5 PCOS-friendly Burgers to Grill

Summer is here and it’s time to fire up your grill! Here are five PCOS-friendly burgers to enjoy! Remember, gluten-free is the best option. Put your burger on a full bed of lettuce and enjoy with a fork or spoon. If you need to have something for a bun experience, check out the sprouted grain version of the Ezekiel Bread Hamburger Buns!

Healthy Salmon-Quinoa Burgers

Salmon Quinoa Kale Burgers

by Skinny Taste | click to view recipe

 

Vegan Sweet Potato Sliders

Healthy Vegan Sweet Potato Sliders

by Emilie Eats |  click to view recipe

 

Prosciutto Olive and Sundried Tomato Turkey Burgers

Turkey Burger

by The Healthy GF Life | click to view recipe

 

Chicken Caprese Burger
chicken_caprese_burger

by Chef Robert Irvine | click to view recipe

 

Mediterranean Chickpea Burger

Mediterranean-Burgers

by Roboot with Joe | click to view recipe

 

Use Ezekiel Bread as a Sprouted Grain Burger Bun or a large Portobello Mushroom

ezekielbreadbuns

click to view more details

 

Lunch: Caesar Salad with Salmon and blooming Broccoli Florettes

Caesar Salad with salmon and broccoli florets

There’s something about eating a flower from a healthy plant that just makes you want to smile. It’s yellow, warmed and grown by the sun and will make you want to draw a big ol’ yellow smiley face as you proudly put GOOD nourishing food in your body. It’s been about 6 weeks since I planted my broccoli starts into the garden.  I purchased six small tender plants and they are beginning to produce their first crop. I meant to get out two days ago to trim the floret heads that were forming (they were so little and cute), but the busyness of life got in the way and as I looked out at our little garden this morning I saw that about four plants had started to bloom — those yellow flowers were like a neon sign saying, “We’re ready! Hurry! Come pick us before we are gone!” So out with the scissors I went and just trimmed the stalk right above where new growth shoots were already forming. The great thing about broccoli is that you can get several cuttings off of one plant in one season. And I didn’t realize at first that you can eat not only the broccoli florets, but the leaves and when it is at the flower stage as well.

Did you know that Broccoli is a good source of Protein, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin, Riboflavin, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Selenium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Folate, Potassium and Manganese.  I can just hear you saying, “Okay, great Erin. But translate that into how that helps me with my PCOS.” Women with PCOS typically have inflammation issues going on in their body and are at higher risk for ovarian cancer. This is where what you put into your mouth really matters — your liver and cells are counting on you to eat a food like this because it has (big word warning) isothiocyanates (also referred to as ITCs). ITCs are compounds that actually help shut down inflammation responses in the body. unique combination of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and pro-detoxification components in broccoli make it a unique food in terms of cancer prevention. What’s more, broccoli is also a rich source of one particular phytonutrient (a flavonol) called kaempferol. Especially inside of our digestive tract, kaempferol has the ability to lessen the impact of allergy-related substances (by lowering the immune system’s production of IgE-antibodies). By lessening the impact of allergy-related substances, the kaempferol in broccoli can help lower our risk of chronic inflammation. In fact, if you eat only an average of 1/2 cup of broccoli per day—only 22 calories’ worth of broccoli—scientists have shown it will have some measurable benefits.

Caesar Salad with Salmon and Broccoli Florets

I know there might be some of you out there that were once like me and digging in your heels saying, “I don’t like vegetables!” Well, my dear cyster, this is what helped me change my thinking when I put it in context… which is worse, enjoying some crunchy green stuff on top of your salad or going thru chemo treatments? Harsh maybe, but if you have weight around your middle, this message is for you as you most likely have inflammation happening inside your body. Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not happening. I’m here to coax you out of denial so that you can change your life one bite at a time. When you reason it out, the choice seems really clear — eat broccoli. Raw or cooked, it needs to get in your tummy to nourish your body. (Note: if cooking, steam at temperature of 212°F (100°C), with a cooking times of 5 minutes at the most for optimal nourishment.)

But enough about wonderful broccoli — let’s get back to what’s for lunch … today we put together a simple Caesar Salad with romaine picked fresh from the garden this morning, freshly grated Parmesan flakes (low to almost no lactose), and salmon (leftover from dinner the night before.)  I was reminded that I had harvested those pretty blooming broccoli florets (they were still soaking in a ice bath on the counter) and threw the broccoli florets with flowers on top as a crunching vitamin packed topping! It looks so pretty I wish you could see it in person!  And the flavors were fantastic! 

Cutting harvesting romaine lettuce tips

Tip: When you harvest lettuce of any type, take your cuttings early in the morning when it is still cool out and then water your plant and place your cuttings into a bath of ice water with some organic apple cider vinegar. The vinegar did flush out a little spider that was hiding in my romaine, so it’s always a good idea to wash your cuttings outside.

Salmon is an excellent source of vitamin B12, vitamin D, and selenium. It is a good source of niacin, omega-3 fatty acids, protein, phosphorus, and vitamin B6. It is also a good source of choline, pantothenic acid, biotin, and potassium.  It’s also a food that will fight inflammation in the body, so try to eat Salmon about 2x a week (easy if you do a dinner one night and then left overs another time at either lunch or dinner.)

In short, eat this! It’s tasty and good for the cells and organs in your body! 👏💗👍 

Dinner: Lemon-Basil Salmon + Quinoa + Green Beans


Dinner: Wild Caught Pacific Salmon! We seasoned ours with a little bit of garlic rub, chopped up fresh basil and German basil from the garden, then lemon slices and lemon juice squeezed on top. Takes only 15-20 min to bake depending on size. Yum!

PCOSbites Salmon seasoned with basil and lemon
Sides: Cooked green beans and Quinoa seasoned with garlic salt, onion salt, parsley bits, and soy sauce.

PCOSbitesSalmon seasoned with lemon and basil

Season your salmon (we buy ours frozen so we defrost in hot water for about ten minutes before we apply a basic garlic rub.) Dice up fresh basil (we also had German basil in the garden) to release the oils and flavors of the herbs while the salmon cooks. Slice lemons and place on top. Take the ends of your lemon and squeeze lemon juice onto seasoned meat. Put your salmon on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and place in the oven at 425* for 20 min.

Basil

Above: Basil / Below: German Basil  – the smells of cooking with your own fresh herbs is heavenly and heightens the flavors in your dish.

Tip: About once a week I trim the heads on my basil leaves down to just above the last two leaves on each stem and the plant grows even fuller. I put my cut leaves from my weekly pruning in an ice bath to clean and then pat dry with a paper towel.

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Once your salmon is in the oven, grab a saucepan and put 2 cups of quinoa in it and add four cups of water. Bring to a boil then cover and reduce heat to medium heat. set timer for 15-minutes. Do not lift the lid off of it for the next 15 min!

While the quinoa is cooking, chop up your fresh green beans (you can save time by buying frozen green beans, too). Heat up a sauce pan with water and toss green beans in for about 10-15 min. Our green beans and salmon finished at about the same time.

When timer goes off for the quinoa, take a fork and make a hole in the center of your quinoa and see if there is any water at the bottom. If there’s no more water, kill the heat and season as desired. I added some chopped bits of parsley to mine from the garden as well as onion powder, garlic powder and some finely ground pink Himalayan salt.

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Check the widest part of your salmon for doneness. The smaller more narrow end may cook faster so feel free to cut off that portion and return the rest to the oven for an additional five minutes if needed.

Serve all food nice and hot and pile on the greens. Your salmon portion size should be between 4-6 oz. – visually about the size of your cell phone. Your quinoa should be about 1/2 cup – visually about the size of a computer mouse.

Enjoy this healthy dinner and knowing that you are feeding your body healthy omega-3 fatty acids and gluten-free healthy eats. If you can eat salmon once a week, that is ideal to help your body fight inflammation.

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