Healthy Homemade Burgers

Talking to a friend recently about meal planning and thinking of interesting meals to have each night. She commented that Friday night is burger night and Sunday night is fish and chip night.

I thought that was a great idea, so have adapted it to my eating style. 

We have burgers on one day of the weekend and fish with healthy chips another day. Tonight is burger night and I've made delicious flat hamburger rolls from the recipe I've posted previously, but swapped out half the white bread flour for wholemeal spelt. I added some chia seeds and a sprinkling of rolled oats to the mixture.The water content needs to be raised to 380g to 390g.

Chicken Burgers are on the menu, so I've devised a healthy Chicken Schnitzel by borrowing a recipe from my daughter. She was inspired by her nanna, my husband's mum to bake her Chicken Schnitzel as my Mother in Law baked everything, even steak!

First of all, you will need to make a batch of KFC spice mix, another wonderful recipe from forumthermomix.com. 

Add 1 heaped Tbsp of the spice mix to 1/2 cup or so of flour of your choice into a bowl. I use brown rice flour or wholemeal spelt. In another bowl pour in some buttermilk or yoghurt. In the last bowl, pour in some cornflake crumbs or rice crumbs. I just whizz up some cornflakes in the Thermomix to make the crumbs.

For two people, one chicken breast is enough. Heat oven to 220 degrees C and place a lined tray in to heat.

Slice in half horizontally to make two thin pieces. Coat in the seasoned flour, then buttermilk, then cornflake crumbs. Coat thickly with the crumbs. Set aside in the fridge until oven is hot enough.

Spray the tray with cooking spray and place chicken on the tray, spraying again. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, depending on thickness.

Put your burger together with your favourite fillings. I like tomato, onion, avocado and lettuce with low fat dijonnaise. 

No photo because I devoured it!

Megan

Super Sprout, Super Foods

I just have to share these amazing products with you, my readers. I'm always looking for ways to incorporate more fruit and vegetables into our diet. It's not always easy when the local store only had fresh fruit and veg fresh in once a week. I do envy those with access to fresh produce markets.

A bit of googling came up with this wonderful website: www.supersprout.com.au where powdered whole fruits, vegetables and sprouts can be purchase online. I ordered beetroot powder, strawberry powder and wheatgrass powder, thinking I could add some to my shakes. I also ordered the recipe book.

My products arrived today and I'm impressed. The beetroot powder is dark and gorgeous and tastes delicious as does the strawberry powder. I've not tried the wheatgrass yet, but will add it to my shake tomorrow morning. I also received a complimentary sample of ginger powder and broccoli sprout powder with a little pamphlet outlining information about the products.

The recipe book is lovely with some great ideas on using the powders. I look forward to experimenting on the weekend!
(I have not been paid to endorse these products)

Megan

Not a Skinny Dip

Skinny doesn't always mean skinny when it comes to buying pre packaged foods. Browsing the supermarket for a bought dip recently, knowing I may not have time to make one, I was studying the calorie content of two packs of Hommus.
One was Black Swan Skinny Hommus, the other, Willow Farm Hommus. One would think the skinny one would have less calories, but it was not the case!
Here's the evidence:

The Black Swan Skinny Hommus is on the left. It has 826kJ per 100g. The regular Hommus on the right contains only 711kJ Don't pay any attention to the 'per serve' information as the serving size differs with each product. Always look at the per 100g quantity.

The sugar content is lower in the regular Hommus, making it a better choice.
Better still, make your own:

Easy Hommus
1 x 425g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup tahini
one clove garlic
2 Tbsp EVOO
1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt to taste
black pepper
Extra EVOO and paprika to serve

Blend lemon juice and tahini for about one minute. Scrape down and process for another 30 seconds.
Add garlic, EVOO, cumin and seasonings. Blend for 30 seconds, scrape and blend for a further 30 seconds.
Add half the chickpeas and blend for one minute. Add the remaining chickpeas and blend for one to two minutes until smooth. Test for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
Place in a bowl and swirl around. Add a little EVOO in the swirls, then sprinkle with paprika.

Note:
The blending and scraping down creates a creamier texture. You can just through everything in the processor or Thermomix and blitz for three minutes.