Kids Cuisine

If your family is anything like mine, we’ve been glued to the television set in the evenings, watching every Olympic event we can.  My children have discovered that they enjoy watching all the athletes compete at their best.  We’ve had many conversations about sports and what kind of activities they might like to try at some point in their future.  Along with the sports talk has come discussions about nutrition, proper hydration, and the importance of getting enough sleep.  It’s been great having all the athletes serve as an example!

Earlier today, I asked my kids what they would like for dinner, expecting to hear the inevitable parade of pizza, spaghetti, and tacos.  What I didn’t expect to hear was “Mommy, I think I want hamburgers, but is there a way we can make them healthier?”  Ah! I was thrilled at the request- and at the challenge, so we set out to create a burger using ground turkey and plenty of vegetable toppings.  While the end result was a little on the messy side, it was delicious.  The whole family enjoyed our creation, and we all felt a little better about our dinner choice.

   All-Star Turkey Burger

1 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons ketchup
3 teaspoons chopped dill pickles — or use pickle relish
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
For Topping Burger:
1/3 cup Thousand island salad dressing
lettuce leaves
tomato slices
cucumber slices
whole wheat hamburger buns — toasted

1. Preheat the broiler on the oven or preheat the grill.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the turkey, breadcrumbs, ketchup, chopped pickles, garlic, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce.  Mix together until incorporated.  Divide the mixture into four portions, shape into patties.

3. Place the burger patties on the broiler pan.  Broil 5 inches from the heat for about 15 minutes, turning once, halfway through.  A thermometer should register at 165ºF when the burgers are done.  Alternately, grill the burgers for about 7 minutes per side.

4. To serve, pile the lettuce leaves, tomato slices, and cucumber slices on the bottom side of the buns.  Add the burger patties, spoon the Thousand Island dressing on top of the burgers, and add the top bun portions.

Makes 4 burgers.

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 285 Calories; 17g Fat (55.0% calories from fat); 21g Protein; 11g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 95mg Cholesterol; 574mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 2 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.