Summer Grilled Turkey Burgers with Beets & Asparagus

This is one of our all-time summer favorites! It's a quick and easy prep and then you get to hang-out in the evening summer air with a cold glass of iced tea and chat while it grills. It's super flavorful, delightfully colorful and full of incredible nutrients. Recipe serves 4-6 depending on your burger size and takes about 30 minutes to make. 

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 3-4 large beats
• Asparagus
• Any other veggies you want (red/green/yellow peppers, zucchini, yellow squash all grill great and make delicious alternatives)
• Yellow Onion
• Barbeque sauce (find some that is naturally sweetened with honey or molasses instead of sugar)
• Garlic salt
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive oil
• Lettuce
• Tomato
• Pickle (optional)
• Avocado (optional but delicious healthy fat & omegas)
• Burger condiments

Directions

• Get the grill heating up while you prep the food
• Prep the veggies first because they take longer than the meat
  • Skin the beats
  • Slice the beets into thin circles
  • Toss them in olive oil, salt, and pepper
  • Wash asparagus and trim the ends
  • Toss them in olive oil, salt and pepper too
  • Go light on the olive oil for both beets and asparagus. If oil is dripping off the veggies you'll start a grease fire in your grill--trust me, I've done it! 
• Put veggies on the grill (make sure the asparagus is perpendicular to the grill grate so it doesn't fall through.)
• Dice the onion
• Mix ground turkey with onion, garlic salt, pepper and bbq sauce. Mix it around and form into patties. (My trick with forming patties is to decide how hungry I am. Do I want one large burger? Or small enough burgers that I could have 2?)
• Put patties on the grill. Cook for 5 minutes then flip
• While it's cooking, slice your tomato & avocado, prep your lettuce and chill. 
• Cook veggies until they are tender but still a little crunchy. Burgers are done when internal temp is 165-175 and there is no more pink (turkey burgers you don't want pink like you do with beef)
• I like my burger on a lettuce wrap. It's great on a whole wheat bun too (try to find buns with no sugar. :) 
• Enjoy!
• Burgers and veggies make great salads for lunch the next day. Just chop it all up, throw it on a bed of lettuce and drizzle some balsamic vinaigrette over it all and enjoy a low prep lunch!

My favorite, naturally sweetened BBQ sauce. You can find it a Whole Foods & Natural Grocers. 

Goodies In this Recipe

Turkey--Turkey is high in protein and low in saturated fat so it can help reduce the amount of cholesterol in your meals. Ground turkey also helps contribute to your daily requirements for B-complex vitamins and selenium which are important for red blood cell production, blood pressure control and healthy thyroid function among others.

Beets--Beets are low in calories and pack an impressive amount of nutrients. Three separate peer-reviewed studies published in the US National Library of Medicine have shown that beets can significantly lower blood pressure (by up to 4–10 mmHg) over a period of only a few hours. Their high levels of dietary nitrates may improve athletic performance by increasing the ability of cells to produce energy (which may explain why beet shots are showing up next to 5-Hour Energy on many grocery store shelves). Their pigments (called betalains) may also have anti-inflammatory properties which may have potential benefits ranging from improved kidney function to lower pain for people with osteoarthritis. They also make your poop dark red can be a bit shocking--don’t worry, you aren’t dying. :) 

Asparagus--This delicious veggie that makes your pee smell funny is packed with good-for-you vitamins and minerals like vitamins A, C, E, K, and B6, as well as folate, iron, copper, calcium, protein, and fiber. As a result, asparagus offers some serious health benefits ranging from weight loss help & appetite control to protection from free radicals, urinary tract health and healthy skin. It’s high levels of folic acid make it a great choice for pregnant and nursing women as well as make it a mood booster. Plus the vitamin k help with calcium absorption creating strong, healthy bones and teeth. So eat up and celebrate stinky pee.