When you think of your favorite meals, you probably immediately associate these comfort foods with weight gain. It is true that if you eat traditionally hearty, stick-to-your-rib types of meals prepared in the way that one would expect them to be made, you will be overloading your system with fat and simple carbs. Both of these cause weight gain. So today we will discuss a favorite meal healthy makeover: classic cheeseburgers.
But just because you won't generally experience weight loss and improved health by gorging yourself on diner-style cheeseburgers does not mean that you must avoid a cheeseburger meal all together. Even if you're targeting weight loss goals – yes, you can indulge in a burger every now and then!
Here's a meal makeover for you to model after the next time you crave a cheeseburger:
Reduce your meat portion. If your super-sized meat meal consists of a half-pound cheeseburger, then make it a quarter pound or even smaller portion if possible. Again, if you don't like to measure, you can just estimate the meat portion that you would normally expect served and then divide it in half. Another option is to make the full restaurant serving but eat it for THREE different meals instead of one! Remember, leftovers are your friend.
Choose higher quality meats.
Saturated fats are worse for you when they come from animals that have been fed a high sugar diet. The beef that you get on your grocery store shelves comes from cows that were fed corn which is not a proper diet for cows. This causes the meat to taste sweeter and actually raise blood sugar levels.
Choosing meats from grass-fed animals means that you will have a better-quality beef when you do treat yourself to some beef in the form of a juicy burger. Even though beef is sometimes publicized as not being good for you, good quality red meat contains iron which is an essential nutrient.
Trade American cheese for aged cheddar or any other aged cheese.
American cheese is really not cheese. It's some whey-based “cheese food” product that is heavily processed. American cheese is more like butter and may create digestive difficulties for people who are allergic to milk or who do not tolerate dairy products. The digestive complications that come with eating cheeses like American or mozzarella which is made from whole milk, can cause bloating and gas which may mimic weight gain. If you're striving for healthy meals, you're better off eating and aged cheese which does not contain lactose.
Reduce your serving of complex carbs.
When we think of that delicious diner burger, we envision the meat sitting atop a thick hamburger bun made of enriched white flour.
If you have no other carbohydrate alternatives and enjoy your burger on a bun, every once in a while, you can treat yourself to a burger on a bun by at least reducing the size of the bun.
How to do this? One trick to try is to hollow out the middle of the bun. What you have left is a thin breadbasket that can hold your burger meat and other toppings. So, you still get the sandwich, but you aren't consuming as many carbs.
Another way to reduce carb intake is by replacing that enriched white bun with a whole wheat roll or a roll made of some other type of whole grain. If you can find smaller rolls to serve your burger on or choose a flatbread alternative, you will be reducing the amount of carbs and helping yourself by choosing a healthy alternative.
Go bunless.
This is the better option especially if you plan to enjoy some starchy sides in addition to your burger bun.
For example, some people enjoy a potato salad side with their cheeseburger. A half a cup serving of potato salad can be your healthy carbohydrate alternative to the high sugar burger bun.
Ditch the fries.
Another typical side that you'll get with your diner burger is French fries made from white potatoes and a lot of them. Swap out that giant pile of fries for a variety of healthy veggie toppings.
Also: fried foods add weight gain and clog your arteries… and the white flour from the large portion of fries is something a healthy weight watcher could do without.
If you're really craving that side of fries, you have some alternative options. One, you can make a side of white potatoes with skins on, drizzled with olive oil and oven bake until crispy.
Just be sure that you stick to a small portion, no more than 3/4 of a cup if you're really digging those potatoes. If you choose potatoes as your white starch then skip the burger bun entirely.
Other foods to give you a healthier French fry experience are oven roasted parsnips, turnips, sweet potatoes, or a combination of these types of healthy root vegetables. Again, choose to bake instead of fry and drizzle with a healthy oil such as olive which is rich in Omega fats.
If you're opting out of a starchy side for your burger, you can fill your plate with fresh veggies and healthy toppings.
Here are some ways to make your healthy burger meal really delicious. Fill your belly and round out the meal with balanced nutrition are toppings such as…
sauteed onions and peppers
sauteed mushrooms
pickles
lettuce
tomato
raw onion
hot peppers
green peppers
cucumber and onion salad
pickled beet salad
a side of vinegar slaw
Better yet, switch to turkey (my favorite) and try some lowfat feta cheese. Check out the delicious recipe below. Be sure to tell us what you think! oxoxo
Keyword: feta, lightened hamburgers, sun dried tomatoes, turkey burger
Servings: 4servings
Calories: 553kcal
Author: Deborah Hanyon, MPH, RDN, ACE-CHC
Ingredients
4tbsp.sun dried tomatoes
4kale leaves
1lb.450g ground turkey
¼cup40g feta, crumbled
4whole wheat burger buns
4tbsp.mayonnaise
1avocadosliced
1 totomatosliced
lettuce leaves
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Place the sun dried tomatoes and kale into a food processor or high-speed blender and blitz until minced.
In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, minced sun dried tomatoes, kale and crumbled feta cheese. Form the mixture into four burgers and lay them on the baking sheet. Place the sheet into the hot oven and bake for 7 minutes, then flip the burgers over and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes or until cooked through. Remove the burgers from the oven and assemble the buns.
Toast the buns and spread each bun with 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise. Place ¼ of avocado on the bottom of each bun and add the burger. Next top the burgers with tomato and lettuce leaves, before covering with the top bun. Serve immediately.
Who doesn't love a BLT? The classic bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich never goes out of style and is a perennial favorite with bacon lovers. Well now's your chance to give your BLT sandwich a healthy makeover!
So, you love bacon, but you are also trying to watch your fat intake and lose weight. How can you make over your bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich?
Cut your normal portion of bacon that you would typically eat in half. Bacon is loaded with flavor. You honestly don't need much at all to get a big burst of bacon to dance on your taste buds. So instead of taking a huge bacon portion that leaves you sluggish and over-satiated, have a smaller amount of bacon and savor it slowly.
Avoid white bread; choose whole grain instead.
Everyone pictures the classic BLT on white. But it can be just as delicious eaten on whole grain bread which is much better for your digestion. Whole grain bread contains complex carbs thanks to the fiber. This means it won't send your blood sugar soaring the way that white bread does. Whole grain bread also contains vitamin B6, Magnesium, and other nutrients lost in the milling process.
Eat less bread.
There are many ways you can accomplish this. You can decide to have an open-faced sandwich on one slice of bread instead of two.
Or you can do two slices but make them thinner. There are many brands of healthy whole grain bread that are also sliced thin. This way, you're eating less carbs but still able to enjoy a sandwich that you hold in your two hands and bite into.
Go for spring greens or another type of dark green lettuce instead of the usual iceberg lettuce that you see on a BLT. Iceberg lettuce is fresh and crisp but is also devoid of nutrition. If you love the crunch of iceberg, then you can still have some on your BLT as it is more or less like crunching on water. But it's also a smart idea to add some fiber-rich, vitamin-packed green lettuce to your bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich. You can put the two distinct types of lettuce together for a good balance and flavor.
Go for quality tomatoes.
Hot house tomatoes are rushed through ripening using artificial means. This is why they look pinker or orange instead of the deep red color of homegrown tomatoes and seem flavorless. The lack of flavor also points to a lack of good nutrition from your tomatoes!
The best tomatoes have great flavor and color and are high in vitamin C and other beneficial nutrients. If you can get farm fresh or garden-grown local tomatoes that have ripened on the vine, you can ensure that your BLT sandwich will contain the most nutritionally superior tomatoes possible!
Add avocado.
Avocado and bacon make great companions. Plus, if you're eating less bacon than you normally would because you're trying to cut back on saturated fat, you should really add in a healthy fat. Avocado is ideal for this purpose. In fact, speaking of fat, mayo is a common addition to a BLT. You can cut or entirely eliminate the mayonnaise if you really want to enjoy that savory sandwich without a lot of guilt.
Want your BLT to have health-giving superpowers? Pile on some sprouts. Fresh sprouts are packed with nutrition. Take your sandwich to the next level of healthy. Add fresh sprouts to your BLT sandwich for more crunch, flavor, and some vitamins to boot.
For the final healthy addition, mix up a quick homemade vinaigrette with red wine vinegar olive oil, a little bit of salt and a shake or two of dried thyme. Top your sandwich with a few shakes of that and you have the ultimate healthy BLT!
And if you up for a real health challenge, try this vegetarian chickpea, lettuce, and tomato sandwich. Let me know what you think!
Place the chickpeas in a bowl and mash with a fork, leaving some of the chickpeas a little chunkier for added texture. Add the tahini, mustard, sriracha, maple syrup, onion and season with salt and pepper. Mix well to combine.
Toast the bread and spread the chickpea mixture onto two slices. Top the chickpea mixture with lettuce and sliced tomato. Now cover with the second slice of toasted bread and serve immediately.
New Learning Tools to Help You Homeschool Your Kids
Gone are the days when devices were considered a distraction to quality education. Education is becoming increasingly digital, now that 75% of U.S. classrooms are using desktop computers.
Societal trends are shifting within the educational sphere. As a result, preschool and childcare center directors make sure that their educational centers adjust to these educational trends. Their leadership training in a fast-changing world gives them the foresight to react to changes within the educational landscape. As such, preschool and childcare centers often integrate devices for better institutional management, parent-teacher communication, and student learning outcomes.
Due to these rapid changes, home-based learning teachers and parents are expected to keep up with the integration of information and communication technology. Since these devices create more meaningful learning experiences for students, home-based learning educators are urged to shift to a more extensive and dynamic educational design. Many homeschoolers and their guardians struggle to make this shift, however.
Fortunately, thanks to the development of new learning tools you and your little learner can find the best options for your learning needs. Here are the learning tools that you can employ to make digitalized homeschooling easier for both you and your child:
Flashcard tools
Parents know from experience that flashcards are effective in testing one’s knowledge. While traditional cards have been tried and tested for many generations, your kid will be more engaged to pursue independent learning through digital flashcards.
Flashcard and study tool Quizlet is used by two in three high school students and by one in two college students for a good reason! Digital flashcards test students’ knowledge in various subjects. As a result, these kids eventually feel more confident to learn on their own. So if you want your kid to learn how to study independently, you can slowly introduce them to the study sets that are created by teachers, lecturers, and students on Quizlet. Once they feel more comfortable with the app, they can start to create their own quizzes and study tests for a more personalized learning experience.
Assistive technology
No student will be left behind, particularly now that assistive technologies have been made for educational purposes. Homeschooling will definitely be much easier if your kids with disabilities have tools that meet their needs.
Approximately 7 million students in the US need special education services. This is why assistive technologies are crucial in breaking down the barriers that students with disabilities face. While your kid may be accustomed to manual practices, you can slowly introduce them to speech-to-text technologies by testing the solution together. Once they see that it’s quicker to type texts or look for information this way, they will be more encouraged to adjust to this innovative solution.
On the other hand, kids on the autism spectrum or those with hearing impairments may hesitate to use FM listening systems at first. In this case, you can encourage them to test these systems with or without a hearing aid. Also, allow them to choose the technology that helps them absorb the information much better.
AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) technologies
AR and VR technologies can be frightening or shocking for younger kids. So it’s crucial to check in with them as they check out the devices by themselves. Iff they’re excited to go on a field trip through AR and VR, try a special headset. For example, Merge Headset. Start by playing 360° videos of museums for a more familiar experience. Once they’re comfortable with the technology, you can give them the freedom to go on a virtual field trip. And you can choose destinations that are related to their current lessons.
Gamified learning tools
Who says kids can’t have fun while learning? Most kids find games to be highly engaging. Thus, companies are leveraging these activities to make educational tools more interesting.
Math can be challenging to teach in homeschooled environments. However, a research study revealed that gamified learning tool Classcraft was effective in boosting the involvement and academic performance of kids in their math course. So, encourage them to use tools like Classcraft for their learning experience. Use these gamified learning tools as a bonding activity. Also, create avatars and complete quests together. This will help them understand the game and be interested to navigate through it on their own.
There is a learning curve with assistive technology. However, increase your kid’s engagement and academic performance by using these innovative learning tools. To make your child’s homeschooling experience even more fun, look into our recommended educational materials here. Go through the rest of our posts to find the right tools and technologies make each subject much easier.
Article contributed by Reanne John:
Reanne John became a learning advocate after her daughter entered nursery. After discovering helpful educational tips, Reanne decided to pursue a career in blogging to support other parents.
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