Simple Seven-Ingredient Tuna Burgers

I know that tuna burgers may not be the most glamorous idea around but this recipe takes them up just a notch, adding lots of flavor, a little texture, and a simple weekday or weeknight meal! I discovered tuna burgers in college, actually. We had a recipe for one in my food science class and my group was in charge of making it. After my very reluctant first bite I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I liked it and, not only did I like it, but I realized I would actually look forward to eating something like this on a regular basis. These tuna burgers, with a few easy adjustments, began to be a college dinner staple for me. In the hot Texas summers I could get home and easily cook up two or three or four of these so I would have leftovers to reheat for the week. Because it was so hot this particular summer, I would make a huge crisp cool salad with mango and bell peppers and some feta and place this warm tuna burger right on top. The flavor combos were perfect! Sometime after college and on into grad school I lost the recipe and stopped making the burgers. However, this past year, looking for more quick and simple meal ideas, I remembered these burgers and began pairing ingredients together to make my own version and bring it back. This is my new tuna burger recipe. It’s an easy source of protein with a little carbohydrate and just the right amount of flavor that makes it perfect any night of the week. You can incorporate it in a salad, on a burger, or on its own with a couple of simple sides. It’s super easy, super versatile, and something everyone might like, from the parent to the young athlete to the adult athlete. So, here you go, the recipe for these Simple Seven-Ingredient Tuna Burgers.

Happy Fueling!

Taylor

SIMPLE SEVEN-INGREDIENT TUNA BURGERS:

A Quick Recipe for You & Your Young Athlete

Makes 2 patties

INGREDIENTS

• 8 oz canned light tuna

• 1 whole egg + 1 egg white

• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

• 1 teaspoon jarred minced garlic

• 1/4 + 2 tablespoons cup plain bread crumbs

• 1/2 cup diced white onion

• 3 teaspoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Line a medium baking sheet with foil or parchment paper and set aside.

3. In a medium-size mixing bowl, mix together the tuna, eggs, Dijon, garlic and bread crumbs.

4. In a medium skillet, heat the 1 teaspoon of olive oil on medium heat.

5. Add the onions to the heated skillet and cook for about 10 minutes until the onions have started to brown.

6. Add the cooked onion mixture to the tuna mixture and stir to combine all ingredients.

7. Heat the last two teaspoons of olive oil on medium heat in the medium skillet that you cooked the onions in.

8. Scoop out about 1/2 cup of the tuna mix , shape into a medium-size patty and place on preheated skillet. Do the same with the remaining tuna mixture. If not enough space in your skillet, you can cook the patties one at a time.

9. Cook the patties in the heated skillet for about six minutes per side until browned on both sides.

10. Place patties on lined baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for about 4 to 6 minutes.

11. Remove from the oven and serve as burgers with your favorite toppings and sides.

12. Enjoy!

Make It Again!

These tuna burgers can be served lots of different ways, which is one of the reasons that I love them! Serve over a crisp cool salad in the summer or serve them like a burger bar, providing lots of different toppings to choose from. I love them simple with lettuce, tomato and maybe mustard or I have served them with a Greek Ziziki sauce, which has also been excellent! Or, you can choose to keep it really simple and serve on their own with a few yummy sides!

Miso Ginger Glazed Salmon

I was definitely not a salmon lover growing up. Other than fish sticks and fried catfish, I really didn’t care for fish at all. That is, until high school when I started trying more foods and then college where I started cooking, learning about nutrition, and experimenting with different recipes. Now I love it and, because it is recommended to include fatty fish like salmon or tuna in your weekly diet, I have been trying to figure out a way to keep salmon on our weekly menu. It try to mix it up to keep it from getting boring.

Why include fatty fish like salmon and tuna, you may ask? Well, both of these fish are high in omega 3 fatty acids, which, studies have found and continue to find, can improve our heart health, aid in brain health, and fight inflammation in the body. This is important for pretty much everyone, from the infant needing the DHA and EPA for brain development to the child continuing to grow and develop to the young and adult athlete in states of inflammation after hard practices, games and competitions to the older adult potentially struggling with arthritis or other inflammatory diseases. Plus, it can help all of these groups mentioned maintain a healthy heart! And, if that is not enough, salmon can be a source of vitamin D, which is super hard to get from the diet and its fat helps the body digest the fat-soluble vitamins, vitamin A, D, E and K.

SO, for all of those reasons, let’s start incorporating more fatty fish into our diets, shall we?! I have a few other salmon recipes on the blog including my simple lemon dijon salmon and my spinach & feta stuffed salmon, and I’m excited to add this one to our family list. If you don’t like ginger, it might not be your thing, but if you don’t mind it, then I certainly recommend giving this recipe a try! Here you go. The recipe for my Miso Ginger Glazed Salmon.

Happy Fueling!

Taylor

MISO GINGER GLAZED SALMON

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

• Two 6-ounce salmon filets

• 2 tablespoons yellow miso paste (I used the Light yellow miso that I found at Central Market)

• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar

• 1 teaspoon soy sauce

• 1 teaspoon sesame oli

• 1 teaspoon grated, minced ginger

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Brush some of the sauce over the salmon filet, covering the top entirely.

3. Save any remaining sauce to spoon over the cooked filets, if desired.

4. Cook the salmon for about 15 minutes or until desired level of doneness.

5. Serve each salmon filet with your favorite veggies, a crisp green salad and fluffy rice and enjoy!

Nine - Ingredient Yummy Stuffed Sweet Potato: A Vegetarian Prep-Ahead Meal

Hi there! So, last week was a busy one! Lot’s of projects due and presentations and program wrap-ups and then we went to Scottsdale for one of my best friend’s wedding. I’m so glad that I did my meal planning the weekend before because there certainly wasn’t lots of brain space left to figure out dinner. One thing to note about my meal planning - there is nothing cookie cutter or perfect about them. I have a general plan that I could follow, but most weeks I actually go off course. This week my stuffed sweet potato was on the menu but I had actually planned to use slightly different ingredients. Then, when Monday came around, I had leftovers from dinner with friends the night before and, with that, a new idea. That is how this recipe came about that I’m sharing with you all today. It’s so SIMPLE!!! And it’s super tasty. It uses ingredients that, years ago, I would not have normally put together. However, after our trip to Israel this year I have become a little more adventurous with food and flavor combos.

This dish is a vegetarian option. However, it’s still packed with great stuff like complex carbs, vitamin A, iron, magnesium, some healthy fats and protein. I talk to so many people who think you have to eat meat to get your protein. Newsflash, you don’t! There are lots' of ways to get protein without eating meat. You may have to eat a little bit more of those foods because plant protein is not as easily absorbed in the body as animal protein, but, it can be done! For example, the 1/2 cup of chickpeas here provides about 7 grams of protein. then there are a couple of grams in the dressing and a gram or two in the potato. So, here is the recipe for my Mediterranean Stuffed Sweet Potato.

Happy Fueling!

Taylor

NINE-INGREDIENT YUMMY STUFFED SWEET POTATO

Serves 1

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 medium sweet potato

• 1/2 cup of Prepared Slaw (see recipe below)

• 1/2 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained

• 2 tbsp hummus

• 1 tbsp water

• 1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

SLAW INGREDIENTS (from Ina Garten):

• One 10 oz. package of cabbage slaw

• 2 tbsp fresh chopped dill

• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Poke holes in the sweet potato with a knife or tongs of a fork and place on a baking sheet. I usually use a fork and poke the holes in a line down the center (longways) of the potato, where I will end up slicing it once cooked.

3. In a large bowl mix together the slaw, fresh dill and white wine vinegar. Cover and let sit, allowing all of the flavors to meld together. This can be done a day in advance. And for any of you who read my previous posts, this is from Ina Garten’s DELICIOUS salmon taco recipe.

4. When the oven is preheated, place the sweet potato in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes to an hour, until when you poke the potato with a fork, the tongs come out easily and clean.

5. You can either allow the potatoes to cool at this point and then wrap in foil and store in the refrigerator, or go ahead and prep them to eat.

6. To continue prepping, whisk together the hummus, water and lemon juice in a small bowl.

7. Open the potato so that there is room to pile the toppings on top.

8. Add about half of the humus dressing followed by about a 1/2 cup of the slaw followed by the chickpeas followed by drizzles of the remaining hummus dressing. Serve and enjoy!

9. If serving this later in the week, I prep my potato the night before or morning of, opening it and adding the slaw and chickpeas. I package the hummus dressing separately. At the office, I heat up the potato and then add the dressing once heated through. Easy peazy!

NUTRITION NOTES:

Sweet potato: vitamin A

Chickpeas: protein, folate, B vitamins, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese

Hummus: protein, healthy fats…

Slaw: fiber