These mouth-watering burger bowls with healthy yogurt “special sauce” will make you glad that you didn’t swing by the fast food drive through to feed those period cravings. Not to mention my healthy take on an easy special sauce contains a yogurt so you can use less mayo and enjoy more of its deliciousness.
Burger Bowls With Healthy Yogurt “Special Sauce”: A Well-Balanced Meal
I don’t know about you, but love a juicy burger with all of the fixins’. However, I typically think of this type of food as quite the indulgence because the meal typically consists of protein and carbs (burger, bun and fries). As someone who is mindful of what they eat, that means I’m usually avoiding this meal unless it’s a special occasion.
But now, I don’t have to worry about it! These burger bowls are an amazing combination of vegetables, complex carbs, and protein! You can enjoy these bowls and know that you are feeding your body a balanced, delicious meal.
Why Are These Burger Bowls Labeled For The Menstrual Phase?
The grass-fed beef will provide your body with an extra boost of iron for a healthy menstrual blood flow. The spinach is full of magnesium, which has been shown to reduce bloating and reduce period pain. It also contains Vitamin A, among many other nutrients, which helps maintain acne-free skin.
I don’t know about you but I crave fatty, fried, and salty foods leading up and during my period. This bowl helps satisfy my cravings while nourishing my body with the vitamins and minerals it needs to support a healthy period.
What Phase of My Cycle Should I Eat This In?
While you could eat this in any phase of your cycle, I would recommend making this during the menstrual phase. On average, the menstrual phase is from day 1-5 of your cycle.
What Is Cycle Synching?
Cycle synching is a way for women to align their menstrual cycle with their fitness and nutrition to help them balance their hormones and live in sync with their bodies. Of course, if you or someone you are making this for doesn’t menstruate, this bowl is still a healthy and delicious dinner option. My husband loves this meal! Learn more about the Cycle Syncing Method in my blog post: What is the Cycle Syncing Method? Everything You Need to Know To Get In Sync With Your Body
Ingredients Needed to Make Burger Bowls With Healthy Yogurt “Special Sauce”
My burger bowls are completely customizable and easy to make! The base ingredients needed are simple. Feel free to add and subtract toppings to your liking.
Base
Grass-fed Beef, Spinach, Salt, Pepper, and Burger Seasoning (I like Cavendar’s All Purpose Seasoning)
Toppings
Shredded Cheese, Cherry Tomatoes, Avocado, White Onion, Sweet Potato Fries
Dressing
Mayonnaise, Yogurt, Pickles, Ketchup, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Smoked Paprika, Yellow Mustard, Maple Syrup
Save This Recipe For Later!
Hidden Ingredients to Watch Out For in “Special Sauce”
I strive to feed my body healthy, nourishing meals that support my menstrual cycle and hormones. That’s why I particularly try to avoid foods with refined oils (peanut, sunflower, safflower, canola, etc.) and artificial and highly processed sugars (aspartame, Splenda, high-fructose corn syrup, etc). Sadly for me, these ingredients are often hiding in the very condiments we all know and love.
If you too are striving to cut these ingredients from your diet for the most part, make sure to turn over your condiment bottles and check the ingredients. Popular brands of items such as ketchup and mayonnaise can be big culprits for hiding these ingredients.
Some mayonnaise products that advertise as containing healthier oils will still contain refined oils, just further down the ingredient list. Crazy, right?
As always, life is about balance, though. Do you have an brand new mayonnaise container that you just opened? Don’t toss it, and don’t beat yourself up about eating it. Next time you go to buy, just read a few labels and make a better choice, if that is a priority for your family.
Easy Healthy Homemade Yogurt “Special Sauce”
There’s something about “special sauce” on burgers that is the perfect mix of tang, creaminess, and sweetness. Some may refer to my “special sauce” as “Big Mac Sauce” or “Thousand Island Sauce”. No matter what you call it, my healthier take on it actually replaces over half of the mayonnaise for yogurt.
I was whipping these bowls up for dinner one night and started wondering how I could lighten up the special sauce. Then, I remembered how I often add yogurt to my chicken salad in lieu of some of the mayo and boom! The inspiration hit.
I grabbed the yogurt tub out of the fridge and excitedly asked my husband if he thought it would taste good. He said, “I don’t see why not” so I threw it in, and we LOVED it!
Not only are you lightening this sauce up so it contains less calories than a traditional “special sauce”, I find that the yogurt makes this dressing slightly more pourable. That makes it much easier to enjoy in these burger bowls.
Burger Bowls With Healthy Homemade Yogurt “Special Sauce” | Menstrual Phase Recipe
Burger Bowls With Healthy Homemade Yogurt “Special Sauce”
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Fries
- 1 Large Sweet Potato
- 1 ½ Tbsp Avocado Oil
- ¼ Tsp Smoked Paprika
- ½ Tsp Onion Powder
- ½ Tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 Pinches Dried Parsley
- 1 Tsp Kosher Salt
- Freshly Ground Pepper to tase
Healthy Homemade "Special Sauce"
- ¼ Cup Mayonnaise (I prefer to use one without refined oils)
- ¼ Cup Plain Yogurt
- 1 Tbsp Ketchup (I recommend a brand without corn syrup)
- 2 tsp Yellow Mustard
- ¼ tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp Pure Maple Syrup
- 2 Tbsp Pickles Finely diced
- Salt to tase
For The Burger Bowls
- 1 Tbsp Avocado Oil
- 1 LB Grass-Fed Beef
- Burger Seasoning of Your Choice or salt and pepper
- 12 oz Spinach
- 1 Medium Avocado
- ¼ Cup White or Red Onion Finely Diced
- 10-15 Pickle Slices
- ½ Cup Cherry Tomatoes Sliced
- ¼-½ Cup Shredded Cheddar
- Sesame Seeds Optional
Instructions
For The Sweet Potato Fries
- Preheat oven to 450 °F
- Peel the sweet potato and slice into thin fries; about ½ inch thick.
- Place fries on a cookie sheet and coat in oil.
- Add spices, salt, and pepper. Mix with your hands until all fries are coated evenly with oil. Then spread out the fries as much as you can.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then stir and put back into the oven for 5-10 minutes.
- They are ready when all of the fries are soft and slightly crisp on the ends.
For the Healthy Homemade "Special Sauce"
- In a small bowl, add in all the ingredients and stir.
- Taste the mixture and if it is too tangy for your liking, add another teaspoon of maple syrup.
- If the mixture looks a little too think, you can add small amounts of water (1/2 Tbsp at a time) until you have reached your desired consistency.
For The Bowl Base
- Add oil to a medium-sized skillet and cook ground beef until no longer pink.
- Meanwhile, finely dice onions, slice cherry tomatoes, and cube the avocado.
- Drain the meat, if necessary, and season with salt, pepper, and/or your burger seasoning of choice.
Assembly
- Lay down a generous amount of spinach in a salad bowl.
- Add ground beef, cheese, pickles, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, avocado, sesame seeds, and onion.
- Drizzle desired amount of "special sauce" dressing and enjoy!
Tips
- Do you have a few extra minutes? Patty out the ground beef and throw it on the grill instead! Once they’re ready, crumble up the patties and put them on the salad. This adds an extra, delicious depth of flavor.
- Feel free to get creative with the burger toppings! Not a fan of tomatoes? Swap them out!
- I like to use block cheese that I shred myself. It adds an extra step, but you’re avoiding the cellulose that they use on pre-shredded cheese.
- Add extra probiotics to this dish by using fermented ketchup and lacto-fermented pickles!
FAQ’s
CAN I PREP THESE AHEAD OF TIME?
Yes! These burger bowls are great for meal prep. Store all of the ingredients separately and assemble right before eating. I would recommend re-heating the ground beef for the best flavor.
CAN I STORE ANY EXTRA DRESSING?
Did you end up with a little leftover dressing? No problem! Put it in an airtight container and store in the fridge for a couple weeks. I’m sure it would be delicious on other meat or even as a fry dipping sauce.
CAN I MAKE THESE VEGETARIAN?
Of course! You can easily sub the meat for lentils or black beans if you’d prefer. Just make sure you season them really well.
CAN I USE HOMEMADE MAYO?
While it’s on my list to try, I haven’t tried making my special sauce with homemade mayo… yet! However, I don’t see why you couldn’t. You may just need to adjust the mayo amount depending on its thickness.
Tell me in the comments below what your favorite burger topping is!
Jill says
Yum! I can’t wait to make this!
hollyemakesahome says
Thank you! 🙂