If you want to be good most of the time, you should allow yourself to be a bit bad once in a while! So here I go with my favorite hamburger recipe that has NO barbecue sauce/ketchup whatsoever. I only used mushroom, tomato, red bell pepper, onion, gouda cheese, avocado and burger patties.

I have a confession to make: I LOVE hamburgers, but not just any kind and NEVER again the ones from fast-food restaurants.

Although, I’ve gotten slapped in my face by life many times for daring to say “never” (I am sure you must have, at least once, said “I will never do this or that” and then gone right ahead and done exactly that), I will one more time go ahead and state bravely and loudly NEVER!!! Yes, you heard me, but I promise to come back to you in case I break my word.

You might wonder right now why the heck I called it a “crazy-healthy” hamburger. How the hell can a hamburger be so healthy to be called crazy? Well, let’s make a deal, shall we?! :) You read my article until the bottom of the page and I promise to convince you of its benefits and, of course, to give it a try.

First off, as you can hopefully see from the picture, my hamburger doesn’t have any ketchup whatsoever.

Secondly, I went and used fresh vegetables, one slice of gouda cheese, 1/4 avocado and of course the leanest burger patties I could find. Let’s talk about the ingredients one by one now.

First of all, you should buy the best quality beef you can find in your home town. I know it’s not very cheap, but this is very serious stuff.

Did you read the book/watch the movie called “Fast Food Nation”? I will say a couple of words for those who haven’t. The book examines the specific mechanization of the fast-food industry, including the chemical flavoring of the food, the production of cattle and beef industry, the dangers of eating poorly handled meat, and the global context of fast food as an American cultural export.I sincerely recommend it to you, it might help you become more picky in terms of meat choices and, why not, food in general.

As for the rest of the ingredients, I personally like to use onion, red bell pepper, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and of course that I had to bring in a fruit, a special one: avocado. I’m using avocado quiet often in my daily meals lately not only because of its benefits, but also for its flavor – so creamy and tasty.

Avocado is considered as one of the healthiest foods on the planet because it contains more than 25 essential nutrients, including Vitamin A, B, C, E and K, copper, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium. It also contains fiber, protein, and several beneficial phytochemicals, which may protect you from disease and illness.

Notice also that I used whole grain buns with seeds instead of the white hamburger ones, which are a healthier and tastier alternative.

Mmmm, I am wondering if I have convinced you yet?! Ok, I do have a third reason why you should try it at home. If you really want to do the math or go even further and look at your budget sheets (in case you use one in order to save up money for future plans), you might be surprised that it doesn’t have to be expensive to eat something healthier than fast food and to have a little bit more control over the ingredients in the food you eat.



Print Crazy-healthy Burger Author: Cook it fit Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 15 mins Serves: 2 Ingredients 360 g of (very) lean burger beef

2 mushrooms

2 slices of Gouda cheese

1 onion,

1 red bell pepper

1 large tomato

½ avocado, halved

2 teaspoons of extra-virgin olive oil

NO SAUCE of any kind (that’s hopefully good news)

NO salt, NO pepper Instructions First off, preheat the grill to a medium-high heat. Meanwhile, I would recommend you wash all the vegetables very well under cold running water and then cut them in big round slices. (You don’t necessarily need to chop the vegetables as I say, maybe you have a different style, which is perfectly fine). Take the beef out of the bag, wash it (as I always do) and put it on paper towels to drain. Brush the olive oil on top of the burgers, put them on the grill (brushed side down) and then brush them on the other side. Add the red bell pepper slices, onions and mushrooms on the grill, too.Then after a few minutes, when the burgers start to cook, add the following ingredients on top of the burgers: a) Put some onions, which should now be golden, on the burgers. b) Then, add the slice of gouda cheese on top of the onion and keep them under the heat until the cheese melts. c) Finally, add the avocado and keep it for 2 more minutes. If you do it this way, you won’t need any extra ketchup or whatever sauce you use on a regular basis. If you’ve got a toaster, I would strongly recommend to toast the bread. It gives it a crunchy taste. Once the beef and veggies are done ( I’m not giving you precise timings as they depend on the type of grill you use), put them in the whole grain buns and serve them on a plate. Add a couple of lettuce leaves along with the red bell peppers and mushrooms on top of it and that’s your “promised” healthy bite. Enjoy it! :) Notes Get creative, use the ingredients you have at hand and stay healthy! Make sure you only "cook it fit". Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe 3.2.2885