Have you tried a veggie burger?

Maybe mixing half ground turkey with half lean ground beef?

Not sure if it was suggested already, but I grill two large portabella mushrooms (seasoned a bit) and use them as buns. Sure, it's messy, but very very yummy.

This is how I mix my meatloaf :) For good measure and a little extra flavor and moisture, I finely grate 2-3 carrots to mix in as well. Tastes better than my mother's, that's for sure. And healthier.

I'm a beef lover, and swear by bison meat. It's leaner, more nutritious, and I think it tastes better.

If you want to cut the calories in ground beef even more, mix in some chopped mushrooms. They take on the beef flavor. You can go about 1/2 and 1/2 and it'll taste great. Pair it with earthy spices, maybe some BBQ sauce, and YUM.

When I crave a burger, I just get a McDonald's hamburger. I know they aren't the best, but they aren't as bad as I always thought. 250 calories/12 g protein and 2 g fiber. But it does have saturated fat, so I try to limit these to once a month.

Ditto. I also usually find that after the first three or four bites I am satisfied. So, if what you want is a greasy burger - eat a nice salad, and then eat that burger until you feel satisfied. :hug:

This thread keeps popping up to the top of the list so many times that I think I might have to have a healthy hamburger tomorrow for dinner! My husband would just love an excuse to use his new grill :)

I know I never expected this thread to get so popular! LOL- I was content after the first few answers! but! I got some super great Ideas! I've already tried 2 of them! I love the turkey burgers so far- much better then the veggie / boca burgers!

When I just have to have a burger I either get a Jr. Whopper (when my brother insists on me taking him there) and ask for no mayo, or light mayo, and tweak it a bit. Or I just buy a low fat thing of hamburg meat, or ground turkey meat (if you like turkey this stuff is as good as hamburg meat) and then after I cook the patties I pat them dry. You can get 60-80 calorie light burger buns that taste as good as regular ones, without having to get the wheat kind (not a fan personally). I just use no mayo, or the TINIEST amount (1/3 a serving or 1/2 serving). I also like to either use a light American cheese, or just buy blue cheese crumbled and melt a tiny amount on the burger (works great if you want something creamy without using mayo).

I don't go all out crazy in replacing something like a cheeseburger with an all super-healthy recipe...it's just not the same. here's what I do...

95% lean beef burger (or turkey burger is okay off the george forman)
Light cheese
regular bun..yes, i know it's horrible... but it's by far not the worst part of a cheeseburger.
ketchup, mustard...no mayo.
veggies

Usually, you can get this together at around 350 calories... which seems good to me. Something like a cheeseburger should a meal, not a snack.

angels eulogy... I agree, when I want a fast food burger, it's got to be a whopper jr without mayo. It's only like 290 calories that way, much better and more filling than other fast food burgers.

Exactly, I'm not a fan of fast food but I have to say the whoppers are great. And if you're going to enjoy a burger, why eat a substandard one? Even a substandard one will cost over 200 calories!

now we are talking. lean beef mine take about 2-3oz of meat pack it full of chopping onion and shredded pepper/chilli. grill it top with about 1 oz of cheddar grated with a mix of low sugar ketchup and english mustard (english mustard has much less sugar than american)

serve with homemade wholemeal/granary roll with added bran.

its soo gooooood! :D

I think I am going to have one myself on the weekend. This is a great thread with lots of good ideas here.