Jalapeño Cheddar Turkey Burgers

Happy Spring! It’s a fresh start for everyone, and for me, the start of a new year. I had a great run and yoga class last night where I got to reflect in intentions for Spring and for the whole year. It’s so important and so nice to be able to take time once in awhile to really focus on what you want. It’s the first step to getting it! Some of my intentions, like worrying less and being less hard on myself are ever-present, but for this year I also want to spend more time reflecting on all that I have been given. It’s so easy to get bogged down in whiny day-to-day details when I really should be living more joyfully and gratefully. I also intend to professionally keep growing and building my business, no matter how hard it has been. Do you set birthday intentions or think of “resolutions” as the seasons change?

Aside from it being Spring, it really seems as though Summer has arrived early, and our grocery list this week definitely reflects that! Even before the weather warmed up, even before we left for California, I knew that we needed to make some eating changes (again!). We were getting lots of takeout, eating lots of random, unhealthy things, and snacking a TON. With marathon training, I am completely open to snacking, but my snacking was out of control, lots of weird things mixed together that ultimately made me feel kind of icky. Think Nutella and pretzels followed by chips and salsa. Not the best combo.

With the warm weather over the weekend, I got started thinking about burgers. I also hoped that a little more protein and planned meals would help to keep me full.

Jalapeño Cheddar Turkey Burgers were our first (indoor) grilled item of the season! It might be over the top, but these would be pretty good on some Kerrygold Cheddar Bread. . .

Mixing these burgers up was simple; a container of lean ground turkey, three chopped jalapeños, a handful of chopped cilantro, an egg, 1/2 cup of Italian bread crumbs, and about 3/4 cup of sharp cheddar, all combined in a mixing bowl.

I tend to like burgers on the smaller side, mostly so I can load it up with toppings, so I made each one about the size of my palm and tossed them on our grill pan. For dinner, I served them on whole wheat sandwich buns, and for lunch I had a heated burger on top of a salad topped with guac and salsa which was delightfully filling!

My turkey burger looks pretty sad on this big bun, but don’t worry! I put 10 pickles, a few slices of sweet onion, ketchup, mustard, and romaine lettuce on top. There were probably more toppings than burger, but that’s the way I like it.

I ate the burger with a side of my favorite sweet peppers which, as you can see, are already wrinkly even though I just bought them. I guess I will just have to eat the whole bag in a day or two or mix them in with homemade salsa. It’s not a huge deal, but I definitely prefer my peppers crunchy!

Do you have a spectacular burger recipe or any favorite add-ins or toppings? For more of my favorite recipes, please visit my recipes page!

If you missed Friday’s post, please check it out. Zipcar is giving away TONS of free driving credit and one membership to my ALLY Foundation donors.