Recipe Rescue: Dash Diet Friendly Meal Proves Healthy Can Knock Your Socks Off!

In recent news the Dash Diet, originally designed to lower blood pressure in adults has proven to reduce obesity risks in teenage girls, this according to US News.

It's no secret that I've been reducing sodium and sugars in my day to day diet for a couple of years.  As I get older and my doctor shakes her head when she takes my blood pressure, it has become more important to watch my levels. Through the process I have continued to eat tasty foods with tons of flavor. I make little adjustments, that you have likely not even noticed in my recipes. I use fresh vegetables when possible and incorporate salt in creative ways.  Occasionally I will fall off the low-sodium wagon and dive into an overly salted bucket of popcorn or plate of french fries, but all in all, I stay true to a healthy way of eating.  I hope you enjoy today's Dash Diet friendly meal.

What You'll Need:

1 lb ground turkey
(not flavored, tends to
be high in sodium)
1/2 each red and yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika (spanish)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 can low sodium black beans, drained
4 roma tomatoes, finely diced
1 small shallot, finely diced
1 small sweet yellow onion, finely diced
and divided in half
a handful of cilantro, chopped
1 lime
1 avocado, chopped
4 slices swiss cheese (optional)

Putting It All Together:

preheat grill to medium

place turkey in medium bowl
add seasoning's, pepper's and 1/2
of the onion. mix lightly with an upward
motion till well blended.

form 4 patties and put on
grill, about five minutes
each side

in the meantime;
in a separate bowl combine
beans, tomatoes, remaining onion,
shallot, cilantro and juice from
half of the lime.
-add a tsp of garlic powder if desired
mix well and set aside

before removing patties from
grill, in the last minute, top
with the swiss cheese.

Serving this dish is subjective and completely up to you. I have served it with the black bean salsa on top and as a bed. Either way finish it off with avocado slices and  a squeeze of the remaining lime. (other times I mix the avocado right into the bean salsa and add the extra lime juice)

-for dessert slice up some strawberries mixed with raspberries topped with low cal vanilla yogurt!