Chili Lime Chicken Burgers

Our challenge for this week has been to avoid pre-packaged and processed foods.

These foods are typically laden with chemicals, preservatives, food coloring, and more. They also spike our blood sugar, which leads to blood sugar crashes.

Opting for foods in their real, whole forms is key to getting all the nutrients, fiber, and co-factors needed for proper nutrition and digestion.

Today’s recipe is a delicious, real food version of a take-out favorite – burgers!

Not only are these Chili Lime Chicken Burgers loaded with nutrients, but they are also flavorful, simple, and the perfect summer burger.

One of the spices used in this recipe is cumin. Cumin increases antioxidant intake, promotes digestion, provides iron, may improve blood sugar control, and may reduce food-borne illnesses.

The fresh cilantro brings antioxidant and detoxification properties to the dish.

Red onion packs its own nutritional punch. High in antioxidants, particularly quercetin, a red onion can help to lower blood pressure and can have anti-inflammatory effects in the body.

I’ve included some additional ways to incorporate even more nutrients in the recipe notes, so be sure to check those out.

These burgers are sure to be a family favorite – and will also help you avoid those processed foods!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tsp Chili Powder
• 1/2 tsp Cumin Powder
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• Pinch of Black Pepper
• 1 pound Ground Chicken (I prefer ground thighs/dark meat for flavor and moisture.)
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/4 cup Red Onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped
• Juice from 1/2 Lime
• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil, Avocado Oil, Melted Coconut Oil/Ghee/Butter

DIRECTIONS

• In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and black pepper.  Set aside.
• In a large bowl, gently combine ground chicken, salt, onion, cilantro, lime, oil or melted fat, and about 3/4 of the chili spice mixture until well incorporated. Form into 4 even-sized patties.
• Sprinkle remaining chili spice mixture over the top of each burger.
• Cook patties on a skillet, grill pan, or outdoor BBQ for 4-5 minutes on each side, until cooked all the way through.  Be sure to liberally oil the skillet, pan, or BBQ to prevent sticking.
• Serve over crispy butter leaf lettuce with red onions, sprouts, and mashed avocado.

Additional serving suggestions: Serve with sauerkraut or kimchi for a dose of probiotics (and delicious flavor). Roasted sweet potato wedges and a cilantro slaw would be perfect to go with it. Roasted veggies would also be perfect with these burgers.

Recipe Notes: To make mashed avocado, combine avocado, a bit of fresh lime juice, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Mash with a fork until fully incorporated.

You can use ground chicken breast or ground turkey for this recipe. If using ground breast meat, then you may want to increase to 2 Tbsp. of oil/melted fat in the burger mixture to help with moisture.

You can chop (by hand or using a food processor) any veggies you like – onions, garlic, spinach, etc. and add to the burger mixture.

You may need to increase the amount of seasoning to account for any additions to the burger mixture.

If you add veggies into the burger mixture, this will also help keep the burgers moist. This is a great way to sneak in veggies for the kiddos!