It's the husband's night to cook, and his favorite thing to cook would HAVE to be hamburger patties. I've convinced him to put some veggies in the meal, as well....but I have a question.

We don't have a food scale, though I know I need to get one. But say I allowed myself enough calories for a 4 ounce patty for dinner. How BIG is a 4 ounce patty? I've searched and searched and searched online, and all I can come up with is that a 4 ounce serving of meat is the size of your palm. But that doesn't account for thickness...if I let him, my husband would make the patties that size, but two inches thick.

Just curious, since a food scale isn't an option before tonight's dinner...

Deck of cards. Size of your palm (includes thickness).

When hubby or kids insist on burgers I just add a turkey patty to the grill for myself.
It's good, and with mustard ff mayo and all the veggies I want, it's a healthy treat!

Also, why not get 1/2 pound ground lean beef and mix it with 1/2 pound ground turkey.
Then divy it up into pre-formed and weighed patties.
Make sure you add the raw weight to your calorie count or else remember to weigh again after cooking.

My Kirkland Turkey Patties are very large and have 200 calories with 5 grams fat.

You do understand the amount of calories and fat can all depend on the type of hamburger you are using. For size I would say 3 inches in diameter and about 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch thick I guess. I have to say a food scale is one of the most important things I have along with measuring cups and spoons. I get 96% lean for me so I can enjoy a hamburger from time to time.

I do understand that, Shy Moment...unfortunately my town has only one store, where healthier options aren't always possible. Neither is ground turkey, unfortunately...Not sure what the meat we can get is, but I'm sure it's not 96 percent lean...

That's one of the worst things about small town life: no options. People on here are sharing all these wonderful recipes and things like the Laughing Cow cheese. I'd LOVE to try it, but I can't get it. So I just have to make due with what we've got....So far I've been doing ok, though.

Hi MindiV - what a great point you make. I'm fortunate to live in a large city with wonderful grocery options, but this wasn't always the case for me. Good for you for making the best decisions with the options you're presented with!

For me with burgers, it's the flavour of everything together that I like the most. I'm generally happy with a 2 oz (i.e. very thin) patty as long as I have the onion, pickles, tomato, lettuce and condiments to make me feel like I'm truly have a satisfying hamburger. That way I can splurge and have a few fries and truly feel like I'm in fast food heaven.

~Dee

my small town didn't have anything either, but you can request things. I asked my little grocery store if they would stock laughing cow and Wasa crackers and lately, Lean cuisine Ultras.
They did!

next I am going to ask them to stock unsweetened Almond breeze.

PS. Have you checked walmart.com for the scale. Shipping can't be too bad. But if it is I'd be more than happy to buy one locally and mail it to you.
I sell on Ebay and ship things all the time.

Thanks, newfiedarling... That's a good idea, as well. We're already doing without the bun, but maybe if I add those things that I normally like on a cheeseburger to the meal, it'll be more satisfying for me. I haven't been to McDonald's in YEARS now, but their patties weren't very big or thick and they satisfied me just fine.

I'll tell the husband to go thin, tonight!!!

Can you look at the package of meat to see how big it is before he makes the patties? Lets say he gets a 1lb package of meat. There are 16oz in a lb, so if he makes 4 patties from a 1 lb package then you'll know they are the right size (16oz/4=4oz.) If he buys a bigger package just adjust accordingly. If he want to make some bigger, he can divide the package into 4oz portions, leave one out for you and then add other portions together to make bigger patties. I know he may think this is a pain, but it's your health and he needs to understand that (in my opinion at least. )

Eating a hamburger every once in a while isn't bad. Enjoy it! I think it's nice that you DH cooks for you.

Hey Zenor!! My whole philosophy since starting my weight loss has been that I won't deprive myself of the things I want (other than cheese sticks) forever. I've tried that before, and it's always ended up in total and utter failure. I like having the freedom to eat a cheeseburger sometimes...not as often as I used to, but sometimes.

Your idea is a good one....the package of meat is 1.11 pounds, which equals about 18 ounces. So if he made four patties of an equal size out of that, it'd be 4.5 ounces per patty. So if he took a little out of mine and added to his, or another one, I'd have about 4 ounces. So easy it's scary....Thanks Zenor!!!

I happen to have 4 oz. patties of ground beef in my freezer right now. They are roughly 3-1/2 inches across and a little under 3/4 inch thick. They are 90% lean ground sirloin.

Enjoy!

Jay

What a coincidence!! Thanks, JayEll!!!

Mindi
I live in a town so small if you blink when you drive through you would miss it lol. I use to have to drive about 1/2 an hour I guess to get to a store lol Now it is only 15 or 20 min. I do make patties up ahead of time so that they are ready and don't have to be messed with when the hubby wants to use the grill. Makes it much easier for him and for me because I know what I am eating and he doesn't have to mess with it.

When I buy meat (beef, chicken breast, etc.) I am the nerd who is always checking the weight of the packages...I am always looking for the packs that are the closest to 1 pound, or 1.25 pounds so that I know my 4 oz. servings are accurate.

I'll search through 30 packages of chicken breasts, and when I find one that has 5 breasts and weighs 1.25 pounds, I am like "YES!!!!"
The store clerks must think I am an idiot...

aphil
That is to funny. I buy in bulk usually. One time chicken, one time hamburger and so forth. Me and my scale are best friends. I have everything packaged for myself in 4 oz packages.