April 4, 2017
“Oh MY god”, were the words that came out of my mouth after every bite I took of this burger and I’m not exaggerating when I say EVERY bite. If you are like me, sometimes you crave a big, juicy burger and this recipe is king. I have said it before, and I’ll say it again: This is not a diet- Clean eating is not about avoiding “bad” food, it’s about eating food that fuels your mind and body and eating the bad stuff in moderation. I truthfully don’t like to refer to food as good and bad, because we are all adults here. Just take my word that the more good stuff you eat the less you care about the bad stuff and this burger is definitely the good stuff!
Before you go all “what the heck is a sweet potato bun” on me, give me a second to explain. Have you ever been to a restaurant that puts fries or chips on your sandwich? Sweet Potato buns are like putting fries on your sandwich, that’s really all there is to it and you won’t even miss the grains. If that is too intimidating, eat the burger on a bed of greens, plain, or heck- if you are feeling crazy, EAT IT ON AN ACTUAL BUN! You don’t have to go all in at once, baby steps. And remember, it is your body, it’s different than mine- so listen to it! Clean eating is similar to working out, after the first few days you are going to be sore. When eliminating some of the trouble foods, your body can go through a hangover stage and crave foods like grains and sugar or react in withdraw like systems. That alone should tell you something. What are food manufacturers putting in food that causes you to withdraw? Just promise me you won’t give up, be patient and listen to your body. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
I have chosen to eliminate grains from my diet because they leave me feeling bloated and heavy headed, something I learned through the Whole30 reintroduction. I never thought I would see the day that I didn’t love bread because I have always been a carb queen. The more I eliminated grains from my diet, the more I fell in love with how my body functioned without them. I do eat whole wheat or gluten free bread on occasion with the exception of ONE day. Growing up in the Midwest, we always had a stack of white bread and butter on the table for meals at my great grandma’s house, so it truly has a place in my heart. I still eat white bread for the classic leftover turkey sandwich the day following Christmas at my grandma’s house because there is just no other way. Maybe one day I’ll work my way up to eating that sandwich on a sweet potato bun, but today is not that day.
I added a Chipotle Mayo to this burger because well, it’s delicious. I have a great homemade mayo recipe below if you are ready to dabble in sauce making (which I think you are completely capable of). If not Primal Kitchen has Chipotle Lime Mayo – Whole30 Compliant, that is found in most grocery stores. Frankly, I prefer to make my own sauces because it’s cheaper and more versatile plus I love having sauces on hand to spruce up dishes. The brand above and my homemade are not typical mayos. Unlike most store bought brands these are free of additives, unnecessary added sugars, and unhealthy oils like canola. These are back to basics and strictly nutritious.
Sauces can be mixed in a blender, nutribullet or food processor. I use an emulsion blender for EVERYTHING, the brand I have is less than $30 on Amazon. I have also linked my food processor above.
Pro Tip #1: When cooking any veggie and in this case sweet potato buns- slice/dice your veggies to be the same size. This trick allows them to cook evenly.
Ingredients
- Burger Ingredients
- 1 LB Grass Fed Ground Beef
- 1/4 Onion (optional)
- 1 Jalapeno
- 1/4 C Almond Meal Almond meal is added protein & you will use in a lot of Paleo recipes, so just buy it!
- 1 Garlic Clove
- 2-3 slices sugar free bacon
- 1 Egg
- Salt & Pepper
- 1-2 Large Sweet Potatoes - think bun size in diameter.
- Optional: Pinch of Cumin for sweet potatoes
- Optional Garnish: Avocado, Lettuce, Onions
- Chipotle Mayo
- 1 egg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 C Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil (Extra light is important for flavor)
- 1 Chipotle + 1 TSP Chipotle Juice - canned chipotles can be found in the hispanic section of the grocery store.
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 400.
- 1. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper, lightly coat with olive oil or fat of choice and lay out the sweet potato slices, I typically cook 8 at once (4 burgers). Optional: Sprinkle with cumin.Line two baking sheets with foil or parchment paper, lightly coat one with olive oil or fat of choice and lay out the sweet potato slices. You will need 8 slices. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
- 2.Remove seeds from jalapeno (I usually keep 5 seeds for my heat preference). Place bacon, onion, garlic & jalapeno into a food processor & Pulse until all the ingredients are minced. If you don't have a food processor, Dice all the ingredients and place them in a medium size mixing bowl..
- 3. Add beef, egg, almond meal, and Salt & Pepper to the mixing bowl & combine with ingredients from the food processor. Mix with hands.
- 4.Heat Grill or prepare stove top. In an oven friendly pan, head 1 TBS Avocado Oil.
- 5. Separate the meat mixture into 4 patties (1/4 lb each). Place in pan and cook for about 5 minutes each side over medium heat. My kitchen has low ventilation and it can get pretty smokey, I like to move the pan to the oven and cook to desired temperature.
- 6. Assemble beef patties on the sweet potato bun, top with Chipotle mayo, mashed avocado & any other added garnishes.
- Chipotle Mayo
- 1.Add Egg, 1/4 C Olive Oil & Salt into food processor or container. Blend 1 minute, If using an immersion blender, keep blender in place.
- 2.Slowly add in the additional 1/4 C of olive oil while the blender is still on. This is a slow trickle, I'm talking SLOW.
- Tip: Add more oil for desired consistency, keep in mind the mayo will thicken up a small amount in fridge.
- 3. Once desired consistency is acheived, add 1 chipotle pepper from can & 1 TSP chipotle juice.
- 4. Freeze additional chipotle peppers & juice in a freezer friendly bag for future use. If you like this mayo, you can freeze 1 pepper with 1 TSP chipotle juice, individually for future mayo recipes.
