Burgers are good. Really good.
They’re just not always really healthy. It doesn’t matter if you’re a classic beef lover, a turkey burger kind of person or choose the lamb burger every time. There’s something about that flame grilled taste that hits the spot no matter who you are.
But delicious doesn’t always mean good for you. Brush up on healthy vs. unhealthy foods right here.
Because burgers usually come with fries. And no one ever said a burger and fries was healthy.
Especially when the average burger can cover a full day of calories and fat in one meal. All you need is a double patty bacon burger with 3 slices of cheese and secret sauce.
We can do better.
We can even take a burger and turn it into something that’s actually healthy. Something that you can consider a quality meal.
HOW TO MAKE A BURGER HEALTHY
It takes a little savvy, but if you follow these 4 steps you’ll be eating the sh*t out of the burgers you love, guilt-free. Ok, maybe just with way less guilt.
Skip the Meat on Meat
Like bacon on your burger or a double patty. It will cause nothing but trouble.
And by trouble, we’re talking about heartburn, weight gain, elevated cholesterol levels. Trouble.
Double Up on the Veg
This isn’t as hard as it sounds. If someone is making your burger, ask for extra lettuce and tomato, onion and pickle. If you’re putting it together yourself, go hard with the veg extras.
The goal is get something like a small salad on your burger. Avocado plays for the winning team also, so don’t be shy about a few slices on your burger.
Give Other Patties a Try
And we’re not talking about turkey instead of beef. Have you ever tasted a black bean burger? Well…you might actually like it. They’re doing amazing things with vegetarian burgers. Seriously. Or even a fish burger can be a choice you won’t regret. Not the frozen fried patty kind, but the fresh and grilled ones.
Instead of saturated fat and cholesterol, you trade up for high fiber and a pretty good dose of plant protein, and omega-3 from the fish of you go that direction.
Easy on the Creamy Condiments
Like the cheese, mayo, secret sauces and tartar sauces. Pick one, if any and go easy. One slice of cheese, a swipe of mayo, secret sauce on the side. You get the idea. Better choices are BBQ sauce, ketchup, mustard.
Burgers can swing either way. All the way from a greasy mess on some sad bread to a lean protein filled with fiber and topped with a ton of fresh veggies.
The first burger can RUIN a beach body, the second can MAKE a beach body.
If you want more specifics, here’s a great list of the better choices to pick when you need to pick fast food.
Which way are you going?