Thursday, March 21, 2013

Thought you Couldn’t Eat a Burger, Right?



Burgers always get a bad rep. And there is a reason: they usually contain tons of calories. I mean, there’s the patty, there’s the bun, and then there’s always some high-calorie dressing. And if you want to go really crazy with the calories, there’s bacon, cheese, and all sorts of toppings. But hey, if you are trying to eat healthy, this does not mean you can never have a burger.

So while I was making this healthier burger option, I was thinking of ways to cut out most of the calories (I went to a restaurant the other day and saw a 2,000 calorie burger on the menu. God bless American restaurants that post caloric information). I decided that most of the calories come from the patty and the bun, which we can easily attack.

Rather than go for the regular frozen patties, I decided to get a lean turkey option, which came down to only 150 calories. That’s amazing. There are several brands that produce lean turkey patties, so check your local supermarket or better yet, your local butcher.

As for the bun, thankfully, there are very many “100 calorie” buns out right now. Depending on if you like to go softer or thicker, flatter or fuller, you always have options. I went to a health store near me and bought some soft whole grain buns. It came up to 120 calories.

For the dressing and extras, I thought it would be best to keep it as simple as possible. So rather than go for the mayo, I reached for the ketchup. But don’t be deceived; ketchup also has its calories so don’t think you are allowed to go unlimited. Heinz now has so many ketchup flavors you can try. The Heinz ketchup with jalapeno is my favorite, especially since I don’t like plain ketchup. One tablespoon is about 20 calories. Win!

I stick to tomatoes and spinach in my burger. 1 cup of spinach is probably about 7 calories, so that’s great. Plus, spinach tastes better than lettuce in my opinion. 1 tomato slice contains about 4 calories. With 2 slices, I am at 8 calories. A slice of regular American cheese contains about 40 calories. I put in half a slice for 20 calories (Don’t worry, you can put in a whole one, but I wasn’t really big on cheese that day).

All that came down to about 305 calories. I’d take that over a 2000 calorie burger any day! Remember that this included baking patty over a grill without oil.

If you love your burgers and were trying to stay low in calories, there you go. Try it out and let me know what you think.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

1 comment:

  1. Great post, but for me i don't like burgers
    http://nairahealth.blogspot.com/2013/03/health-benefit-of-raw-fruits-and.html

    ReplyDelete

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