Eat to beat diabetes: healthier hamburger and fries

What North American menu is complete without the classic burger? The problem is that a third of a typical hamburger's calories come from saturated fat. Here's how to make a healthy burger:

Make this meal dramatically healthier by choosing leaner beef combined with ground turkey and bulk up the meat with mushrooms and high-fibre oats.

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 7 minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 250 g (1/2 lb) ground round
• 250 g (1/2 lb) ground turkey
• 125 g (1/2 cup) finely chopped mushrooms
• 50 g (1/4 cup) oats
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) finely chopped onion
• 6 whole grain buns
• Lettuce (optional)
• Tomato slices (optional)

Method:

1. Combine the beef, turkey, mushrooms, oats and onion in a large bowl. Form into six patties.
2. Grill or broil the patties until cooked through. Serve on the buns with the lettuce and tomato, if desired.

• The oats in these hamburgers don't only stretch your food-buying budget further, they cut down on fat while boosting fibre.
• A burger's calorie count is cut in half.
• The fries below have an even more dramatic result with this re-imagining of a fast-food staple, slashing calories to less than one-quarter of the typical serving.

Nutritional information per serving:

• 225 Calories
• 8 g Fat

Nutritional informationper serving using ground chuck, white bun:

• 465 Calories
• 22 g Fat

What burger is complete without fries? The trouble is, soft-fleshed potatoes are grease sponges and deep-frying more than triples calories. The solution? Make fries satisfyingly crispy by baking them with high heat.

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• 1 medium potato
• 175 g (6 oz) seasoned salt (optional)

Method:

1. Pierce the potato and microwave for about four minutes. Set aside until cool enough to handle.
2. Preheat the oven to 260°C (500°F). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
3. Cut the potato into strips and arrange in a single layer on the baking sheet. Lightly spray the tops with cooking spray and sprinkle with the seasoned salt, if desired.
4. Bake, turning once, until brown and crisp, about 10 minutes.

Nutritional information per serving:

• 90 Calories
• 0 g Fat

Nutritional informationper serving using deep-fried potatoes:

• 400 Calories
• 20 g Fat

Wow -- not only is it easy to make, but it's way healthier than the traditional burger and fries meal! Cook it up for your next barbecue and impress your friends by proving that healthy food can taste great!

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