Who used to be the ‘ground turkey breast’ person? I don’t know about you but I steered clear of fatty beef for quite a while, during my non-fat/low-fat eating days. Turkey breast was where it was at! These Turkey Bacon Burgers would have been a no-no back then as well, because who needed all the fatty bacon??? Not me. I cringe at the fact that I was thinking I was “healthy” back in the day, when all I was truly doing was, depriving myself of good fats and good food!
Fat Doesn’t Make You Fat
Let’s talk cellulite. Ok ….you might be asking, “What? Why talk cellulite in a Turkey Bacon Burgers post?” I’ll tell you why and it has to do with what I mentioned above about my ‘no and low fat’ eating days. I ate no more that 19 grams of fat per day. If I stayed at 15 grams, I was ecstatic! But if it crept up to 20, I pretty much made myself sick (and I do mean that literally). While I stuck to a very, very low fat gram count, I still never had the abs I longed to see nor did I get rid of cellulite on my thin body. Thin I was but healthy, I was not. Not only was a pretty much a skinny/fat girl, I was bloated and suffered from insomnia. Clearly the bulk of my story belongs in another post but I bring it up because, since eating a higher fat diet, I see my abs, cellulite has diminished (not all but greatly!), I sleep amazingly and I feel satiated and satisfied.
But let’s get back to cellulite — I truly believe that when we eat a higher fat diet, our bodies use the fat for fuel – it sees no reason to store the fat for long, so cellulite isn’t relevant. Think about it. You starve your body from eating healthy fats, so your body stores fat! It has to ….it’s worried that you won’t give it any more and our bodies are smart and will store, just in case we are ever in a ‘fight or flight’ mode. Right? But if we constantly fuel with healthy fats, our bodies see that it’s safe to use for fuel and doesn’t feel the need to hold on to it. This is my 2cents on the subject. I speak from my own experience, that since eating a pretty high fat diet, I no longer have the really deep dimples on the back of my legs like I used to. It just seems to make sense.
Add the Bacon, Whenever You Can
What the heck does all this have to do with a Turkey Bacon Burgers post??? I just felt the need to share because as I made these burgers, I was thinking, “Hmmmm….ground turkey seems to boring – let me add bacon!” and as previously mentioned, back in the day these burgers would have been made ‘as is’ because I didn’t really care what they tasted like, I needed to stay under 19 of fat! And adding bacon to “healthy” ground turkey breast would have been making it a very unhealthy patty.
For many years, bacon was a no-no. I absolutely adore bacon now and I find that adding bacon to any meal, takes it up a notch. Adding bacon to these burgers, is not only super tasty but the bacon also helps keep the patty from drying out.
They are pretty simple to make with minimal ingredients. I make these on my cast iron griddle but any pan will do! I know summer is over and fall is in the air but who doesn’t love a great burger, any time of year?? I for one, can go for a burger (especially one with bacon) all day, everyday!
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 4 bacon strips
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- Cook one piece of bacon on cast iron skillet or griddle.
- While the bacon is cooking, dice up the raw bacon and mix in with ground turkey in a bowl. Add in seasonings and incorporate with hands.
- Take bacon off griddle or pan and make sure to smear around bacon grease to cook your patties in. Keep the flame on to cook your patties.
- Eat the price of bacon!
- Form 5 patties evenly with the turkey/bacon combo and lay on griddle or pan. Cook 5 minutes on one side, gently flip and cook another 3-5 minutes. It depends on how “well” you want them cooked so just adjust time accordingly.
- Serve on your favorite gluten or paleo buns ...or wrapped in lettuce!
