Naughty Treats Makeover: Hamburgers!

Let's be honest. I'm not going to deny myself the occasional pint of ice cream or never touch a hamburger again in my life. I am only human, and as a food lover, sometimes the pleasure of having these naughty treats gets the better of me. And I'm okay with that. The trick is learning how to MAKE these things. No matter how hard you try, there is just no way to make a hamburger bun with your own two hands that has high-fructose corn syrup or soybean oil or MSG, unless you go to the Cancer Food Store and buy them specifically.

Are you already running your buns off trying to figure out how to decorate the nursery for that bun in the oven, or simply trying to find a moment of peace to breathe, let alone spending hours making hamburger buns*? Let's talk about how to make the grocery store work for us, and save the baking project for another day. Our purposes here are simply to avoid the drive-through. Drive-through burgers have no soul, not to mention they are full of chemicals, made with super sad cows, and have absolutely no nutritional value, meaning you won't even get any energy from them. No, thanks.

*They're actually pretty easy and though they take a few hours, it's not like you have to watch them the whole time. It's more the idea that is daunting! Here's a recipe for those of you that are feeling super ambitious!

So here we go with our makeover.

NO MORE DRIVE-THROUGH BURGERS.

1. Get buns from the store with the minimum number of "unpronounceable" words in their ingredient list. Or, for super hero points, make your own!
2. Get "grass fed" beef
3. Use organic vegetables - tomatoes, lettuce, onions
4. Use organic, chemical-free, and high-fructose-corn-syrup-free condiments

Voila! A "healthy" hamburger!

1. BUNS: These buns from Whole Foods are an excellent store-bought option:

"Sprouted" is always a good word when buying bread products, as it suggests that the producers understand the proper way to prepare grains and probably were more thoughtful than other producers with the other ingredients used. Still, always read the labels!

2. MEAT: Gotta be grass-fed and grass-finished. Oh goodness, if you've ever passed by a commercial feed lot where they "grow" regular, grain/corn-fed cows, it's enough to make you never want to eat it again (the SMELL). But let's go down the more positive route of why grass-fed is the only way to go. Grass-fed cows eat grass, which their bodies were made to digest, so the nasty side effects of digesting something they weren't meant to eat (grains and corn) are not an issue. Their meat has more Omega-3's. They were not given the hormones and anti-biotics that their commercial cousins were to keep them healthy in a filthy environment. Investing in grass-fed meat, especially going the extra mile to buy it directly from a farm, supports people that are raising cows much closer to the way nature intended, which means the meat is healthier.

Check out this awesome resource for finding local farms in your area for the BEST possible meat: EAT WILD

Or, visit your local Whole Foods Market. They have a really great rating system at their meat counter, and knowledegable people that can guide you to the best meat that they have, which is good enough!

3. VEGETABLES: Organics (not genetically modified, and free of pesticides) are always a good choice. However, if you're going to buy conventional vegetables, you are still a SUPER STAR for buying vegetables at all. Go, you! I always enjoy the traditional burger classics, but feel free to pile on any veggies that you like. Tomato, lettuce, cucumbers, onions (raw and cooked), mushrooms, etc.

4. CONDIMENTS. Homemade are best (remember when we made mayo and our fermented mustard? What a great time to use them! If you're going the store-bought route, again, just look for ingredients that are familiar and wholesome with no added chemicals or sugars.

And now that we have assembled ingredients that we have been thoughtful about and put real effort into eating, imagine how incredible it is going to taste and how accomplished you will feel! Not only did you avoid the drive-through, but you made an otherwise "naughty" food into something wholesome, delicious, and a special treat that you can feel super proud of on so many levels!

What a beaut!