How to Make a Healthy Choice Burger and Fries

A burger and fries is rarely one of the first things which comes to mind when one thinks of healthy choices in food - nor is it indeed considered to hold any place in the world of healthy cooking. We are more inclined to think of burgers and fries as things which have to be avoided at all costs in any form of healthy cooking regime. We will be told of salt, sugar, saturated fats and more and that in order to follow any form of healthy eating regime, burgers and fries typify precisely that which we have to refrain from consuming.

The tips given in this respect are generally sound but I prefer to address such issues - be they related to food, or anything else - by thinking, "What if I changed it, rather than avoided it...?"

That is precisely what I have endeavoured to do with this truly much healthier choice burger and fries.

The first step to preparing a healthy choice anything is in looking at what makes the original dish so unhealthy. In the case of burgers and fries, this will be the saturated fat in which the fries and/or burgers may well be cooked, as well as the excessive salt and sugar, particularly in the burger bun.

The way I have addressed this problem in the main part is by using sunflower oil for cooking, using only a minimum amount of sugar in the burger bun and by using what is called LoSalt, throughout the recipe. LoSalt is a salt substitute which is considerably lower in harmful sodium and high in natural potassium. If LoSalt is not available in your locale, browse or ask someone in your local supermarket for an alternative. Taste wise? I defy anyone to be able to tell the difference!

NB: Particularly where you have a pre-existing medical condition which can be affected by your diet, always consult your registered medical practitioner before beginning to use any form of salt substitute on a regular basis.

Another reason why a burger and fries can prove to be so unhealthy is when one chooses to add such as mayo, ketchup or any other form of sauce. Although it may look like mayo on my healthy choice burger and fries, you may rest assured it is not.

What I have done is simply take two tsp of low fat, soured cream and grate a small clove of garlic in to it. By preparing this a few hours ahead, stirring it well and covering it with clingfilm and refrigerating it until it is required, the beautiful garlic flavour infuses right through the cream. 

It may surprise many but the burger buns are one of the biggest unhealthy factors in many modern burger and fries recipes. While many fast food chains have been forced to address concerns regarding the ingredients and preparation methods for their burgers and their fries, no one seems as yet to have queried the massive levels of salt and sugar that are poured in to their buns!

This is the part of this recipe regarding which I believe most people will have differing opinions. That is because the recipe which I am providing for these, "Burger buns," is actually one for substantial bread rolls. I like substance in my bread as well as flavour. I hate dry bread rolls or buns which would disintegrate in to crumbs or even dust were it not for the grease from the burger. For this reason, I will firstly share with you how I made these traditional Scottish bread dinner rolls and then afford you some options at the end of this section.

Ingredients

1/2lb plain (all purpose) flour

5fl oz lukewarm water

1 tsp yeast

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp reduced sodium salt

1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

A little sunflower oil for oiling hands and baking sheet

Method

The first step is to measure out the 5fl oz of lukewarm water in to a jug. This is best achieved by adding circa 2fl oz of cold water to the jug, topping the level up to 5fl oz with boiling water and stirring. One should then add the sugar and the yeast, again stir briefly, before covering the jug and sitting it in a warm place for ten to fifteen minutes.

The flour and the salt should then be sieved in to a large mixing bowl. When the yeast has begun to act (as can be seen in the photograph to the above right) the mixture should be poured in to the flour and salt. I like to stir firstly with a wooden spoon to combine the ingredients before lightly oiling my hands with sunflower oil, using my hands to finish combining the ingredients and proceeding to knead the dough well (see video instructions below) for five minutes. After that time, the dough should be covered with a cloth and left in a warm place for around an hour, by which time it should have approximately doubled in size.

The dough should then be kneaded again for a further five minutes or so, by which time it will have once again reduced in size. It should then be split in to three equal parts and placed on a lightly oiled baking sheet or tray. Note that every effort should be made to ensure that the top of the three bread rolls is smooth, in order that the finished rolls know the best cosmetic effect. The baking tray should then be covered and placed in a warm place for a further half hour.

Pre-heat your oven to 375F/190C/Gas Mark 5. Scatter the sesame seeds over the rolls (if required) and place them in to the oven for approximately twenty-five minutes. When the rolls have risen and turned a beautiful, burnished golden colour, they are ready. They should then be removed from the oven and sat on a wire rack to cool.

As promised, below are some alternative burger bun recipes. What I can not and will not do, however, is testify as to the, "Healthy," or even, "Healthier," nature of these recipes.

Please judge, in each instance, for yourself:

Burger Bun Recipe on AllRecipes

How to make Burger Buns from Pre-Prepared Bread Mixes

A Burger Bun Recipe which Appears to be Very Popular

An Interesting Burger Bun Recipe with Chicken Fat and Three Different Types of Flour

If you do choose to employ one of the above burger bun recipes - or a different one altogether - which is not as health oriented as I have endeavoured to make mine, do not despair! Following the rest of the tips on this page will at least go some way towards moving you in the right direction with regards to healthy cooking and healthy eating and every single step should be viewed as a positive.

It should also be pointed out with regards to burger buns that there are some who may very well be prepared to follow a healthier recipe but do not wish to spend so much time kneading and in preparation of the dough. If you would prefer a bread maker to do the work for you in this machine age, I have included below some bargain deals from Amazon.com which you may well find to be of interest.

The problem with a lot of French fries is not just in the way they are cooked but in that they contain a lot more than potato. Although this factor will vary, they may very well contain salt, as well as a whole host of artificial colours and preservatives which read like the Periodic Table of Elements. These French fries which I make have one ingredient: potatoes!

I remember once having to write an article entitled, "How to peel a potato." No - I am not joking! Strangely enough - if memory serves me correctly - I have now written three very different articles for three different publishers on precisely that subject.

The way in which I peel a potato is with a very sharp, universal kitchen knife. Yes, I have tried using potato peelers of many different types but I quite simply don't like them. I like to have the control in that I can use my knife to immediately cut out any bad bits in the potato or shape the potato in any way I choose. I would point out only here that I have been peeling potatoes in this fashion for a great many years and that great care is required if one is not used to peeling potatoes in this way. Using this method for peeling potatoes allows me to essentially shape the potato for better slicing and chopping in to French fries.

When the potato is peeled - by whatever method - it should be sliced lengthways to a width of about a quarter of an inch. Each slice should then be chopped in to quarter-inch French fries. The strips should then be placed on to a clean tea-towel and carefully dried.

Rather than using a deep fat fryer for making French fries, I prefer to use a conventional frying-pan. The reason for this is simple in that the fries are so thin, I want to watch them cook and judge when they are ready at each stage. Modern science is yet to come up with anything better than the human eye for making this determination.

When I am making traditional British chips - which are much thicker than French fries - I parboil the chipped potatoes first, before twice deep frying them. This is not necessary for preparing French fries, simply because they are so thin, but I do still deep fry them twice. In relation to this recipe, I fry the potato pieces the first time for around five minutes in sunflower oil until they just begin to colour while the bread rolls are baking and then allow them to cool fully on kitchen paper before the second frying.

The second frying of what will ultimately be the French fries should be for around three to four minutes and timed to coincide with the burger(s) being ready to serve.

The burger is another part of this recipe with few ingredients. It consists simply of minced (ground) pork, LoSalt and nutmeg. I have used nutmeg as a bit of a variation from black pepper and it truly does add a whole different dimension to the ultimate flavour of the burger.

I very much hope that you will see the white pieces of fat in the pork in the pictures to the right. Although we are indeed looking at preparing a healthier option burger, we simply can not afford to eliminate the saturated fats altogether. Without these fats existing in the recipe to a certain extent, the burger would be dry and wholly unpalatable. This whole recipe for a healthier burger and fries is about keeping such inclusions to a minimum and by no means eliminating them altogether.

Per burger for this recipe, one will require 1/4lb minced or ground pork, a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg and a pinch of LoSalt. The ingredients should be added to a bowl and the mix should be almost kneaded by hand. This is not only to ensure that the seasoning is incorporated all the way through the meat but to compress the meat in to what will ultimately be a presentable burger.

The pork mix should then be rolled in to a ball and flattened in to a burger pate approximately three-quarters of an inch thick. It should then be shallow fried in a little sunflower oil, over a medium heat, for around ten minutes each side. Remember that it is imperative that pork always be fully cooked and this can usually be judged in this instance simply by glancing at the pate from the side. Eating under-cooked pork can have extremely serious health implications.

When the cooking is done, all that remains is to plate up the healthy burger and fries in the correct order.

Firstly, the still warmish bun should be cut in half and arranged on the plate. A couple of lettuce leaves should then be washed, dried and roughly shredded to be laid atop the bottom half of the bun. The burger should be laid on top.

A beef tomato is best to obtain for this purpose and its centre should be sliced and laid atop the burger. The garlic soured cream may thereafter be laid on top before the fries are added as a finish.

Each and every component part of this recipe is of course subject to variation and experimentation. The point is that it is entirely possible to make a healthier option burger and fries if one knows but the inclination, determination and the application. The instructions provided on this page are but a guideline and a tool for getting you thinking.

Please - eat well, eat properly and eat in a healthy fashion. Your family will thank you, your doctor will thank you - and, quite simply, your body will thank you.

If you have any further questions re healthy eating, healthy cooking or healthy living, you may be surprised by the resources a Google search for your area will reveal. Failing that, please do not hesitate to contact me via the tool at the top right of this page, or leave a message for me below.