**For those of you who are unaware of what I mean by "muffin-top," I'm going to help you out or else this post won't make any sense... Ya know the junk spilling over a person in pants that are 3 sizes too small? Just imagine the belly of a sumo wrestler in a pair of Madonna's hot pants... That's a muffin-top.**With Spring vacation on its way, we better get cracking. Nobody likes the look of an overstuffed bikini... An easy way to cut down on the flab is by switching up and slimming down recipes to cut the calories and fat. All it takes is the will to make the right decisions, and more often than not, you'll need to cook your meals yourself. If you want to know exactly what is in your food, and ultimately in your tum-tum, you need to prepare it firsthand. It comes down to these few questions: french fries or a baked potato; fried chicken or grilled/broiled chicken; creamy soup or broth-based soup? (P.S... chicken broth only has 10 calories per serving!---Think of all the possibilities!)
You just have to get over that hump and make the commitment to eat well! And trust me, I'm not about eating like a rabbit, but replacing certain foods with healthier ones can be easy. Some ideas are turkey bacon (instead of pork), cutting down on the yolks (I use 3 whites for breakfast but only 1 yolk), and replacing pizza night with a nice fish or chicken dinner.
One recipe that is incredibly easy to slim down is the burger. Replacing beef with turkey is the quickest way to omit the majority of fat. In fact, turkey is about 99% fat free. Here is the foundation for delicious turkey burgers that are so fantastically simple and incredibly delicious... Now it is your turn to get creative.
Season 1 1/3 lb ground turkey (average weight of one package) with salt and pepper, and whatever seasonings or dried herbs that you like (such as garlic powder, red pepper flakes, or parsley). Then add whatever chopped veggies you want (such as onion, roasted red peppers, or mushrooms). Because turkey is so lean, a common theme is to add some sort of fat for moisture, such as extra virgin olive oil. But I do not usually do this--my opinion is that it's lean for a reason! You can however, moisten it up with tomato paste or worcestershire sauce. Cook the burgers in a pan for about 5-6 minutes on each side. Then comes the cheese! (if you're being really good, add a low-fat or part skim cheese, or omit it all together). Top the burger with your favorite toppings, like grilled or raw onions, lettuce, tomato, you know the drill... Whatever combination you choose will be delicious. And with all the different combo possibilities, you could eat a different turkey burger every day of the week (just an idea...).
One recipe that I love involves mixing salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chopped roasted red peppers into the meat. Then I stuff the burger with colby jack or pepper jack cheese (to stuff, wrap two smaller patties around the cheese and seal the edges). I top it with grilled onions, lettuce, ketchup and mustard and dig in with a fork and a knife! It is so good even without the bun. Plus, you can give yourself a little larger of a portion that way!
Word to the wise: The key to a delicious turkey burger is flavoring them really well with whatever herbs and veggies you love. Ground turkey is a blank canvas.
Moral of the story? Do YOU want to be the muffin-top lady? I don't think so!
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