I hope the new year finds you happy and inspired. Now, I'm not really the type of person to sit down and make a list of New Year resolutions, but I do have definite goals in mind. Last year, my friend Melanie challenged me to eat clean for two weeks. That challenge inspired me not only to change many of my eating habits but also inspired me to start sharing with you on Inspired Fresh Life.
I think you'll love all the fresh ingredients in Loaded Veggie "Sausage" Patties that I am sharing with you today, and it would definitely be Melanie approved! But first, let me give you a little background on what to expect from me this month. (Oh, and my apologies for missing my Monday post. Technical difficulties transferring files to a new computer kept me down for a few days.)
This year my niece Renee inspired me to accept the Whole 30 challenge. It's a great way to reset your body and learn which foods interact with it in a negative way. Let me be clear, this is not about weight loss. It's a learning experience and becoming more in tune with your body. After eliminating food groups that are known to be problematic, you slowly reintroduce them to your body one at a time after the thirty days. This allows you to see how your body responds and make more educated food choices in the future. Check out the Whole 30 website if you are interested in learning more. The book The Whole 30 (affiliate link) is loaded with good information and recipes to help guide you through the thirty days and reintroduction process.
No, not every recipe I post this month will be Whole 30 approved, but many of them will. I've been spending a lot of hours in the kitchen the last few weeks and have many of new recipes to share with you. The Loaded Veggie "Sausage" Patties I'm sharing with you today happen to be delicious and also Whole 30 approved. I was inspired to create my own recipe that was compliant based on some super food patties that I purchased at Costco last week. Those were very good but not entirely compliant with the Whole 30 approved foods.
Loaded Veggie "Sausage" Patties take a bit of prep, but the recipe makes twelve patties. I kept six out for breakfast during the week and froze six to use later in the month. If you're not participating in Whole 30, these would make a fantastic breakfast sandwich with some eggs and cheese. Maybe next month... For me, I simply served two patties with an egg and some fresh fruit, still very yummy and satisfying.
Begin by chopping the carrots, onion, red pepper, and kale. Add the chopped veggies and minced garlic to the food processor to achieve a fine chop. Heat one tablespoon ghee in a large skillet, and sauté the veggies and cauliflower rice until tender. Remove from the heat, and place into a large mixing bowl.
When the veggies are cool enough to handle, add the ground turkey, eggs, almond meal, chia seeds, and spices to the bowl. Mix all ingredients together well. It's messy, but your hands actually work quite well for this step. Need I even say it? Just make sure they're clean. Once all the ingredients are well combined, form into twelve equal size patties about half an inch thick.
Heat two tablespoons ghee over medium heat in the same skillet (after you wipe it out with a paper towel), and add six patties to it. Brown for about four minutes on each side. Remove the patties to a paper towel lined plate. Repeat the process for the next six patties. You may need to add another tablespoon of ghee to the pan.
That's it. These Loaded Veggie "Sausage" Patties are ready to serve, refrigerate, or freeze. These were part of my meal prep this week, so I froze six, ate two, and kept the other four in the fridge for a few more breakfasts this week. Even my honey loved these and had no idea how many more veggies than meat were in them and didn't even realize that the meat wasn't actually pork sausage. Spices are amazing!
Just a few notes: You can obviously substitute any veggies you want. The original patties that I bought from Costco also included broccoli. My local Trader Joe's carries cauliflower rice, both fresh and frozen. This cuts down on the prep time significantly. I also think spinach instead of kale would be delish, but I hade some kale that needed to be used up.
Loaded Veggie "Sausage" Patties
These are a great way to use up any veggies in the fridge and have a great tasting wholesome breakfast that is Whole 30 approved.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey
- ½ cup carrots, diced
- 1 cup red bell pepper, diced
- ¾ cup cauliflower rice
- 4 cups kale, rough chopped and loosely packed
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 3 teaspoons garlic ,minced
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1 cup almond meal
- 2 large eggs
- 4 tablespoons ghee, divided
- 1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground sage
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
Instructions
- Begin by chopping all the veggies. You want a fine dice so they will mix into the patties well. I chopped mine, then pulsed them with the garlic in a food processor to get a finer texture. (Minus the cauliflower rice.)
- Heat 1 tablespoon ghee in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the vegetable mixture, and sauté until tender but not soggy (about 10 minutes). Remove the veggies from the heat, and place in a large mixing bowl.
- When the veggies are cool enough to handle, add the ground turkey, eggs, almond meal, and spices to the bowl. Combine all the ingredients well. It's a little messy, but using your hands actually works well for this step.
- After all the ingredients are combined, form into 12 equal size patties about ½ inch thick.
- Use a paper towel to wipe out the skillet you used for the veggies, and heat 2 more tablespoons of ghee over medium heat. Place 6 patties in the pan, and brown on each side for about 4 minutes. Remove from pan, and place on a paper towel lined plate. Repeat the process for the other 6 patties. You may need to add another tablespoon of ghee to the pan.
- Patties are ready to serve, refrigerate or freeze. Serve alongside some eggs and fresh fruit for a nutritious morning breakfast.
Notes
- Feel free to substitute any veggies you have on hand. Personally, I think spinach would be fantastic in place of the kale in this recipe. If you use spinach instead, just add it to the skillet when the other veggies are nearly softened as spinach wilts much faster than kale.
Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 240Total Fat 17gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 11gCholesterol 82mgSodium 190mgCarbohydrates 9gFiber 4gSugar 3gProtein 14g
Note: Nutritional information is an approximation. Different brands and/or quantities will change the nutrition profile.
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