ground beef, chicken, and turkey. Fat doesn't really bother me too much, though, because I find that it adds flavour and adds to the fullness-factor in foods (fat is digested slower than carbohydrates and even protein, so it has a satiety effect). Of course, with fat comes calories, so it's important not to go overboard. With that said, I would consider these burgers to be healthy, as they are full of naturally nutritious ingredients, and lamb contains many important nutrients, such as protein, selenium, niacin, iron, vitamin B12, and zinc. 

Aside from my Smoked Gouda And Mushroom Bison Burger Recipe, this has become one of our favourite burger recipes. 

 

Greek-Style Lamb Burgers: 

 

Ingredients:

500 g (1 package) Lean Ground Lamb (find in frozen meat section of grocery store), thawed
1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup calamata olives, chopped finely
1 green onion, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
2-3 sundried tomatoes, sliced thinly
2-3 mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup oats, ground in a blender or food processor
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper (tsp of each)
 

 Heat half of the olive oil in a pan over medium heat, add mushrooms, green onion, red onion, and garlic. Saute until mushrooms are tender and mixture is fragrant. Remove from heat and allow to cool. 

 In the meantime, combine ground lamb, feta cheese, olives, sundried tomatoes, oats, the rest of the olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add mushroom/onion mixture when it is cooled, and with your hands combine all ingredients until dispersed nicely, and form into burgers. Place on a clean platter, cover, and chill until ready to be grilled.

 Cook on the preheated grill until the burgers are cooked through. Serve on whole grain buns with tzaziki sauce and desired fixings (we had tomatoes and lettuce), and a green salad or grilled vegetables on the side. 

(Yields: 4 burgers) 

If you're looking for some more yummy recipes, check out my top 10 Dietitian-approved family-friendly recipes. 

My kids both loved these lamb burgers, but it's sometimes a challenge to get them to eat enough veggies. If your kids are the same, you may want to read my article on hiding vegetables in your kids' food

 

Jun
01
2014

Make These 8 Ingredient Muffins (and Flour Isn't One of Them!)

You will not believe that these fluffy, delicious muffins don't contain flour!

Make These 8 Ingredient Muffins (and Flour Isn't One of Them!)

These delicious peanut butter and banana muffins are naturally gluten free using whole food ingredients and without a special flour! | YMC

When it comes to food and nutrition trends, I am the biggest skeptic. As most of my readers know, I'm not a fan of eating gluten-free for the sake of dieting or because it's trendy. Obviously if someone has a legitimate medical reason not to eat gluten, they should avoid it, but going "gluten-free" is a food trend that has gone WAY too far. That being said, when my friend served these gluten-free muffins for brunch recently, I was blown away at how delicious (and nutritious) they were. 

The thing is, these muffins did not contain a special gluten-free flour, nor did they taste chalky or have the texture of a hockey puck. They were soft, moist and fluffy—the way muffins should be—but simply did not need flour. These muffins are made from real, whole food ingredients, and I feel good about eating them and feeding them to my kids. They are also super easy to make!

Flourless Peanut Butter and Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups natural smooth peanut butter (you could easily substitute any nut or seed butter in)
5-6 medium-sized ripe bananas, mashed 
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cider vinegar
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips (optional) 
 
Directions:
  • Place all of the ingredients into a bowl and with an electric hand mixer, mix together until combined.
     
  • Fill greased muffin tins 2/3's full with the batter (it is more liquidy than regular muffins—don't worry, they will work out).
     
  • Bake at 400 F for 10-12 minutes (test by pressing down on one and make sure that it springs back--it shouldn't be doughy). Allow to cool on wire baking racks and enjoy!

Yields: 2 dozen muffins 

Speaking of food trends, you may be interested to know which "health foods" aren't really healthy at all

Feel free to check out my facebook page, where I share recipes and family nutrition tips/resources daily. 

These delicious peanut butter and banana muffins are naturally gluten free using whole food ingredients and without a special flour! | YMC

 
IMAGE SOURCE: CNICBC VIA GETTY IMAGES

 

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