Here We Go - burger comparison

Like many of you, I crave a beef burger from time to time.  I don't usually do fast food (maybe 4-6 times a year) and prefer to make my burgers at home.  We don't do burgers often so I am always on the lookout for GREAT burger recipes.  I found this one on the cover of a cooking magazine and it looked so amazing - it enticed me - it called out to me.  So I bought the magazine several months ago and made it.  It was amazing but soooo unhealthy (I know beef burgers are not a health food but this one is worse for you than most).  I am listing the ingredients and recipe as in the magazine and then offering MY recipe which is more realistic as far as nutritional guidelines are concerned, and then finally some tips to make it even healthier.

The recipe is for beef burgers, sour cream onion rings, and red ranch dressing.

Here's the ingredient list:

Sour cream onion rings:

• Frying oil
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 onion cut into 1 inch slices and separated into rings
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup finely chopped chives or scallion greens
• salt and pepper to taste

Burgers

• 2 lbs ground sirloin
• 1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil for drizzling
• 4 brioche rolls
• chopped crisp lettuce

Red ranch dressing

• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup low sodium ketchup
• 1 large grated garlic clove
• 2-4 tbs finely chopped mixed fresh herbs
• 1 tbs fresh lemon juice
• salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste

Mix the dressing ingredients together and put in fridge.
Mix the ground sirloin, worcestershire, salt, and pepper - set aside.
Mix the buttermilk and sour cream in a bowl and place the onion rings in to soak for a few minutes.  Mix the flour, chives, salt and pepper together on a plate.  Take the onion rings from the wet mixture and dredge them in the flour - then once again in the wet mixture and again in the flour.
Fry the rings in oil for 4 minutes in small batches.
Divide your ground sirloin into 4 burger patties or 12 slider patties.  Coat them with olive oil and cook in a hot skillet or grill for 8-10 minutes for burgers or 4-6 minutes for sliders.

To serve, take a bun, layer on the dressing, lettuce, burgers, and onion rings.

Here's what I say - REALLY?  Does anyone need a 1/2 lb burger?  The author of the recipe suggested you skip lunch in order to indulge.

Here are the changes I made to make it more "realistic".

I used 1 lb of the meat mixture to make 6 burger patties - I wrapped up and froze the other lb for when the burger craving strikes next month.

I used regular grocery store packaged burger buns.

I did not double dip the onion rings nor did I drizzle the patties with olive oil before grilling.

Here is the analysis of nutritional info just based on the burger and bun differences.

Original recipe:

• 716 calories
• 62% of your daily fat allowance
• 85% of your daily saturated fat allowance
• 79% of your cholesterol allowance
• 46% of your daily sodium allowance.

My recipe:

• 350 calories
• 29% of your daily fat allowance
• 35% of your saturated fat allowance
• 27% of your cholesterol allowance
• 12% of your sodium allowance.

Just a couple of changes makes a HUGE difference - always remember portion control is #1.

Other ways to make this even healthier would be to use whole grain buns and use low fat or fat free sour cream

Happy eating!!
K

New Year - New Us

Hi my friends,

I'm going to try something a little different for the new year.  I, like many of us, have got to lose some weight this year.  The problem is, like many of us, I LOVE my food.  I spend a lot of time reading recipes in magazines, cookbooks, and online.  I am appalled that so many trusted sources do not at least try to follow nutrition guidelines.  I am also appalled that unless we do our homework, we may not know how unhealthy a lot of these recipes are.  I am going to try to do the homework for all of us.  This is a huge undertaking and, as I found today, a very daunting task.  So, I will probably only post once or twice per week because I will not post a "realistic" version unless I have tried it and find it worthwhile.

I will be trying to post a summary of the original recipe I find that sounds good and offer a "realistic" version according to nutrition guidelines and some tips on making it even better for you as a third option.  Where I can, I will list nutrition values - I am particularly interested in calories, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, and protein.

I will be posting my first recipe comparison later tonight.  If you find it confusing or not helpful - let me know.  Also let me know if you like what I'm doing.  I'm flying by the seat of my pants here and appreciate any and all comments, suggestions, input.

Happy eating
K

Potato Leek Soup

Hi my friends,

We had a cold spell here in Florida and I found myself craving homemade soup.  I remembered that I loved potato leek soup in my younger days and found that I had most of the ingredients already in the house.  I made a huge pot and it was so delicious that the soup that I had thought would last a couple of days was all gone on the day I made it.  It is extremely inexpensive to make and you can change a couple of the ingredients to make it as healthy as you want (or as decadent as you want). I vote for the decadent version - consider it a once in a while splurge.  I am posting the recipe for the decadent version.  This batch of soup (8-10 servings) cost me around $5 to make.  It may cost you a bit more if you don't have most of the ingredients on hand.

For a healthier version, use something like Smart Balance butter and 2% milk (I do not suggest using skim).

Your ingredient list:

• 3 tbsp butter or Smart Balance
• 3-4 leeks - washed well and thinly sliced (use only the white and light green parts - save the dark greens for your stock pot)
• 1 large onion chopped
• 6-8 potatoes scrubbed and thinly sliced
• 3-4 cups chicken or veggy broth
• 1 cup heavy cream (or 1/2 and 1/2, or whole milk, or 2% milk)
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 bay leaves
• chopped fresh chives (to taste - I used approx 2 tbsp) or jarred chives
• chopped parsley (to taste - I used approx 1 tbsp) or jarred parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large pot on medium-high heat, add the butter, then add the onions and leeks.  Cook until they are soft.  Add the sliced potatoes and the broth.  You only want the broth to cover the potatoes by about an inch.  Add the chili powder and bay leaves.  Cook until the potatoes are tender.  Remove the bay leaves and, at this point you have a few options.  I used a potato masher to mash the potatoes a bit and then put 1/3 of the soup into my blender and pulsed it a few times.  You can choose to not mash anything, or do what I did, or pulse all of your soup (in batches) in the blender. It all depends on the consistency you are looking for.  DO NOT USE A FOOD PROCESSOR - it will turn it into a glutenous mass.  Return everything to the pot, add the cream (or milk), chives, and parlsey and cook on medium heat for an additional 15 minutes.

If you find the soup is too thick, you can thin it out with more broth.

Happy eating,
K