Hamburgers—the ultimate American food.  Maybe its thoughts of summer BBQs or old fashioned 50’s diners, but there is something about hamburgers that is just plain, good comfort food.  Growing up in Southern California, In-N-Out was a favorite! My sister and I used to love watching them cut up real potatoes for french fries, and every once in a while my mother even allowed us a strawberry shake.  Maybe one day I will figure out a grain-free recipe for flaky, buttery hamburger buns, but for now roasted sweet potatoes will have to suffice.  Against All Grain has a fabulous recipe for hamburger buns if you want the typical burger experience.

Burgers can be eaten with endless toppings to satisfy everyone’s tastes.  Favorite toppings in our house include sautéed mushrooms, grilled onions, avocado or sharp cheddar cheese.  These burgers are spicy and not for the faint at heart!

Bon appetit!

Triple Pepper Burgers

Makes 4-6 burgers

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb grass-fed ground beef
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1 jalapeño pepper
• 1 small red chili pepper
• 2 cloves garlic
• sea salt and pepper

Roasted sweet potato “buns”

• 1 sweet potato
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• sea salt
• fresh ground pepper

Top with cheddar cheese and sliced avocado

Directions

• Warm the grill to medium-high heat.  Preheat oven to 400.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Thinly slice sweet potatoes into 1/4 inch rounds.
• Place on the baking sheet and lightly drizzle both sides with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Roast sweet potatoes for 20 minutes, flip and continue roasting for an additional 15-20 minutes or until edges are slightly crispy.
• While the sweet potatoes are roasting, finely chop all peppers and garlic.  Mix peppers with ground beef and shape into hamburger rounds.
• Sprinkle burgers with salt and pepper..
• When sweet potatoes are finished, turn oven temperature up to broil.
• **Broil burgers for 5-6 minutes, rotate and cook for an additional 5-6 minutes.  During the last minute place sliced cheese on top of burger to melt.
• **If using a BBQ, grill burgers on medium-high for about 4 minutes per side.  Place burgers on sweet potato rounds and garnish with avocado slices.

**Cooking time is for medium burgers—adjust time based off your preferences.

Tips for cooking grass fed beef—

• Requires less cooking time than conventional beef (about 30%)
• Lower in fat content, therefore important not to over cook
• Always allow your meat to come to room temperature before grilling or cooking
• Never cook in the microwave, as this destroys flavor and nutrients

Why grass-fed beef?

So meat is good for me?  Yes, but the quality and source of the beef is important!  Cows were meant to roam and graze on grass.  Modifying a cow’s natural diet greatly changes the nutrition of the meat you eat.

Grass-fed meat is high in omega-3s and CLA which has been shown to greatly reduce heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity.  Conventionally raised beef is full of antibiotics, pesticides, growth hormones—filling your body with chemicals.

[For more on the nutrition of grass-fed meat and dairy, click here…]