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Caprese Burger with Garlic Basil Parmesan Fries

Yum

May 23, 2018 By Laura Ligos, MBA, RD, CSSD Leave a Comment

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Caprese Salad is one of my favorite appetizers. I had the urge for some Buffalo Mozzarella and came into some local meat so I thought, why not a Caprese Burger? It only seemed fitting to add in some Garlic Basil Parmesan Fries, because what’s a burger without it’s fries?!

I love a good burger. I know it’s such a simple food and basically just mashed up meat that no one knew what else to do with but I’m a sucker for a good burger. When I travel I love to find a local burger because I feel like it says so much about the area and is usually a different flavor combo than I’m use to. I also love when a burger is cooked properly. If it’s still red inside, I’m all in. When it’s overcooked I’m displeased, but hate wasting food so would most likely eat it anyway. It melts in your mouth far more if you get over the fact that it’s a little underdone. However, to each their own, cook your food as you wish, just take my burger off first 🙂

caprese burger

Local Meat

I have to give a shout out to my friend Jackie. I’ve known her ever since I joined CrossFit Aevitas. She’s a super mom if there ever were such a thing. 3 kids, full time job, regular Crossfitter, runner and lives on a farm. We go to her farm once a year to celebrate summer and the beauty that is where she lives. We get to see the cows in all their glory and the rest of the wild life. My favorite part might be the annual tractor ride around the property. Any who, I was super excited to know that I could purchase part of a cow from her farm this year and hopped on the opportunity.

Local meat with no hormones added and from a friend who raises them, win-win-win. I had the meat for all of one day, let the 1st package of ground meat thaw and got to cooking. Boy oh boy did it live up to the hype. Rich in flavor, juicy and down right delicious. I was pumped with how good the burger turned out. Now I will have to try the rest of the cuts that I got, stay tuned.

You Want Fries with That?

Fries are a weakness of mine. I guess I have a lot of weaknesses as it comes to food but put fries in front of me and I want to eat every last one. I try not to order them often when I go out as I know they are laden with poor quality oils and who knows where those potatoes even came from anyway. Not to mention they are usually fried and full of empty nutrition-less calories. While I don’t count calories I certainly want what I do eat to be as rich in nutrition as possible, unless it’s Phish Food Ice Cream, then I just need that to feed my soul .

Sometimes I can’t resist but most times I feel better with a side salad so I’m never sad about that. However, a burger goes incredibly well with fries. It’s a nice carbohydrate rich compliment to a protein star. The good part is that fries are incredibly easy to make at home. You can bake them and won’t even miss the taste of a generic fryer. Add parmesan cheese and you wonder why you don’t make these every night of the week. By adding basil, it ties these fries nicely to the Caprese Burger. I enjoyed them dipped in the leftover balsamic vinegar marinade but would also be delicious with some ketchup (here’s my favorite ketchup).

Caprese Burger, Home of the Caprese Burger, Can I Take Your Order?

The nice thing about a burger is that most people will eat it. So my goal is to make it as healthy as possible. I know, ho-hum who wants to be healthy when they’re eating a burger. Just entertain me for a second and try this out. If you think it tastes too healthy, well then I guess I have failed you. However, if burgers are going to be a part of your daily life, I want them to add to your health not detract. So stop buying burgers that have crap in them and start making them yourself, even beginners can excel at burgers.

Since burgers and fries are pretty dang American, it’s good timing for this recipe since Memorial Day weekend is this coming weekend. Why not have a burger-off with your friends and see who can make the best burger? Hint: you will win with this.  Okay, maybe you won’t but your tastebuds will win and that pretty much makes everyone a winner. Second hint: if you are my friend you might need a different recipe because otherwise we’ll all be making the same burgers on Memorial Day 😉

Last bit before I let you go on eating this deliciousness. I ate the Caprese Burger atop a gluten-free bun. I don’t always eat a burger on a bun, because usually I just want the meat and toppings. However, after a long day, a juicy burger on a bun sounds delicious. These are my all time favorite gluten-free buns, if you are curious!

I love the combination of mozzarella cheese, basil and tomato any day of the week. Add a nice juicy burger patty to the mix and it’s a meal that will leave you satisfy but keep you coming back for more. Enjoy! 

caprese burger

Pro tip: when forming your burger patties, make a depression in the middle of the burger with your thumb, it will help to prevent the burger from ballooning up in the middle and help it to cook evenly.

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Caprese Burger with Garlic Basil Parmesan Fries

  • Yield: 4 1x
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Ingredients

Garlic Basil Parmesan Fries

  • 2 Russet Potatoes (~1lb each), washed & sliced
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 2 Tbsp parmesan, cheese
  • 2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped

Caprese Burger

  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, optional
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
  • 2 Tbsp parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Toppings

  • 1 tomato, sliced into 4 slices
  • 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • Salt & pepper
  • Fresh Mozzarella, sliced
  • Caramelized onions
  • Fresh Basil Leaves
  • Hamburger Buns

Instructions

Garlic Basil Parmesan Fries

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F & a line a large baking sheet with parchment paper
  2. In a large bowl, toss potatoes with olive oil, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt & pepper until evenly coated.
  3. Arrange potatoes in a single layer on baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes until crisp, turning once. Add basil and toss before serving.

Caprese Burger

  1. Preheat grill to medium/high heat
  2. In a large bowl, mix ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, basil, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt & pepper. Form into 4 equal patties (~1/4lb each), set aside until grill is heated. Place on grill for 4-5 minutes/side or until cooked to desired doneness.
  3. Meanwhile, mix balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt & pepper in a medium bowl and add tomatoes to marinate until burgers are done.
  4. If desired, top burger with a slice of mozzarella last minute of cooking.
  5. Assemble burger with tomatoes, fresh basil & caramelized onions, drizzle with remaining marinade from tomatoes and enjoy with a hamburger bun if desired.


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 burger

Did you make this recipe?

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What is the most exotic burger you have ever had? I’m always looking to try something new, share below!

xoxo,

Sassy

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Pin Now, Caprese Later

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@thesassydietitian

We’ve made it over a week together and it feels We’ve made it over a week together and it feels like it’s always been this way.

Motherhood is a wild ride & it’s only getting started. I have never been so tired & simultaneously so fulfilled in my life. That’s not to say it’s not filled with tears, worries and doubts but what fun would it be if it were all sunshine and roses anyway?

Going into this all I have felt so supported by friends going through this with me BUT I felt so unsupported by the general public. It seems like we want to fear and shame moms because misery loves company, right?!

The focus quickly shifts from mom to baby (still shocked that I only have an appointment at 6 weeks even though my body went through the biggest event of its life) and there also seems to be this shift from joy to shame & guilt.

Here’s some of what I heard from people:

😕Sleep when baby sleeps. You’ll never sleep again.
😕Don’t let baby sleep in a car seat, or a bouncer, or anywhere but their crib EVER. 
😕You’ll never have time to shower again, enjoy it now. 
😕Cry it out is cruel and harmful to the baby. 
😕Get baby on a schedule/never put baby on a schedule.

These are all things I heard and that truly led me to believe I was going to lose all sense of who I was and my life as I knew it.

What I wish people had said instead were:

🥰Your heart will grow bigger than you could imagine.
🥰You’ll cry the happiest tears you’ve ever cried.
🥰You’ll feel like a giant hole was filled that you didn’t even know was there.
🥰You won’t feel guilty about cleaning your house, it just won’t matter anymore.
🥰Babies pooping will make you laugh so hard you will feel like a kid again.
🥰You will have time to eat and shower and you don’t have to neglect yourself.

We need to do a better job of building each other up, supporting one another and our decisions while refraining from offering unsolicited advice and opinions. 

So for all you future mamas and new mamas out there, I see you, I’m proud of you and I cannot wait to share our stories with one another and the world.

Let’s stop fear mongering (just like the diet world) and start building one another up.

Xoxo,
Sassy & lil sassy man
🌈Some things truly are worth the wait. It’s b 🌈Some things truly are worth the wait. It’s been a long year of loss, unknowns and worry but it’s all been worth it to get to meet my lil man🥰
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Now time to introduce this sassy human who is already so well loved to the world...
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Introducing 

💙 Connor James Ligos 💙
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After an almost 24 hour labor, Connor joined us over a week past his due date on 2/12/21 at a whopping 9lb2oz & 22.5 inches long with a full head of hair and lungs to scream hello to us with.
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We are so in love already and cannot wait to share him with the world. Thank you for all the love and support from friends and family and to all those that helped us in the hospital. Holy cow labor & delivery teams are truly magical and I cannot imagine doing it without all of their support.
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Now back to snuggling this human of mine and trying not to cry at every last thing he does 🥰 
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Mom, Dad & Bode are all doing well!
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#babyboy #pregnancyafterloss #rainbowbaby #birthdayboy #birthannouncement
I get it, we all eat so we all then want to talk t I get it, we all eat so we all then want to talk to others about what worked for us. That's great!
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What's not great is when we push our nutrition and eating behaviors onto others ESPECIALLY when we are not qualified to do so.
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So often when people meet me for the first time they are worried to eat around me and/or buy groceries around me. My friends can attest I am not judgemental around food and will gladly eat that cake, queso dip or sip on that glass of wine right alongside of you. I am not the food police and do not offer unsolicited nutrition advice unless it's a client who is paying for my help OR on Instagram and other social media platforms where my goal is to educate.
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Why do I share this? 
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Because I see far too many people diving down diet rabbit holes, finding success & then claiming to be nutrition experts purely because something worked for them. 
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I've also seen this alot being pregnant, everyone wants to tell you what worked for them. IF you use that stipulation of "this worked for me" then fine, share away but if you start doleing out advice please pause, take a breath and think about NOT doing it.
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People are OVERWHELMED by diet culture and some so badly want to change but YOUR way is not the only way and it most likely is not what will work for your friend/coworker/cousin/neighbor so please, stop trying to be an expert in something you aren't.
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Got it!?! 
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Ok, carry on.
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xoxo,
Sassy
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#nutrition #nutritiontips #nutritionist #dietitianapproved #rdapproved #rdchat #dietitiansofinstagram #dietitian #dietitiansofig #albanyny #albanynutrition #albanynutrition
Your nutrition does NOT need to be all or nothing. Your nutrition does NOT need to be all or nothing. I'm not saying you have to find perfect balance (does that even exist?) but I am saying that we shouldn't feel like either we have to eat perfectly or that we might as well give up.
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Instead we should look to the grey area in between for our nutrition guidance. 
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What do I mean?
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I mean that we need to realize that we can still eat cookies but we probably should throw some veggies in there. 
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We can have a glass or 2 of wine but we should probably also drink some water. 
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We can take rest days but we should also find ways to move our bodies regularly.
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And the list goes on.
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It's not about all or nothing it's about doing something daily to help your health and nutrition without it feeling like a set of rules or a free for all.
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How do we find that grey area in between?
👉🏻 stop hopping on and off fad diets
👉🏻listen and trust your self, not your coworkers and cousins 
👉🏻focus on the simple things (ie drinking water instead of worrying about supplements)
👉🏻work to remove guilt and shame around food & body
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Where do you currently fall Right now?!
🤪 all
👍🏻in between 
🙅🏻‍♀️ nothing 
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Xoxo,
Sassy
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#dietitian #dietitiansofig #dietitiansofinstagram #nutrition #nutritionist #nutritiontips #thesassydietitian #rdchat #realtalk

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