Okay, I’ll admit… I could eat this stuff every day and be happy. It’s no secret that I love the combination of red onion with feta and a vinaigrette type dressing, so it will probably come as no surprise that I literally laid in bed one night and thought up this recipe. You see, I bought several packs of lean ground turkey without a plan for what to do with them, but I knew I wanted to make turkey burgers with at least one of them, so I went to bed that night thinking up possibilities.
You can just picture it, right? I am laying in bed, rolling around potential ingredients that could go in a turkey burger- things like shredded zucchini, black beans, pasta sauce, cheese, etc., and then I thought of feta.
Feta! That’s it!
In a matter of a couple of minutes, I was jumping out of bed to grab a pad of paper and pen so I could jot down these simple ingredients. Italian dressing, red onion, and feta were going to be the heroes in this burger.
It dawned on me that night that I have reached a new phase of blogging.
At the end of the day, what do you think about before you go to sleep? I’m guessing you aren’t dreaming up turkey burger ideas. 🙂 Have I mentioned lately that I love what I do? It is my joy to come up with, and share, recipes on here, and I am honored that you choose to continue coming to MPM to see what is going on in my head, and ultimately, my kitchen. The more I do this blog, the more I love it.
In fact, I love blogging so much that I have decided to make it my full time job.
As of last week, I am no longer working the part-time job that I worked for almost 5 years, and I am pouring myself into this blog and pursuing the quest to getting healthier. These past couple of weeks have been a blessing to me as I was able to make time to exercise, to get motivated to eat healthier, to lose several pounds, and to take care of some things in our home. I am getting better balance in my life again, and it is priceless.
My weight loss journal
One of the things I have been working on lately is making a weight loss journal that includes things that will encourage and inspire me in my journey to greater health. The journal includes things like:
- a list of my short term goals (like losing 50 pounds before my college reunion in October and losing 25 pounds before we go camping this summer to make hiking easier).
- a list of over 50 non-scale related reasons to lose weight (big things like living to see my grandkids and little things, like not having to think about my tummy when I bend over to tie my shoes).
- a bunch of sayings and pictures that inspire me (like “3 months from now, you will thank yourself” and “If it’s important to you, you will find a way. If not, you will find an excuse”).
- a graph to keep track of my workouts (so I can feel the satisfaction of filling up a chart and have a visual to remind me when I go too many days in a row without working out).
- a place to track my pounds lost (also a way to see my progress on a piece of paper and to be reminded of the gratification that comes with being successful in reaching my goals, big and small).
Getting inspiration from Pinterest
Most of the things in my journal have been inspired by things I found on Pinterest. I mentioned this before in a meal plan post, but I created a new Pinterest board called “Lose 100 pounds”. If you are looking for some inspiration/motivation you may like the things on there. I have also been creating some printables that I will be sharing on MPM soon for those who would like to create a journal of their own. In the meantime, here are some links to things I love:
- 3 Ways Journaling Can Help Heal Your Relationship with Food
- 21 Weight Loss Tips You Have Probably Never Tried
- An Easy and Healthy Way to Lose 10 Pounds in Ten Days or Less (an incentive to drink more water)
- Everything from Lilgrilsummers on Instagram (a bullet journaler on Instagram)
Okay, we will share more journaling ideas later. For now, how about a recipe that tastes fantastic and is just 2 WW FreeStyle Smart Points per serving!
Here is what you need:
1 egg
4 tablespoons reduced-fat Italian salad dressing, divided
1 pound 98-99% lean ground turkey
3 ounces (a little over 1/2 cup) reduced-fat feta cheese, divided
1/2 small red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, snipped
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
Cooking spray
6 large iceberg lettuce leaves
Here is what you do:
Preheat grill pan or large sauté pan to medium-high heat.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg and 2 tablespoons of the Italian dressing.
Add in turkey, 1/3 cup feta cheese, 1/4 cup chopped red onion, parsley, and breadcrumbs to the egg mixture and mix well.
Using hands, shape turkey into 6 patties about 1/3 cup meat mixture each.
Turn heat down to medium heat and spray pan with cooking spray. Cook turkey patties over medium heat for 5-8 minutes on both sides, or until fully cooked.
To serve, place a burger on a large lettuce leaf and top with 1 teaspoon Italian dressing and sprinkle each lightly with remaining feta cheese and chopped red onion.
Makes 6 lettuce wraps.
One wrap is one large lettuce leaf, a turkey patty, 1 teaspoon Italian dressing, and sprinkle of feta cheese and chopped red onion.
One wrap is 3 Green, 2 Blue, and 2 Purple points.
Italian Turkey Feta Burger Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 4 tablespoons reduced-fat Italian salad dressing, divided
- 1 pound 98-99% lean ground turkey
- 3 ounces a little over 1/2 cup reduced-fat feta cheese, divided
- 1/2 small red onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, snipped
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- Cooking spray
- 6 large iceberg lettuce leaves
Instructions
- Preheat grill pan or large sauté pan to medium-high heat.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg and 2 tablespoons of the Italian dressing.
- Add in turkey, 1/3 cup feta cheese, 1/4 cup chopped red onion, parsley, and breadcrumbs to the egg mixture and mix well.
- Using hands, shape turkey into 6 patties about 1/3 cup meat mixture each.
- Turn heat down to medium heat and spray pan with cooking spray. Cook turkey patties over medium heat for 5-8 minutes on both sides, or until fully cooked.
- To serve, place a burger on a large lettuce leaf and top with 1 teaspoon Italian dressing and sprinkle each lightly with remaining feta cheese and chopped red onion.
[signoff]
Melanie says
It looks like there is red onion mixed in the burgers in the pictures but not mentioned I the recipe. Should red onion be in the meat mixture?
Alisha Hughes says
Thank you so much for bringing that to my attention, Melanie. Yes! You are correct. Red onions should have definitely been in there. I have no idea how I missed that. I am so sorry. I have made the correction. Thanks again.