Garlic Cheese Turkey-Burger, Fries, Banana

The hope against hope was that by substituting out the bread, killing off the starter, and having a banana instead of cake for dessert, I could preserve a small measure of fries.

Even the low-GI types are still suggesting a top end of just 50-60 grams of carbohydrates at any particular sitting, and with the fries this doesn’t quite make the cut at 63 grams, but for science sake and to clear out the fridge, I thought to give it a try. Five grams can be cut by dumping the modest amount of bread crumbs to fit low-GI and the bread could be dumped and drop it another 28 at which time it would be nearly low-carb, despite the small serving of potatoes.

I’m going to assume, for the purpose of these experiments, that you can’t cook. So even something quick and simple like this I’ll be giving instructions.

Carbohydrates: High
Fructose: Low
GI Index: Medium

Ingredients:
1/3 pound Jenni-O ground turkey
1 tablespoon Progresso garlic and herb breadcrumbs
Powdered garlic to suit
Dellao pre-sliced garlic in water (half dozen slices)
1 Oro-wheat cracked wheat hamburger bun
12 Ore-Ida crinkle-cut fries (to bake, not fry, please)
1 medium size Banana
Olive Oil
Black Pepper, Dried Basil
2 Slices of Sargento reduced fat medium cheddar
Pickles, Mustard, Mayo, Ketchup

How:
Start by placing the fries on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven at broil. Slice the banana and put in a small bowl and place in the fridge to cool.

Take the ground turkey and blend in the breadcrumbs and garlic by kneading. Once blended, use your hands to roll it into a smooth ball and gently squeeze into a patty about an inch to an inch and a half high. It should be smooth since any cracks might make it fall apart.

Once the fries are half done, put a triple dollop of olive oil (turkey does'nt self-oil as well as beef) in a frying pan, then the patty and put the flame on high. Sprinkle black pepper and dried basil to suit on up side. Sear for about a minute on each side, should turn a nice dark brown to slightly burnt, and the meat shouldn’t be visibly raw on the edges. Then turn down the heat to medium and cook for another three minutes or so on a side. It’s fairly hard to overcook, so if in doubt give it another minute.

Results:
Far… far better than most fast food cheeseburgers it’s mean to replace. I’ll really miss the fries (have I told you how much I like potatoes?) but I think I’ll try fish sticks with a dipping tarter sauce as a fries replacement. The banana somehow felt more like dessert, already being chopped into bite size pieces in the bowl, and chilled. A dollop of chocolate,even without ice-cream, would have helped but first I'd have to really drop the carbs.

Effect on BG level:
Not bad. As you can see from the chart I didn’t spike all that high, although I admit I have to decide on a more consistent testing regimen (I did a hour apart instead of a half hour.) What was different, and worrisome, was how long it took to return to baseline. I’ll try the same meal with fish-sticks in place of fries, to lower the carbs and see if I can get it to return to baseline quicker.