As you probably guessed from my inspired title, I’m getting a bit fed up with this whole diet thing. I can definitely see why most people give up during the Consolidation phase. It’s boring. Really boring. And looong. The worst part is that it’s still a diet but without the excitement of actually losing weight. Instead, the scales are disheartening as your body is retaining water and fighting hard to stock up its depleted reserves of fat, following the attack it underwent during the previous phases. But I’m sticking to it! It’s such a great workout for my willpower. Yesterday I made a Nutella Cheesecake for a friend’s BBQ without taste testing once!
Luckily, there are still some recipes that can cause some excitement during this period of kitchen boredom. In my last post I shared a recipe from The Perfect Pantry and mentioned that many of Lydia’s recipes are easily adaptable to the Dukan Diet. Well, this one doesn’t even need to be adapted. Everything in it is allowed in all phases. Turkey Burgers! Another healthy, tasty, non-fattening meal which you can literally throw together in minutes and stick on the grill. A great alternative to beef burgers if you’re cutting down on red meat or just want something lighter.
The first day I ate these with salad only, no sauces or anything. They are so juicy they don’t really need anything extra. For my leftovers however I made a quick yogurt sauce with curry, which unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of. Sorry! Lydia makes a yummy looking yogurt and feta sauce for these. Go over and check it out, if you’re not on the Dukan!
Greek Turkey Burgers by The Perfect Pantry
Serves 4
What you need:
450g minced turkey meat (breast has less fat)
3 Tbs Greek yogurt (0% for Dukan)
1 Tbs chopped parsley
¾ tsp lemon zest
¾ tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
What you do:
- Throw all the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix with your hands, just until evenly incorporated. Don’t over mix.
- Make four burgers. Let them rest while you heat the grill.
- Spray grill with low fat cooking spray and heat to medium high.
- Place burgers on the grill and leave for about 7 minutes. Turn them over and continue grilling for another 5 minutes. Cooking time might depend on the thickness of the burgers so keep an eye on them.
- Lydia suggests using a food thermometer which should read about 165F when they are done. This is a great idea, and saves you from having to cut into one of the burgers to see the colour!
- Enjoy with salad or on a bun.
Simple Yogurt Sauce with Curry
Serves 1 or 2
What you need:
½ tsp curry powder
1 ½ – 2 tsp water
½ pot of Greek yogurt (0% for Dukan)
What you do:
- Mix curry powder with water to form a smooth paste.
- Mix paste into the yogurt.
- Dollop over turkey or chicken burgers (or any turkey or chicken).
On Top Of Spaghetti 
Thanks so much for the nod to my turkey burgers! No diet is fun, really, because it implies something you cannot have. I’m not familiar with the Dukan way of eating, and I’m glad to learn more about it from your blog.
Thanks Lydia! The Dukan Diet is basically a protein diet – no carbs no fat. It’s split into four phases and gives special focus on easing back into eating normally after having stripped your body of its fat reserves. Well, that’s the theory! I’m still waiting to see whether it works! The results are fast but I’m worried it’s one of those where you put it all back on – and then some 🙂