Buffalo Turkey Burger for You and Black Bean Chipotle Chili Burger for Me

Who doesn't love buffalo sauce?  But, can you think of anything healthy made with buffalo sauce?  Neither could I.  So, I was determined to find a semi-healthy way of incorporating this delicious sauce into a healthy meal.  I didn't want to fry anything.  I wanted to use a lean meat.  And, I did not want to add any gluten.  After a few recipe tweaks, I finally came up with these delicious burgers.  Also, this was one of the first recipes I made for my boyfriend when we started dating three years ago.  And, he still loves them!

The black bean chipotle chili burger is a new recipe for me.  I recently re-watched my favorite health documentary, Forks Over Knives.  This is my favorite because it has amazing research by Dr. Campbell.  He was a professor at Cornell, my undergrad, and did a 20 year population research study (which is really hard to do) that showed that a diet high in processed and animal fat foods (including dairy) increases heart disease, diabetes, cancer and over all death!  I do not follow a Vegan diet, but after watching this documentary even my boyfriend, a bacon, egg, and cheese eating machine, tried cutting back his meat intake.  So, with this renewed drive to eat healthier, I created this black bean burger for us to try.  In the end, I loved it and my boyfriend just liked it... which is still a good start for a completely vegan burger! 

Buffalo Turkey Burger

Ingredients 

made 12 burgers and I froze 6 for later

1. 2 lbs lean ground turkey (I used Organic Honeysuckle White Honest Turkey 93% Lean Ground Turkey that I bought in bulk at Sam's Club)
2. 1/4 cup onion of your choice diced
3. 1 small jalapeno diced *optional 
4. 1/4 cup parsley chopped
5. 1 tsp salt 
6. 1/4 tsp of black pepper
7. 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs 
8. 1/3 cup buffalo sauce
9. 3 shakes of chipotle chili powder *optional but delicious and a staple in my home

Directions

1. Turn on Foreman Grill or your stove if your using a grill plate or pan 
2. Mix everything in a bowl
3. Make 12 patties 
4. Spray grill or pan with olive oil spray
5. On Foreman, grill patties for 3 1/2 - 4 minutes on one side then flip and let grill for another 3 minutes on the other side 
6. Add cheese and let melt.  I use GoVeggie slices that are dairy free.
7. Build your burger and drizzle buffalo sauce on top.  My boyfriend likes using peppers instead of bread.  Personally, I like a gluten free bun or sweat potato toast (a recipe for another day).  But, use whatever you like :).
8. When I freeze burgers I use glad press and seal to keep the burgers from getting freezer burn 

Black Bean Chipotle Chili Burger 

Ingredients

makes 8-10 patties 

1. 1 can of black beans (I use low sodium, but if you rinse your beans really well that works too)
2. 1/2 cup of carrots diced
3. 1 small jalapeno diced *optional
4. 1/4 cup onion of your choice diced
5. 1/4 cup parsley chopped
6. 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
7. 1/4 tsp salt
8. 3 shakes of chipotle chili powder 

Directions

1. Turn on Foreman Grill or your stove if your using a grill plate or pan  
2. Put everything in blender and pulse until mixture is sticking to the sides of the blender
3. Form into patties
4. Spray grill or pan with olive oil spray
5. Cook each side for 3 minutes
6. Builder your burger however you like