Everyone loves a good burger. I must admit, the way I enjoy a burger now is quite different from the way I used to enjoy a burger before switching to a Paleo lifestyle.
A burger for me before wasn’t even worth considering unless it had American Cheese, usually two slices….and it came on a bun.
So, switching to a Paleo lifestyle where bread and dairy are not a part of my day to day life anymore, it’s surprising to me just how much I still love and enjoy burgers. See, people can change.
Nowadays, one of my favorite ways to enjoy a burger is a plain patty with homemade mayo slathered on top. That served alongside some greens….that’s just delicious in my opinion and often a “go-to” if I’m eating out. My next favorite thing to do at home is to create what I call a “Burger Pile”. It’s just like it sounds…I just pile whatever I happen to have on hand on a burger!
My husband loves this too, so I thought I’d share last night’s Burger Pile creation with all of you so you can see that there is life beyond the Cheeseburger.
While my husband grilled some grass-fed burgers out on the grill, I baked Brussel Sprouts in the oven until crispy. (Click the link to see my recipe for how I make my Brussels…they are delicious;)
A quick note about meat quality. That is something else that has changed significantly since I’ve gone Paleo. I pay way more attention to where my meat comes from. Back in my cheeseburger days I didn’t even know to “care” about something like that. Now I care a lot. I’m lucky to have some harvesters of high quality, tasty meat in my life, my husband being on of them. So, most of the time I don’t ever have to buy it. I just go out to my freezer and pick out some ground elk, buffalo or venison for my burgers. Once you have gotten used to eating such high quality, grass-fed meat, you really notice the inferior taste of low quality meat. I used to think you had to “doctor up” game meats with bread crumbs and seasonings to cover up the “gamey" flavor. Not true. High quality game meats are delicious and are becoming more prevelent in health food stores. I season mine with salt, pepper and a little BBQ seasoning from Savory Spice Shop. My husband usually grills the burgers out on the grill, but sometimes I cook them inside on a cast iron grill pan on medium-high heat, for about 5 minutes per side. If you’ve never tasted game meats…I encourage you to try it. It’s way healthier and extremely lean.
A couple of days ago I was running around all day, getting ready for my trip to New York for the BlogHer Conference and didn’t even think about dinner until it was almost dinner time! I hadn’t thawed out any meat, so I stopped at Petaluma Market and went to the meat counter to see if they’d have anything that looked good. I realized I’ve been so spoiled with meat for so long that I don’t buy it that often. As I looked at the ground meats, they had “ground beef” for around $5 per pound and they had lean grass-fed ground beef for a little over $8 per pound. For me, it wasn’t even a question…so worth it in my opinion.
Here’s how I built our “Burger Pile”… Brussel Sprouts, Grass-Fed Burger patty, homemade Mayo, sunny side up egg, sliced avocado, diced cherry tomatoes, and a sprinkle of pepper. It was so good. It got me thinking how much more I enjoy this burger than my old cheeseburgers. Not only does it taste better, it leaves me feeling good. All of it is good FOR me…yes, even all that healthy FAT! ;)
Get creative with your Burger Pile! If I didn’t have to get to packing that night….I definitely would have added some sugar-free bacon to that pile.
I hope you experiment with your family’s burger nights at home! Try ditching the cheese and bun and create something more healthy and fun for YOUR family. Enjoy! :)