May is National Hamburger Month

The Burger has many variations. The article looks at the nutrition information
of Fast Food Burgers, varieties, recipes and food safety.

The Fast Food Burger

Burger Love Handles is a song written by Don MacLeod about his personal battle with being overweight. The song focuses on the fast food burger as one of his difficulties in losing weight.

Many fast food items are high in Fat, Cholesterol, Saturated Fat and Sodium and are Risk Factors associated with Heart Disease. However, the informed customer can make healthier choices at fast food restaurants. Below is the nutrition information of some Fast Food Hamburgers. Calories range from 140 for a White Castle Slyder to 1061 calories for a Burger King Cheeseburger, Double Whopper.

Burger Variations

The variations of burgers are constantly changing and expanding to meet our personal preferences, cultural differences and/or nutritional needs.

A burger is not just a ground beef patty served on a bun with the numerous extras, such as tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, onions, jalapeno, cheese, ketchup, mayo, mustard, relish - the list is endless. Today, you can prepare or order a burger made from just about any food you can ground up and serve on a bun.

Some of the ground beef alternatives include:

Beans

Tofu

Seitan

Turkey

Chicken

Veal

Pork

Lamb

Bison

Deer

Seafood

In addition, to the variations listed above, there are numerous variations based on the percent of fat in ground beef and ground poultry.

Recipes using Alternatives to Ground Beef

Click the recipe title to obtain a copy of the recipe.

Black Bean Burgers. courtesy Sandra Lee from Sandra's Money Saving Meals. This recipe is 302 Calories and 5 g Fat

Boca Burger, Meatless California Burger by Boca Burger. Calories 250 and 7 grams Fat.

Stuffed Turkey Burgers, Ellie Krieger, Show: Food Network Specials Episode. Calories 286 and 10 grams Fat.

Food Safety

Memorial Day is quickly approaching and many Americans will be using the Barbecue to prepare there favorite Burgers. It is extremely important to practice good food safety techniques.

Safe Summer Grilling Advice from the Department of Agriculture

Food safety officials and partners have some tips for a successful barbecue season.

The USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline

can help answer your questions about the safe storage, handling

and preparation of meat, poultry, and egg products.