A lot of people perceive burgers to be an unhealthy food. But that’s mostly due to us associating burgers with low quality fast food, and often pairing it with high calorie sides like french fries or potato chips.
It’s important to realize that not all burgers are the same. The concept applies to any food, not just burgers- with a few simple ingredient changes, a food that you might perceive as unhealthy can easily be made to fit your diet. With the right choices, there is absolutely nothing unhealthy about a burger!
In this comparison, the burger on the left is a standard 80/20 beef patty, topped with mayo & ketchup, on a sesame seed bun. This is more of a “typical” burger that people think of, and it weighs in at 600 total calories.
On the right, we made a few small changes, and nearly cut the calories in half. By using 90/10 beef, you cut out a bunch of calories and fat, but still get great flavor (you can buy 99% lean beef, but it’s very bland). Leaving the mayo off will save you 100 calories, and you can easily add in relish or mustard for nearly no calories. And finally, the bun you choose can make a huge difference! While the bun on the left has over 200 calories, a standard white hamburger bun will only be just over 100.
There are other more obvious swaps you can make- you could leave the bun out all together. You could swap for a turkey burger. You could make a wrap. But at the end of the day, if you want a hamburger, you shouldn’t have to make any major sacrifices! The burger on the right is the one I make when I grill, and it isn’t a sacrifice at all!
How do you build your burger? My go-to is always the 90/10 sirloin (doubled up), and I like to top it with a homemade sriracha ketchup ?
