June 18, 2015

15 Minute Meals: Tremendous Turkey Burgers

June 18, 2015/ sherri d'alessandro

Hey friends! Happy Thursday!
Rob and I have been LOVING the grill my parents got me for Christmas last year. We've been grilling up all sorts of things and one of our favorites is this easy turkey burger recipe that I recently concocted. Last Thursday, knowing that Rob was leaving for Vegas the next day, we wanted to spend some quality time outside on the deck. I didn't want to waste a lot of time chopping, slicing, baking, etc so I knew it would be best to whip up something quick, healthy, and delicious. This is where the turkey burgers came into play!

TREMENDOUS TURKEY BURGERS
Serves 4

Need:
- 1 lb Organic Ground Turkey
- 1 Organic Egg
- 1 Tbs Dijon Mustard
- 2-3 Tbs of Feta Cheese
- Handful of Parsley, Chopped
- 2 Tsps of Dill, Chopped (not needed, but, I had it in my garden so I added it)
- A Few Shakes of Garlic Powder
- 1 Tsp Crushed Red Pepper
- Salt/Pepper

HOW:
- Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix together (preferably with hands) - be careful not to overwork the meat
- Form an even ball and then take your hand to make a criss-cross shape into the meat so that it is divided into four equal parts
- Take each to part and form into a burger patty then press thumb into the center of each (this ensures that the meat will cook evenly because it tends to rise in the middle)
- Place on grill and cook for about 7 minutes on each side. Make sure they are fully cooked through... this is NOT beef, it should never be pink.

Ideally, it should only be flipped once for even cooking and perfect grill marks!

I think I've shared my sweet potato fries recipe a zillion times, but, here it is again. JIC!
- Cut sweet potato (or two) into desired shape and toss with desired seasoning (this night, I used garlic powder, cayenne, salt/pepper). Bake on 425 for 8 minutes, flip, and bake for another 7 or 8. This should all happen while the meat is grillin'!

Plate and serve burger with Boston or Romaine lettuce for bonus health benefits! We top the burgers with organic ketchup, mustard, and desired spicy sauces. Then, wrap them up and mangia!

Have you guys tried the "Not your father's Root Beer" yet? OMG. Dangerously delicious and 5.9% alcohol by volume. Gotta love that I never drink soda but if it's soda/beer, I'm down. Enjoy and have a great Thursday night! xo

QUESTIONS:
What's your favorite thing to grill?
Have you tried the NYF Root Beer yet?
Do you grill in the winter months?

June 17, 2015

NBGNO - Heat things up!

June 17, 2015/ sherri d'alessandro

Hey everyone and happy hump day! I hope you are all having a great week so far!

So, unless you're new to fun fit flavor, you know that I love New Balance and their NBGNO events. Last Thursday, I attended my FIFTH NBGNO event. For those that aren't already aware of the program, check out these posts:
First
Second (Host)
Third (Co-Host)
Fourth

This time, we were "Heating Things Up for Summer" with Host Rachel from Healthy Chicks and New Balance Fitness Ambassador, Sarah Kusch.

Rachel kicked off the festivities with an introduction to the night and a discussion about the theme. She talked about body confidence and particularly, body confidence in a bikini. She emphasized focusing on being healthy and strong rather than nitpicking every little thing about our bodies. (Hell yes, right?!)

Sarah was incredible leading us in the "Buns & Guns" class in the park. She has a no-nonsense attitude when it comes to fitness and really emphasized that the formula really is HEALTHY EATING & EXERCISE. Yes, that's the formula, folks. Hard work!

Sarah lead us through a series of glute blasters including squat jumps, lunges, squats with pulsing, high knees, plie squats, etc. (lots of versions of squats!) It was hot, humid, and intense and I LOVED it! (Those are my high knees right there on the left haha)

There was planking and push-ups, and sit-ups and...

a DJ rocking it in support of us throughout the entire workout!

Side planks fah dayz.

Oh hey NB kicks!

After the workout, we headed back to the store for treats, juices, and cocktails!

There were glitter tattoos, chia bar giveaways, and lots of catching up with the group!

I finally got to spend some time with Steph from I train therefore I eat. She hosted the last event and we've been "Insta-friends" for a while but we've never connected in real life. She's awesome and has a very realistic outlook on health and fitness. I highly recommend checking out her blog!

Janet joined me again for this event. We always have fun on our fit dates!

And finally, the swag! New Balance always gives away the best little swag bags at the end of NBGNO. This one included a filtered water bottle. I've been using it since Friday - Love it!

That about wraps it up! Can't wait for the next event - hopefully in July. I will keep you all posted. Have AN AWESOME rest of your week! xo

June 16, 2015

Weekend Sunshine XXXV

June 16, 2015/ sherri d'alessandro

Heyyyy friends! How was your weekend? Mine was quite nice - I spent a lot of time catching up with friends, relaxing, and even had a little work event thrown in there. Rob was away in Vegas for Mark's bachelor party so Kristen and I spent a lot of time together. It was GREAT to catch up with her because we've had about a month of complete and total busy-ness and haven't been able to meet up at all. Here's how it all went down...

Janet and I went to #NBGNO and took part in an awesome class with Sarah Kusch. More on this later in a full recap!

On Friday night, Kristen came over and we basically gabbed, ate cheese, and drank champagne. I'm fairly certain we had more fun than the boys were having in Vegas.

On Saturday night, Rachael came in and she, Kristen, and I went to dinner at Nebo. That little beverage right there is called the "Sorel". It was good - a little sweeter than I'd like, but, good. The most delicious item we had was the Linquine with clams - SO DELISH.

On Saturday, I spent some time with my parents at the boat. This picture is pretty fitting for flag day, right?

I went for a walk (unfortunately, not a run) around Castle Island on Sunday night. My foot/toe is having some major issues and I know I need to stay off it so that I hopefully heal faster. Man, I can't stand being injured but hopefully I'll heal up soon.