Burgers are some of the most popular foods you can ever eat in the world. They come in a variety of different shapes, sizes and also varieties. But one thing for sure is that burgers are not exactly known to be the most healthiest thing for you. But that can all change as a burger is entirely dependent on what items you put inside of it.
For instance, fast food restaurants tend to serve burgers that are on the unhealthy side of things, where as a Homemade Burger, you actually have options as to how you want to make your burger.
Which leads to the question: Are homemade burgers healthier than Fast Food?
And the answer to that is Yes, they are! Or at least they have the possibility to be healthier than what you would find from any fast food location. And it all depends on how you craft and create your burger.
What Makes A Burger Healthy For You?
When you’re thinking about a burger, typically the words unhealthy comes to your mind. After all, most burgers especially those that comes from a fast food location tend to be riddled with many ingredients that are not good for your health.
But if you’re wanting a healthy burger to eat, then it really comes down to how you build it.
After all, you want the burger to have all the vital nutrition that your body craves as well as having not too many calories while still tasting pretty decent.
You would want a burger that is made with lean meat that doesn’t have too much fat or calories in it, as well as a good variety of vegetables like lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles and any other greens you want find. Try to stay away from processed items and bacon or cheese as those add onto the calories and doesn’t provide much nutritional benefit.
But the most important thing to keep in mind when you’re talking about a healthy burger is the sauce. Many places will just squeeze as much sauce as possible onto the burger to give it more flavor, but all that sauce is just extra calories being added in. If you limit your sauce to just a tiny amount, it’ll be much healthier for you.
Are Homemade Burgers Healthy?
Homemade burgers are typically a lot healthier for you than the ones you would get at any fast food location. The reason for this is because you have full control over what goes inside of your burger. Unlike fast food restaurants who have to make the burger a certain way, you can add as much as you want or as little as you want which makes all of the difference.
For instance, when you’re making your burger you can use a low carb version of bread which is typically healthier for you. You can use a low fat lean ratio of meat for the patty which is also better for your health. And you can also load it up with as many vegetables as you want, either grilled or raw. Plus, you get to decide how little of the sauce you want on the burger if any at all which can make all the difference.
So yes, Homemade burgers are typically a lot healthier for you than fast food burgers.
What Makes A Fast Food Burger Unhealthy?
Most people who think of burgers from fast food locations usually have the words unhealthy added next to it. And for good reason, because most of these establishments use low quality ingredients that are filled with so much sodium and preservatives that it can really be a kicker to your health.
Many of these fast food locations will use processed bread, low quality or high fat ratioed meat patties, and also barely add any types of vegetables to it. Maybe they’ll add like one slice of tomato and one leaf of lettuce and that’s literally it. But then they pile it on with a bunch of sauce to cover the entire burger that it feels like you’re basically just eating sauce.
Plus, depending on where you get your fast food burgers from, they might have a bunch of options to add extra ingredients like bacon, peppers, cheese and so much more. And just the ability to see these items as a choice makes it dangerous as many people can’t control themselves and will just splurge on ordering as much ingredients inside their burger as possible.
All of these combined definitely makes fast food burgers some of the most unhealthiest things you can ever eat.
How To Make A Healthy Homemade Burger
Making a healthy homemade burger is actually really easy to do. This is because you have full control over all the ingredients that goes inside of your burger. So if it’s a healthy burger you want to eat, then here’s how you can make that happen.
Choosing The Type Of Meat
As you know, the meat patty is probably one of the most important things that goes inside of a burger. And depending on what type of meat you choose, it can be either really healthy or unhealthy. However, in this case we are wanting a healthy burger so we need to choose a healthier version of meat.
Typically, you want to choose a meat that has a meat to fat ratio. Something like an 80 to 20 blend is what most places will probably use and that can make a really delicious burger. But if you want something even healthier, I would choose something that is even leaner than that.
Something like a 90 to 10 blend where it’s most lean meat will provide the best results. It’ll have less fat content for you to worry about while also still providing great tastes in each bite.
However, the only problem with using really lean meat is that it has a tendency to be easy to overcook, which means your patty may be dry. So in order to keep it juicy, try not to press it down too much and handle the meat patty as little as possible. Make sure to cook it just enough to your liking and don’t overcook it.
Choosing What Toppings To Use
Toppings are one of the must instrumental ingredients used in making a burger. After all, you can basically add whatever you want inside of a burger as it’ll add more texture and more flavor with each bite. But depending on what toppings you add, it may or may not make the burger unhealthy.
Which is why, if you want a healthy burger, I would opt for purely vegetables. Things like lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and any other vegetable that can think of. After all, vegetables are super low calories so you can put as much as you like without having to worry about the calories coming in. Try to keep them raw, but if you want to have them cooked, opt to grill them inside of cooking them in oil or butter.
Pickles are good too but just be careful of adding too much as they do tend to have a higher sodium count than normal.
Cheese and bacon might seem like normal toppings to add into a burger, but you have to realize that they are also heavy in calories. Bacon for instance is mostly grease and oil which is not great for your body in large amounts. Cheese while not as bad as bacon can still add a bunch of excess calories to your meal. Personally for me, I would say to avoid both of these items in general and opt for more veggies.
Basically, just be mindful of what your adding into your burger. Try to keep it as low calorie as possible without much fat or greasy items added inside.
Careful Of The Seasonings
Typically when you’re making a burger, the usual seasonings you’ll use is just salt and pepper. It’s classic and gets the job done.
However, for a healthy burger, I would opt for less salt and use other kinds of seasonings to amp up the flavor. Things like dried oregano, rosemary, basil, thyme, or any other seasonings you might want to use can be a great bonus to your burger. Also, you’ll get some benefits from using these seasonings as well as many of them provide nutritional benefits like antioxidant compounds and more which are good for your body.
Other than that, you can’t really go wrong with seasonings.
Watch Out For Sauces
Now this is where things can get messy.
Sauces are one of the main reasons why most burgers you’ll find in fast food end up having so many calories. Mainly because, most fast food locations will just drown the burger with buckets of sauce which doesn’t really do much for you health wise. In fact, it’s actually worse since its bringing in a lot of extra calories you don’t need.
When using sauces, try to keep things simple. Maybe some low calorie or non-fat sauces to your burger can help add extra flavors to each bite. Sure ketchup and mayo sounds great, but they also pack on a lot of fats and calories which can be unhealthy.
I would recommend using yellow mustard as its quite healthy for you and also low calories too, basically 0 or close to 0. It adds some creamy sensations while also having a bit of a kick too which is great. Or if you want, maybe add some guacamole which provides good fats while having a delicious smooth taste. Salsa is also good too if you want to add that in your burger.
But the general rule of thumb is that if you want a healthy burger, try to limit your sauces to as little as possible or try to opt for the low calorie or non-fat versions of the sauces.
Swap Out The Bun
The bun is one of the biggest complaints about an unhealthy burger because it has a lot of carbs inside of it. Which is why, if you are wanting to eat healthy, maybe consider swapping out the bun for something else.
Things like a low-carb bread does exist and it gives basically the same type of texture and flavor as regular bread but without all the extra carbs inside of it. There’s also things like protein bread too which does have carbs, but is packed with protein inside of it.
Or you can actually toss out the bun and use something like a lettuce leaf to wrap your burgers. It basically acts the same way as a bun, but you won’t have any of the carbs inside of it and is actually a really healthy way of enjoying a burger. It does get a bit messy though from the liquid, but it will taste amazing.
Similarly, instead of the lettuce leaf, you can opt for a tomato slice. Basically cover both sides of the burger with slices of tomato and eat it that way. It’s really watery, but the amount of juice that goes in your mouth is totally worth it.
Another way you can enjoy the burger is by using a portobello mushroom cap that’s been grilled. By using the mushroom cap as a bun, it holds the burger together very nicely while also providing good nutritional benefits like fiber and more. It’s also really low in calories.
Careful Of The Sides
I know it’s tempting, when you have a nice juicy burger in your hands, sometimes you’ll also want a side to accompany it with. Things like potato chips or French fries are common things that most people eat while also eating a burger.
However, one thing to know is that sides are also one of the biggest reasons why a burger meal can be so unhealthy. Most of these items like potato chips or French fries are fried with oil and grease that adds on tons of extra calories to you while also adding no nutritional benefit. They are also jam packed with carbs which can make you feel heavy and bloated.
If you must have a side to eat with your burger, opt for healthier versions. Maybe some fruits or a salad will work wonders for you. A few apple slices, maybe some berries or a banana area great options to have for a side. Or you can go the vegetable route and opt for some celery sticks or carrots. Both provides great health benefits and are a great side item to have.
Just be mindful of what your eating along with the burger, and if you must have a side, choose something that is healthy and nutritional for your body.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, there are many ways to make a burger healthy. And that is true for homemade burgers as well since it is entirely possible for a homemade burger to be healthier than a fast food burger. It all depends on you and how you craft your burger. As long as you are controlling what goes inside of your burger, it can most definitely be healthier than many other options around you.
Now go make that amazing burger to enjoy~
