Healthy Salmon Burgers

Quick and easy is the name of the eating game in our house these days. Early in the week, I try to squeeze in my long runs, and for the day of the run and the day after, I am ravenous. Unfortunately in these moments, the last thing I want is to eat vegetables. It’s all about cheese, carbs, and trying to fit in some sort of protein. I think I make up for the veggies the rest of the week; it’s all about balance, right?

This past Monday was a slow work day, and with the lingering daylight, I was able to fit a 17 mile training run in late in the day, followed by a 90 minute yoga class at a shop near my class.  I didn’t realize the yoga class was 90 minutes; I thought it was 60! But it felt so luxurious to be able to stretch for so long in a warm room, and stretching so much meant I wasn’t the slightest bit sore the next day which NEVER happens. I even got a little massage and extra stretch throughout the class with the help of the instructor. She is actually donating a 90 minute private yoga class for the raffle for my Boston Marathon fundraising event. If you are interested in delicious yoga that will make you feel amazing after, check out her teaching schedule:

http://www.karmadawnyoga.com/

Anyway, running and yoga meant that I exercised for 4.5 hours on Monday, and my appetite was feeling it on Tuesday. I wanted an easy dinner with stuff we had in the house, and these salmon burgers, accompanied by oven fries, were made.

Ingredients:

1 cup faro, soaked all day

1 16 ounce can of salmon (Canned salmon is one of my best-kept healthy-eating secrets!)

1 large egg

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

2 teaspoons habanero maple mustard, picked up at the Cabot store in Vermont

I used a potato masher to mash all of the ingredients and then used a spoon to make sure they were combined evenly before putting the salmon mix into a lightly oiled muffin tin.

I had my oven fries roasting at 420, so I just popped the salmon burgers in for about 10 minutes until they were browned on top and my fries were ready.

Since I am all about the sauces, I used the cooking time to whip up three sauces to dip my salmon burgers and fries in. I made a simple tartar sauce (mayo and relish), a horseradish and Fage yogurt sauce (more protein!), and a honey mustard using the habanero mustard and some honey. And I added a giant pool of ketchup to my plate as well. There can never be too many sauces!

The salmon burgers came out just the way I had hoped. The faro added a nice chewy texture, and the mustard and bread crumbs some nice flavor. I forgot an after photo, but they did get browned on the top while staying soft in the center which made them fall apart. They were still delicious!

I was kind of dragging during the day, but a couple of these burgers and some roasted fries really made me feel energetic again. I need to remember to keep the protein levels up so that my stomach is not growling at bed time!

The sauces added a fun, fast food kind of feel to the meal, and I enjoyed having all of them. I am seriously a condiment fiend. I think my most favorite recent condiment is truffle ketchup from Saus.

What’s your favorite condiment/sauce?