Last Night's Dinner-pork burgers

Good morning all! What a beautiful morning to start off the weekend. I just finished another round of my 21 Day Fix Pilates Fix, and whew, those abs are BURNING!! Following up that workout with a Chocolate Almond Shakeology®. Feels great to already have a workout in and the whole day wide open!

It was a nice evening out, so we took advantage of it and grilled some pork burgers and made sweet potato fries to compliment. These are great, and easy! Taste just like a brat burger that you can pickup at the fair or your meat counter.

Here's my recipe (adapted from Rachel Ray's Brat Burgers):

1 1/2 lbs ground pork
1/3 tsp of each: marjoram, coriander, celery salt, nutmeg, allspice, ground ginger, caraway seeds, garlic powder, red pepper flakes
salt and black pepper

Add spices to ground pork. Using hands, combine all spices throughout meat. Let meat rest for 15 minutes. Form into burger patties. Grill for 4-6 minutes on each side. Burger is ready to flip when it releases from the grates of grill. Meat thermometer should read 160° for medium well, and 170° for well done.

Because I fell victim to food poisoning once from poorly cooked pork, I am overly cautious and always let mine get to 165° and rest, tented with foil. The burgers will continue to "cook" under the foil with the temperature climbing for a few minutes. Allowing the burgers to sit will help the juices to redistribute throughout the meat, leaving you with a juicy burger!

We also had sweet potato fries on the side. To make, preheat your oven to 425°. Peel one large sweet potato and cut into strips about 1/4" thick (can adjust depending on preference, just remember your cook time will need to be adjusted accordingly as well). I keep these super simple and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil, sprinkle on some salt, black pepper, garlic powder and paprika. Bake for 15 minutes and flip fries. Bake for another 10-15 minutes depending on the thickness of fry.

These recipes are GREAT for you as pork is a lean, healthy meat and the sweet potatoes are packed with vitamins, minerals and nutrients that your body needs to be performing at it's peak. Combine your healthy eating with a daily Shakeology® and a great workout program and you're not only going to be feeling wonderful, you'll be looking great as well!! Want to find out more about how you can get your body back to performing at it's best? Contact me!! The Beachbody programs are for EVERYONE, and we will be certain to pick the right one for you based on the results you want! Comment or email me today to find out more!

Enjoy!

May Day snacks!

Happy May Day! A wonderful celebration of spring. Traditionally, this day calls for cake, but alas, cookies are what made their way into my oven this morning. After doing the 21 Day Fix Pilates Fix workout, I rewarded myself with a cookie. Counter-intuitive, or well-planned?

 My tiny dude and I made up some May day treats to take to all of our neighbors. Each included a plate of cookies and a "basket" filled with popcorn/nuts and M&M's. Since tiny dude has just mastered walking, there was no ringing of door bells and running for us. Instead he politely held each basket and handed it to each of our neighbors, squealing with delight and clapping when they said "thank you". In the traditional sense, he would have received many kisses for being not-so-sneaky!! We made 3 dozen chocolate chip cookies this morning and thought we would share our very simple recipe:

1 C butter, softened
3/4 C granulated sugar
3/4 C packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/4 C all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
10-12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
(optional, chopped walnuts, pecans, cashews, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips)

Preheat oven to 375°. Cream butter and sugar in mixing bowl. Add eggs and vanilla and mix. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, salt, soda. Once combined, slowly add mixture to wet mix. Stir until completely combined. Add in chocolate chips. Drop in 1 tsp heaps onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from cookie sheet and set on cooling rack to cool. Devour.

These are so simple and a no-fail winner! I always add in a touch more vanilla and go light on the chocolate chips; just a preference of ours.

 Now I have to go see where these cookies fall into my nutrition plan....