Example question:

Is a hamburger grilled/fried at home "healthier" than one from a fast-food restaurant? Also include the use of one of those George Foreman grills that supposedly drains fat from everything.

I wonder if anything you make yourself has less of the bad stuff in it than anything you get from a drive-thru.


Dark Stranger - watching her weight and eating burgers :rolleyes:

A burger is a burger- beef pretty much has the same nutrients whether its from home or McDonald's. I don't know about the Forman grills and their draining fat claim, but if you ask me, it sounds like a typical infomercial myth.

A bonus of grilling burgers at home is that you have complete control over the meat, its quality, cleanliness, and what is added to it (preserves, other chemicals, etc.) Chances are that fast food companies add stuff to the burger to add flavours, shelf life, etc. Also, from home you control everything you put on it (even though really, you could just ask for things off the burger from a fast food place). In my opinion, fast food burgers aren't optimal, but they WONT kill you. Grilling up burgers takes a bit more time, can be mroe costly, and wont taste the same. If you're counting calories for weight loss, many places offer nutritional info offered, and quality control pretty much guarantees you'll get the same burger over and over. Make sure you get the salads instead of the fries though! Not only that many fast food places now offer specialty burgers (ie/ veggie, turkey, grilled chicken, fish, etc) which are just as good- some even offer diet burgers (ie/ Atkins style- lettuce instead of bun). So really, once in a while fast food burgers are fine, but I wouldnt do it everyday (obviously). You could also consider the frozen burgers sold in the grocery store- they list ingredients and nutritional info, and many have a great taste (and theyre really fast to make!).

It is healthier if you watch what ingredients you use. Instead of beef (which is a fatter protein in general), try ground chicken breast or ground turkey breast. Instead of using white flour buns, go with whole-wheat. Load up the veggies. Don't use sauce (seasoning works just great!). If you do all this stuff, you might not save too many calories but for sure you're saving fat grams and upping your fibre/protein intake.

That's just my two cents! :bouncing:

I disagree that McDonald's beef is the same as ground beef cooked at home. McDonald's beef is a much lower quality than what you can purchase at the grocery store. If I am not mistaken, I believe I have even read that the USDA has set a lower standard JUST FOR McDonald's beef. Most of the cattle they use is raised in third world countries and grass fed. So in other words, if the beef in the U.S. was the same quality as McDonald's...the USDA would not even allow it to be sold in stores. I am not trying to preach or anything...just type it in on a search engine and lots of things will come up. Bottom line is, if you are concerned with getting proper nutrition...avoiding McDonalds altogether would be a good idea.

...Most of the cattle they use is raised in third world countries and grass fed...And the problem with that is what? Grass fed beef is far better for you health wise than the typical US grain fed beef - it may not taste the same, but it is better for you. Grass fed beef is higher in Omega 3 fatty acids and lower in Omega 6's. Grain fed beef is just the opposite. A diet high in Omega 6 / low in Omega 3 essential fatty acids has been implicated in many common illnesses today.

I guess my emphasis was not so much on the fact the animals are grass fed rather than the fact that they are located in third world countries that have no standards set for the environments in which the animals are raised. The corporation takes advantage of the cheap land and low wages. McDonald's has a lower standard for their meat.
And I don't want to make it out like I am saying McDonalds meat will kill you....again just saying that if health is a concern McDonalds is probably not the best choice for meals. :)

Bottom line is that when you eat out you have far less control over what you are consuming. I would never assume that a mcdonalds or bk hamburger is the same as one I cook at home. You really aren't aware of the cooking environment - how much grease is added to acheive their "flavor"??? How do those black lines get on the patty??? And many other unanswered questions.

All burgers are DEFINATELTY not alike!!! When I cook a burger at home I use 90/10 or 95/5 beef - the fast foods probably use 70/30 or worse and probably add grease/fat to it or the grill they are cooked on. I have an indoor downdraft grill which drains most of the fat, but if you are using lean beef to begin with, you could even pan fry it - there just isn't that much fat to drain.