Ready To Have a Healthy Burger Night?
We are doing our best to only put organic items into our bodies and are working on healthy eating. I have to admit that our children are doing a FANTASTIC job with the new routines! They have always been fruit freaks but until the last few months, received 3-4 fast food meals a week (served with love...of course). I am happy to report that we are down to 1 "eat out meal" per week or two. So...we deserved a reward..... Burger night!
Here are 8 Steps to a Healthier Burger Night!
1. About the Bun - This was a real treat for the kids because I have been homemaking all of our own bread. Tonight, we used Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Buns! Am I suggesting you make your own....nah...but do go for whole wheat. This is beneficial because when white flour is refined, it loses the most nutritious parts of the grain -the fiber. It also loses essential fatty acids and most of the vitamins and minerals that were in the grain to begin with. About 30 nutrients are lost during refinement and they only add back or "enrich" white bread with 5 nutrients. There is so little fiber left after processing that you would have to eat around eight pieces of white bread to get the fiber in just one piece of whole wheat bread.
2. Veg Out! - Add lots of veggies to your burger. Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Onions, Avacado, etc.. you get the idea. Even pineapple is AWESOME on a burger.
3. Meat Matters - Okay. I am a vegetarian therefore I eat a veggie burger. I KNOW that 90% of you would rather eat your shoe than a soy burger -so in lieu of the veggie burger....choose turkey or chicken. I have heard that dryness is an issue when using a non fatty meat so to combat this, you do have a few options. 1) Add soy sauce to your burger mixture before cooking 2) Use Half beef/half poultry for your patty 3) Top your burger with a sunny side up egg! Choosing poultry over beef will save you 15 PLUS GRAMS OF FAT!
4. Homemade condiments - Store bought mayo, ketchups, and bbq sauces are LOADED with sugar and unnecessary additives! So...make your own! It really takes only a few minutes to make your own. Click HERE for a recipe for Mayo! It has only 5 INGREDIENTS...store bought...13! 1 of which is a poison.
5. Cheese please...- you already have so much going on...you won't need the cheese. If you simply MUST have it, skip the processed cheese and go for a hard cheese with lots of flavor! You will use less cheese that way. My favorite is Feta!
6. Swap the Slaw - For me...no burger is complete without slaw. Slaw dressing is usually loaded with mayo and sugar! Tonight, instead of traditional cabbage, we used broccoli slaw and tossed it in homemade mayo with only a teaspoon of sugar. Now, our slaw has loads of vitamins, less fat, and way less sugar!
7. Homemade Baked Fries- For the record.....These DID NOT come out of a bag! I have a cool presto curly fry maker that works on fruits, veggies, and potatoes. We toss 3 cut potatoes with 1-2 egg whites seasoned with salt and pepper then bake them at 425 degrees.. They come out tasting amazing! I will be posting the exact steps soon!
8. This seems silly BUT do it together! Research does show that children who eat regular meals around the table with their families do better in school, have less behavioral problems, and are healthier. I am sure that there are other factors but this is what the studies show! We cooked together, made the condiments together, then had a burger buffet! It was a BLAST and a great way to start Spring Break.
This was truly the best burger night ever in our house! I hope you enjoy the tips and if you have more...please share!
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