Portobello Goat Cheese Burgers

Before I get to my delicious dinner creation tonight, here’s a recap of my eats today. As I discussed in yesterday’s post about eating ample amounts of goodness to help me get over this dreaded cold, I ate a lot of fruits and veggies today:

Breakfast this morning was a chopped Granny Smith apple sprinkled with cinnamon, topped with a Stonyfield Greek caramel yogurt + 1/2 serving of cashew pieces:

I had a lunch date with a girlfriend I haven’t seen in awhile. We had a fun time catching up at PF Chang’s, where I munched on a mixed greens salad + steamed vegetable dumplings:

After lunch, I headed to the Marine Corps base to watch a ceremony that my hubby was in. Being that it was 90 degrees outside today (which feels pretty damn hot when you’ve been spoiled living in San Diego!), I came home craving a cold snack, so I had a Yasso strawberry frozen Greek yogurt bar…

… and then I felt like I needed some more protein, so I had a serving of cottage cheese along with a nectarine:

For dinner tonight, I wanted to use the portobello mushrooms I’ve had sitting in my fridge. I came up with a burger creation that is definitely worth sharing with you!

Portobello Goat Cheese Burgers

Serves 2 

Ingredients:

• 2 large raw portobello mushroom caps
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
• 2 oz creamy goat cheese
• 2 handfuls of raw spinach
• 2 whole wheat burger buns (Nature’s Own)
• 1 vine ripe tomato, cut into thick slices
• 2 TBSP white cooking wine
• 1/4 TSP garlic powder
• 1/4 TSP dried basil leaves
• Pinch of sea salt & pepper

Heat your grill to 350. Warm cooking wine in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add spinach and cook just until wilted, then set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, basil, salt and pepper. Cut the stems off the mushrooms, then brush the balsamic mix on both sides of each one.

Place portobellos on the grill stem side down, and cook for about 8 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender.

Flip mushrooms over, and brush them again with the balsamic mixture. Cook 5 minutes more.

Spread 1 oz of goat cheese on each portobello, then top each with tomato slices and wilted spinach. Let them cook for 2-3 minutes longer, then remove from heat. Place on burger buns and enjoy!

Nutrition stats per burger: 300 calories, 15 g fat, 13 g protein, 31 g carbs

Last on my list of eats for the day, my snack tonight was a treat. My parents sent Adam and me a gift…

Chocolate covered fruit from Edible Arrangements! Tonight I ate a chocolate covered apple, banana and strawberry:

And on that delicious note, I’m off to enjoy the rest of my Friday night. Hope your weekend is off to a good start!

Chickpea & Sweet Potato Burgers

Tonight I decided to ditch my typical weeknight routine and head to the dog beach with Harley. She obviously had a blast and is now passed out laying on my leg. Oh, it’s a rough life for my spoiled puppy!

Harley will run up and try to say hi to almost anybody, but at the beach, her favorite people are surfers. I think she has a special affinity for them because Adam’s a surfer. I swear, every time she runs up to one, she’s looking at the guy like, “Is that you dad?!”

my surfing hubby

Onto this week’s edition of “what this vegetarian ate today”…

Breakfast: cottage cheese, blueberries, &  Cascadian Farm dark chocolate almond granola

Lunch: a chickpea & sweet potato burger with dilly cucumbers

I spotted this recipe in Self magazine’s April issue and decided to give it a try.  I halved this super healthy burger recipe of theirs and made minimal changes to the original.

Chickpea & Sweet Potato Burgers with Dilly Cucumbers

Makes 2 burgers

What you need:

• 1/2 c dried chickpeas
• 2 TSP olive oil
• Cooking spray
• 1.5 TBSP tahini
• A dash of black pepper
• 1/8 TSP baking powder
• 1/2 TSP salt
• 1/2 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 sweet potato, peeled and grated
• A slice of red onion, cut into thin slices
• 2 TBSP chopped fresh dill
• 1 TBSP rice vinegar

Soak chickpeas in a bowl of water for 12-24 hours. Drain well.

Heat oven to 375. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a food processor, pulse chickpeas, tahini, pepper, baking powder, and 1/4 TSP salt. Scrap down sides as necessary and pulse until mixture holds together.

Transfer to a bowl, then stir in sweet potato and combine well.

Form 2 burgers and place on baking sheet. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine cucumber, onion, dill, vinegar, and remaining 1/4 TSP salt in a bowl. Set aside.

Remove foil and brush top sides of burgers with 1 TSP olive oil. Throw back in the oven until crisp and golden underneath, 15-20 minutes.

Flip burgers, then coat other side of burgers with remaining 1 TSP olive oil. Bake until crisp, about 10 minutes. Serve with dilly cucumbers. I enjoyed mine with ketchup, and think that next time I’ll eat it on a whole grain bun.

Stats per burger with 1/2 of cucumbers: 270 calories, 13 g fat, 11 g protein, 41 g carbs

Pre-Workout Snack: a chocolate strawberry protein shake, which included 1/2 scoop Designer Whey chocolate protein powder, a cup of chocolate soy milk, 1 cup of frozen strawberries, & 1 TBSP of cocoa powder

Dinner: Japanese noodles with peanut butter sauce & broccoli . I love this recipe!

Nighttime Snack: sesame pretzel crisps with avocado hummus

I’m exhausted, good night!