Ingredients for a Healthy Burger
When it comes to January there are so many people that jump on the New Year New Me bandwagon, rightly so, especially after an absolute blowout of food comas during the Christmas holidays. I like to throw caution to the wind and train like a crazy person in January, like summer is a few weeks away and the remanence of a six-pack may return in a few days. The diet is always one that is tough to re-arrange after the alcohol-ridden period between Christmas and New Year so I thought I would head to the nearest Waitrose and give a shot at a healthy-type burger.
So, I went and bought some pretty basic ingredients which included: Spicy Bean Patties, Red-Slaw, Vegan Cheese, and Wholemeal Buns.
Cooking a Healthy Burger for Calories
I have to be completely honest and say that I was surprised at the calorie intake for, what I would call, a healthy Burger. With the essential sweet potato fries, as an alternative to normal fries, the total calorie intake was a whopping 1060 calorie dinner. I came to the conclusion that the difference in calories was probably around 400 calories to a normal Five Guys Cheeseburger which would, of course, taste a lot better than this excuse for a burger. So many people would run out to their local supermarkets and shop around the more expensive, delicate, over-saturated (in January) area looking for healthy alternatives to their usual meals. Having come from a fitness background I am not surprised that the calorie intake didn’t vary too much to a good old burger but there is a huge difference between cooking for calories and cooking for nutrition. I have no doubt that this meal would be more nutritious than a Five Guys Burger and Fries but if you were cooking for weight loss, this wouldn’t be ideal. How many people out there just don’t know this though?
What is a Healthy Alternative to Beef?
I would say that a healthier alternative to beef would be turkey. A spicy bean patty tasted like a cross between concrete and sweetcorn, a sort of mouth-drying texture with a slight sweetness at the end of the chewing process. The patty was not pleasant and the whole time eating I did have to remind myself that this was an experiment to try what many people would be doing in this cold January. It would also be important to know that with the ingredients I bought straight from the shelf at Waitrose the total value of this burger was somewhere in the region of £8 give or take. Seriously, £8?! There are so many half-decent burger joints out there you could pick up a burger and fries for £8 with maybe another couple of hundred calories.
Special Shout out to the Choco-Vito-Coco Drink taste!
This drink is phenomenal. Low in calories, great in taste – think Coconut water with the consistency of a light milkshake. I saw this drink randomly and although the £3.79 price tag put me off it from the outset, the curiosity just got the best of me. So much so that I had to take a swig out of the carton leaving the store! I cannot explain how good this drink is. If I didn’t have so many kids to feed there would be an endless supply of this drink in my gym fridge! Maybe I could then write another short blog called Healthy Alternative to Beer.
The Overall Taste and Recommendation for a Healthy Burger
If you like a dry tasting, nutritious (against a traditional burger), tastes like cement meal then maybe this could be for you. If you don’t, and you like eating a good, well-cooked burger, with running meat juice, great cheese, and fantastic sauce – then check out our review pages because this alternative is terrible. You are better off making a one-pot of a protein that can last a couple of days, buying a few bags of wholemeal rice, then waiting for a Saturday cheat day. The truth, in my opinion, is there are no healthy alternatives that can rival a burger. Its a burger, burgers are like a religion and I feel rude to have played with a great science perfected by so many great caterers like Honest and Five Guys.
