Spinach Chicken Burger

I love food! From pizza to lasagna to mashed potatoes to ice cream, I love it all. Oh by the way, I'm a Registered Dietitian. My job is to help people eat healthier. So how can I love eating food that isn't considered "healthy"? One of the first things I tell my clients is that THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A BAD FOOD, its all about how much and how often you eat it. There is a place in every one's diet for any food that they love. When you make a food off limits, you are creating a negative relationship with that food, and you will end up craving it even more. The other thing that I teach my clients is that you can take any food you like and create a healthier version by making a few simple substitutions. While it might not taste EXACTLY like the original, my goal is that it tastes just as delicious. Because why eat something if it doesn't taste good?

Tonight for dinner, it was Burger Night. I wanted to create a burger that had flavor, was juicy, and was healthy for my family. What I came up with was a Spinach Chicken Burger. We substituted ground beef for chicken breast (saving 6 grams of fat and 40 calories), added chopped spinach and goat cheese to keep the burger juicy and flavorful, and skipped the bun (I'm gluten free, and honestly with all of the flavors we had going on, no one missed the bun, but a whole wheat bun is a good option) and added some sauteed asparagus on the side. It was ready in less than 20 minutes, and got rave reviews. Below is the recipe and some notes. What is your favorite ingredient to add to burgers?


Spinach Chicken Burgers
Makes 4 burgers

Ingredients:
1 pound ground chicken breast
2 ounces goat cheese
1 cup frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
1 avocado
8 ounces mushrooms
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt to season

Directions:
1. Mix ground chicken, goat cheese, and defrosted spinach together in a bowl. Make sure the spinach is NOT hot when you mix it with the ground chicken (YUCK). Season with salt.
2. Form 4 patties and place them on a hot grill pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Let the burgers cook. Do not move them around too much. Let them cook on each side for approximately 5-7 minutes, or until the burger is cooked ALL THE WAY THROUGH. 
3. While the burgers are cooking, saute the mushrooms in a separate pan with olive and salt. Cook approximately 5-7 minutes, until water is cooked out of mushrooms.
4. Serve each burger topped with mushrooms and avocado slices, with accompanying sauces (I go traditional for organic ketchup and yellow mustard). Enjoy with sauteed asparagus or your favorite vegetable.

Nutrition Facts
Servings 4.0
Amount Per Serving
Calories 292
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 15 g	23 %
Saturated Fat 4 g	19 %
Monounsaturated Fat 6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 77 g	26 %
Sodium 278 mg	12 %
Potassium 451 mg	13 %
Total Carbohydrate 8 g	3 %
Dietary Fiber 4 g	15 %
Sugars 2 g
Protein 30 g	60 %
Vitamin A	1 %
Vitamin C	11 %
Calcium	1 %
Iron	52 %