Naked Turkey Bruschetta Burger

Hey there! I'm 2 weeks into my Total Transformation and so far, I'm really pleased with the results. It's amazing what a change in your eating habits and exercise can do in such a short time frame. I can't wait to see how I'm feeling 4 weeks from now! The food component of this hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be, as long as I have a plan for the day. I don't want to eat bland food, so I've been researching "skinny" versions of recipes even more than I used to. Here is one of my new favorites! This comes from SkinnyTaste.com - a great resource for lighter recipes.

The turkey burger would be great by itself (and I plan to use that basic recipe from now on), but adding the bruschetta really amps it up. It also looks beautiful - and we do eat with our eyes first :)

To reduce the sodium, I left out salt.



Naked Turkey Bruschetta Burger
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Bruschetta Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• fresh cracked pepper to taste
• 3 medium vine ripe tomatoes
• 2 small cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 3 oz part skim mozzarella, diced (I chopped up 3 string cheese)

For the turkey zucchini burgers:

• 1.25 lbs 93% lean ground turkey
• 1 small zucchini, grated (1 cup, or 5 oz)
• 1/4 cup seasoned whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1 tbsp red onion, grated
• fresh pepper
• oil spray

For serving:

• 2 medium tomatoes, sliced into 10 thin slices
• 4 loose cups baby arugula (I used mixture of spinach and arugula)

Combine the red onion, olive oil, balsamic, and pepper in a large bowl. Set aside a few minutes while you chop the tomatoes, then place in the bowl. Add the garlic, basil and additional pepper, to taste and mix well and set aside. Toss in the cheese when ready to serve.

Squeeze the excess moisture from the zucchini in a paper towel. In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, shredded zucchini, breadcrumbs, garlic, onion, and pepper. Form into 5 equal sized patties about 5 oz each, forming them as flat as possible.

Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. When hot, lightly spray with oil. Add the burgers to the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook until browned, about 4 minutes, then flip and cook another 4 minutes, careful not to burn. 

To serve, arrange 3 slices of tomatoes on each dish, then place 1 cup arugula on top in the center, then top with the burger and finish with the bruschetta (don't forget to add the cheese), serve right away. 


Enjoy!