Turkey Blueberry Grain Burgers with Fig Jam and Brie

Tips and articles about healthy eating are everywhere- email, Facebook posts, magazines, newspapers and even posted on the elevator screen that riders stare at to avoid the uncomfortable 15 seconds of standing next to a stranger. A photographic memory is required to keep it all in, but every now and then one sticks. Today I share one such memorable tip.

We all know how quickly turkey meat becomes dry, especially ground turkey meat used in a burger. Mixing blueberries into the meat not only gives the burger a healthy antioxidant boost but it helps with a juicier result. Seriously. Tested and confirmed.

For this particular recipe I added quinoa and lentils, taking the health benefits one step further. The result is a blue-tinted fun and tasty burger. Fig jam and brie cheese step into the condiment spotlight to really takes this burger over the edge.

Even if you have no intention of making this exact turkey burger version, make note of this healthy tip. It's a great way to sneak nutrients into any Fat and Happy burger.

Grilled Vegetables with Carrot Basil Dip

Fat and Happy originally started because I have a bad memory when it comes to creating recipes. I'll make something great then forget what it was or how I made it or exactly what I used. So now I have a very sophisticated process - I keep track of my ingredients by scratching down notes on a piece of paper. Then ultimately I type up my notes into the blog. My house is filled with hundreds of notebooks and piles of loose paper with chicken scratch writing and food stains on them.

But there are times when I fall back to my old ways, when I assume I will remember all the random stuff I threw in.  Then before I know it a couple of days go by, I use up a few brain cells at work and at play ... and BAM. I forgot I made this dip at all.

My friends reminded me it was good. Whew.

So I'm fairly certain this recipe is close, but feel free to try it out and tell me.Perhaps you will want add a little more of this or a little less of that. Be creative, try out a few things, deviate from the recipe and make it your own. That, my friends, is Fat and Happy cooking!

Recipe Swap: Orange Ginger Scallops with Wasabi Coleslaw

The beginning of July brings a new Recipe Swap; this month's recipe redo is for a classic coleslaw - Oregon Style- from an old recipe book called The Second Ford Treasury of Favorite Recipes From Famous Eating Places. Our goal is to recreate the recipe in our own spin by changing at least 3 ingredients.

There are hundreds of coleslaw variations out there already so my creation needed to stand out from the usual crowd. On it's own, coleslaw is a great side salad. But when you pair it with a main course such as with pulled pork or with tacos, that's when it really shines.

Summer vegetables scream to be left fresh so my thought was to create a light summer coleslaw and top it up off with seared scallops. The wasabi just adds a little kick to the whole dish while topping with wasabi peas finishes it off with a whimsical crunch.  (if only I had remembered to get them while at the grocery store!) This is a revved up Fat and Happy coleslaw that rises above the classic salad.

Argentina Street Meat; Turkey Fenel Slaw Sandwich

Grilled meat as far at the eye could see. That pretty much sums up Argentina.

One of my favorite grilled grub was the simple street meat we encountered on our final day in Buenos Aires. Along a bike path overlooking a bird sanctuary, we encountered a mile-long stretch covered end to end with street vendors slinging grilled sandwiches.

Smoke billowed across the sky as the vendors flipped strips of meat and plump chorizo sausages. The difference between each vendor wasn't the meat or the grill. Nor was it the ridiculously long sandwich itself (each individual loaf resembled my forearm!)

The real difference filled dozens of large bowls strewn out on long brightly colored tables. Each bowl carried a mystery topping and no two looked alike. Marinated tomatoes, pickled onions, salted lettuce, chimichurri salsas, and even a creamy blue cheese-like concoction. Every bowl held a different flavor and an opportunity for endless sandwich creations.


Hungry patrons weren't limited by standard American trimmings of ketchup, mustard and pickles. Next to the infinite salad topping accoutrements sat unlabeled squeeze bottles oozing with local goodness. Regulars grabbed their favorites with ease while we stood baffled by the countless choices. Tip: ordering your sandwich 'completo' will gain you a slice of ham and and a fried egg.

Corned Beef Stuffed Rye Ravioli's with Caraway Cream Sauce

There is nothing better than thick slices of rye bread piled high with paper thin slices of corned beef  dripping with sauerkraut. If you get it at the right deli, it's the size of a brontosaurus - a total Flintstones sandwich!

For the longest time I've wanted to stuff this flavor into a pasta creating a refined 'sandwich' that is more manageable, eaten with a fork to avoid goo running down the elbows.

Even recreated for refinement, this is not a wimpy meal. All the components are included- the corned beef, the 'kraut, a cheesy sauce and a rye-carb base.

Rye flour adds just a touch of the bread essence while the creamy caraway cheese sauce will you have you licking the plate (so much for refined!) The corned beef and sauerkraut are simply stuffed inside the ravioli.

Hot Coleslaw Soup

Do you ever pick up old recipe books and read them? I love 'um! I love everything about them - the lack of direction, the casualness of the ingredient amounts and the expectation that you will just know things (like when they say: cook till done. Um, when?) Unlike any modern cookbook, there are no indexes to learn what an ingredient is, no explanation about the recipes and there are no pictures ether. And the truth is, I wouldn't want any. It would distract from the simplicity, not to mention kill the surprise of what some of the these dishes end up looking like!

Fellow Food Blogger, Christianna, picked up one such book about a year ago and was inspired to challenge other foodies to recreate these recipes. So once each month we all eagerly await the email with an image from the old book telling us what the new dish is. Or, what it was. It's our job to put our own spin on it.

Hot Slaw is this months winning recipe; so many options with this. I have a page full of ideas. The hot dressing intrigued me the most, but I wanted to lighten it up. The versatility of cabbage makes it one of my favorites. The idea of this hot, tender cabbage with a creamy dressing pulled me in the direction of a creamy, caramelized soup. Simple, easy and could be recreated to be lighter on the hips.

Think French onion soup meets spicy coleslaw. Mixing onions with fennel and cabbage, then sauteing until everything becomes a deep golden hue ... the final product almost gives off a hint of a smoky bacon. This easy cabbage soup turned out to be a testament of the simpler days when directions weren't needed.

Cookbooks aren't just for cooking anymore, but they used to be! And this Fat and Happy Hot Slaw Soup will help you momentarily relive those days of lore.