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Tips for Tasty and Healthy Burgers

January 23, 2025

A burger can be one of life’s greatest guilty pleasures, but it doesn’t have to be over-the-top to be delicious and enjoyable. To add healthy burgers into your routine, a few simple changes can help make this dish better suited for your health goals or considerations. Below, find out easy tips for making healthy burgers and how to create them when you are dining out, perhaps during your next visit to the Freddy’s near you!

 

Tips for Making Healthy Burgers at Home

 

Each year seems to have its own trends around what is “healthy” with regard to food. For the average cook and consumer, things can sometimes get a little confusing with all of the new and sometimes changing information from one year to the next. However, some guidance stays fairly consistent through it all, such as incorporating more vegetables, getting enough protein and eating more whole grains. With these healthy eating recommendations from the CDC in mind, here are some tips to help make and enjoy healthy burgers.

 

Tip #1: Change up your patty mixture.

If you haven’t already turned to leaner ground beef, that change might be a fitting starting point. Other options include trying out some alternative burger meats like bison or turkey or making patties with beans, whole grains or even nuts. Have a friend or family member who is skeptical about switching from a typical beef burger? Try a recipe like this one from Detoxinista that combines beef and lentils. Then, diners can enjoy the meat flavor they love with the additional nutritional benefits of lentils.

 

Tip #2: Be selective about toppings and buns.

Some easy adjustments can be made to the quantity or type of toppings and buns. For example, consider using only one slice of cheese or trying out a lighter or homemade version of a preferred condiment. Explore buns with more whole grains or have an open-faced burger on just half of a bun. Additionally, you might consider swapping the bun for a lettuce wrap or omitting the bun entirely. If you are trying to incorporate more vegetables into your healthy burgers, toppings and buns are one place to do so, but vegetables can also be put into the patty mixture itself if hiding the healthy is helpful.

 

Tip #3: Don’t forget the spices!

In general, spices help boost burger flavor. They are also especially beneficial if you are trying to make other healthy changes to your burgers like reducing the fat or salt content. Try one of the many salt-free seasoning blends or create your own with some of your favorite spices! In addition to dried spice mixes, you might also add finely diced peppers from your garden or local market directly into your patty mixture.

 

How to Enjoy Healthy Burgers When Dining Out

 

lettuce on a plate

 

Home cooks can try many different ways to make healthy burgers in order to find out which works best for their households. However, enjoying healthy burgers doesn’t mean that you have to make them. In fact, the best fast food restaurants often provide options so that guests can customize their meals with healthier choices. Below, find out how to create or choose healthy burgers when dining out.

 

Try a veggie burger! If you want to enjoy a delicious burger but are keeping an eye on your cholesterol, a burger made of veggies may be a better choice and a similarly delicious one. In fact, Freddy’s Veggie Burger, which includes a black bean burger patty, was named as one of HuffPost’s favorite veggie options. A bean-focused burger may also be a great option for incorporating more fiber into one’s day.

 

Skip the bun entirely or opt for a lettuce wrap! From allergy concerns to carb and calorie considerations, people may have many reasons to enjoy healthy burgers without their traditional buns. From Freddy’s mouth-watering steakburgers to a variety of other sandwiches, opting to enjoy these menu items with a lettuce wrap removes over 150 calories not to mention reducing the overall fat and carb totals.

 

Preview the nutritional information. Planning your options for healthy burgers in advance can help you make the best possible choices. Freddy’s makes both nutritional and allergen information available, so it is easy to see how changes to our different steakburger options, as well as veggie burgers and chicken sandwiches, may make for a healthier dining experience. Customers can also check out how their choices of sides, toppings, frozen custard or drinks will impact their nutritional totals.

 

Whether you are dining in or ordering out, enjoying healthy burgers can be both doable and delicious! At Freddy’s, guests can simply select or opt out of various customization features on our steakburgers, chicken sandwiches and other menu items. For delicious food and options for healthy choices, stop by your local Freddy’s today!