burgers: healthy or not

I thought this was too cute not to share.

Yesterday afternoon, the girls sat down to do a little art project (they like to cut pictures from magazines and make their own pictures with the clippings). Hanna was pointing out all the delicious foods to me. She was craving.....BIG time. After a little whining and asking me if she could actually eat the picture of french fries, she refocused her energy. She made a poster of things NOT to eat, as a reminder of the healthy changes she is making. I thought it was wonderful.

"Except I accidentally put turkey burgers on it." she said. Which I thought was very smart. She knows that turkey burgers are healthy.

Actually, burgers in general aren't all that unhealthy. They become unhealthy when you slather them in sugary sauces, cheese, and bacon, and eat them on a high calorie white bun that turns to sugar the second it hits your saliva. But I explained to Hanna that a burger can actually be a very healthy meal if you use extra lean beef or turkey, top it with veggies like tomatoes, lettuce and onions and skip the sugary toppings like ketchup or BBQ sauce. Even a bun, chosen wisely, isn't bad.

FYI: Are you aware of how much sugar and nastiness goes into BBQ sauce??? (sorry to spoil your fun right before the 4th of July) Try to find a healthy BBQ sauce at the grocery store. I dare you! There just isn't one. I make my own (and very rarely).

We had grilled burgers last night for dinner. Hanna and I chose to eat ours sans bun. They....were....awesome.