Burgers

I know I have professed that I believe in healthy food that could be viewed as “diet food” that I eat on a regular basis.  Then there is this entire section on burgers; probably seems contradictory, but its not.

I want to start off with a funny story; I used to live with a boyfriend, we’ll call him d.b. (you can fill in the blanks!).  Anyway, d.b. is probably the complete opposite of me when it comes to eating habits; the more fat and salt, the better.  D.b. attributes this to the fact that he is a man (?) and works hard.  His father refers to vegetables as ‘what food eats’.  Anyway, one day d.b. called me on his way home and asked what we was for dinner; I responded with ‘burgers’ , he was happy with the response and promptly came home.  When dinner was served I put a turkey burger in front of him and his face dropped.  D.b. started screaming, “what’s wrong with beef?”  I replied saying I like turkey burgers and d.b. challenged me saying that I had lied because I had we were having ‘hamburgers’ to which I replied, “no, I said we were having burgers, you just assumed beef.

D.b. didn’t talk to me for the rest of the night but he ate the turkey burger!

I made turkey burgers because I assumed they are low fat and better for you.  I was wrong, kind of; knowledge is power!  I’m sure this is not the first time you have heard this and it also applies to food.  Here is the skinny on burgers; ground turkey is not low fat and beef is not the enemy (can you hear all the men cheering?  D.b. is the loudest).  Don’t get too excited yet, there are a few things that need to be outlined;

1. Portion control is key; a recommended portion for protein is 3 ounces or 85 grams, approximately the size of a deck of cards.  Usually packages of ground meat are sold between 400 grams and 500 grams; this is conveniently packaged around the ideal portion for 4 meals.  The portion is slightly higher but nutritional information is based on an ‘as sold’ basis and we know that as fat cooks, it melts, making the portion a little smaller.
2. When I say ground beef I am referring exclusively to extra lean ground beef and the same goes for ground turkey.
3. The meat in the burger recipes are interchangeable but remember that while beef is not the enemy it is slightly higher in fat and calories.
4. I do not touch ground chicken as a personal preference.
5. I only eat whole wheat burger buns.

In the recipes that follow I have made recommendations for switching up the meat used in the burgers but remember, beef is stronger in flavor than turkey or chicken so if you choose to use beef in place of turkey then the seasoning needs to be a little stronger; if you use turkey in place of beef then use less seasoning.   There are recommendations for condiments on the burgers, adding fresh lettuce and tomatoes is always a good thing!

Hopefully these recipes will alleviate some guilt you may feel when eating a burger.  Eating lean protein with fresh vegetables on a whole wheat bun really isn’t bad for you; when it tastes awesome, well, that’s just genius!