Anyyywaaayyyy, I’ve got a little secret to my success when it comes to getting in 4-5 workouts a week that I thought I’d share.  For me, it’s starting on Monday.  I know… that sounds like the biggest DUH ever, but it’s one small trick to getting me to my goals.  If I start out Monday with a good sweaty bootcamp session, I’m so much more likely to not make excuses for the rest of the week.  And then, best of all, if I get in five days between Mon-Fri. I have NO PROBLEM being a lazy bum or whatever I want all weekend.  Has anyone else tested this theory?  Let’s start next week!  Try to make me (and more importantly YOURSELF) the promise that you will work-out on Monday.  Then, let’s see where that takes you.  Look at us, setting goals together.  We’re so cute.

Tonight for dinner alllll I wanted was a burger, I loooooove burgers, but my genetics do not and if I had a traditional burger every time I wanted one, I’d be writing this blog from back of a flatbed truck on my way to Montel to discuss how I felt when then crane ripped my roof off to take me out of my house.  So, I have to find a workaround and that’s when I decided on this delicious little summer treat, a Low Carb (BIG FLAVOR) Turkey Bruschetta Burger.

 adapted from SkinnyTaste

(I promise I’m REALLY doing some serious research on good cameras and programs to up my photo game.  But, in the meantime, I’d like to take a second to pat myself of the back for figuring out that little overlay on tonight’s dinner photo!)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
• 2 medium vine ripe tomatoes
• 3 small cloves garlic, minced (OR more… I lurrrve garlic)
• 2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 3 oz part skim mozzarella, diced

For the turkey burgers:

• 3/4 lbs. 93% lean ground turkey
• 2 tbsp.. seasoned whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1 tbsp red onion, grated
• 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• pinch of thyme
• salt and fresh pepper
• oil spray or 1 tbsp. olive oil

For Serving:

• 2 cups loose spring mix lettuce

Directions:

Combine the red onion, olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Set aside a few minutes while you chop the tomatoes, then place in the bowl. Add the garlic, basil and additional salt and pepper, to taste and mix well and set aside. Toss in the cheese when ready to serve.

In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, worcestershire, thyme, breadcrumbs, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Form into 2-3 equal sized patties (depending on how big you want them), forming them as flat as possible.

Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. When hot, lightly spray with oil or add olive oil. Add the burgers to the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook until browned, about 6 minutes, then flip and cook another 6 minutes, careful not to burn. **Depending on how big your burgers patties are, you may need to cook them a little longer**

To prepare, divide spring mix between plates, then top with the burger and finish with the bruschetta (don’t forget to add the cheese), serve right away.  And don’t forget a glass of wine for the cook.  You deserve it.

So, here goes nothing. I bought this URL three weeks ago and I’ve been stewing over how you start your first blog post. I’m reminded of my “Dear Diary” days; how does one begin? Hi, my name is Courtney? That’s not going to work… since I’m the only one reading at this point. So… I figured I’d share my war wounds. As I tried last night to make yet another attempt to grab something from the oven, (by reaching my entire arm in, rather than just pulling the shelf out)I AGAIN singed my forearm to the 450 degree top. Today’s lesson: I have a problem with learning lessons.

But, I’ll take a 1000 more of them. I love cooking. It’s my happy place and one of the only times of the day I think about nothing else. I devour recipes from Pinterest and Food blogs and I’ve really come to appreciate the craft that goes into so many of those blog creations. So I thought, why not jump in? My hope for all this is that it will keep me motivated to create new, delicious, healthy (and sometimes just decedent) meals.

And while I’m at it, I’d love to talk about my latest favorite fitness obsessions… barre, bootcamp, body pump or twerking. Doing those things is the other time of the day I’m totally in the moment. I still am amazed at those butts on the twerking videos. I’ll probably just stick to bootcamp… but stay tuned, ya never know.

Speaking of moments, I have the stupidest and most wonderful little family – my boyfriend Adam and our two dogs, Rondo and Gidget. Lots of funny, and most of the time embarrassing, moments happen around here and I’ll make sure to share those too. Ya know… just between us girls.

So that’s it… my first blog post. Complete!