Syd and Becky's Nutritious Dishes and Delicious Switches: How to Conquer Burger BBQs

If you're reading this from Minnesota, you know that this past weekend was a steamy one. From the sun and rain piggy-back game, the humidity and heat just didn't seem to let up.

So naturally, what happens on the hottest days of summer? Hay is ready to be baled and unloaded. Always, every time, never fails.

Growing up on a farm, I have aways been fortunate to have the luxury of going to our freezer to dig out beef for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Since it was so warm out, I thought it'd be nice to grill Father's Day dinner and keep the heat outside. This time, we opted for homemade burgers!

After thawing out two pounds of ground beef, my mom and I formed individual hamburger patties by hand. We seasoned them with a multi-purpose pre-made BBQ rub from the store, once they were on the grill. Instead, we could've added chopped onions, peppers, spinach or bacon bits right into the patty as we were forming them, but due to a time crunch, we opted for a simple seasoning.

Here they are, cooking away. Isn't this a beautiful sight?

Remember that beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees (or more, depending on if you are aiming for rare to well-done).

Safety first, friends. After all, you'd hate to accidentally poison dad on Father's Day! Not the gift he's looking for, I'm sure.

Juicy burgers, coming right up!

We took the burgers inside in a pan, and then covered the pan with a sheet of tin foil to let them rest for five minutes while prepping the fixings. During this time, I placed a slice of provolone cheese over the top of a few burgers before covering the pan with tinfoil, which melted into a beautiful, gooey, picturesque cheeseburger - exactly what burger dreams are made of.

I topped Dad's burger off with simple ingredients - refrigerator dill pickles, fresh romaine lettuce, tomatoes, mustard and ketchup. Also, it's not a summer BBQ without fresh cut watermelon, some chips and baked beans. My mom added some fresh Feta cheese on her's, in order to add a tangy factor to compliment the seasoning nicely.

Her review - a five-star full bite and thumbs up.

Now for my burger -

I personally have some food sensitivities, dairy and gluten included. So, in order to make a gluten-free burger, I swapped out the bun and served it with chips instead. But, disclaimer, these are no ordinary chips! Wait for it..

They are chips made of root vegetables! The only ingredients are root vegetables, sea salt and sunflower oil. Sounds weird, I know! In fact, my younger sister refuses to touch them. (I get it, they're no Cheez-its)

Honestly, they are SO good though! I'd even call them life-changing, maybe. Many chips out there leave you feeling pretty gross and greasy after eating them, but not these ones. Plus, they're crunch factor is out of this world! Just ask my parents, who I had the pleasure of eating them with.

As you can see, my plate doesn't look entirely different from their's. Just a few swaps, yet still delicious, satisfying and allergen-friendly. The burger, even without the cheese, was amazing and as simple as it gets with just lettuce, mustard and a pickle.

Maybe you don't have an issue with gluten, but still want to lighten the carb load. You could serve your burger open-faced with only half of the bun, or forego the chips. 

Maybe you want to enjoy a beer with your burger? By swapping the bun for the beer, you're getting nearly the same amount of carbs, so choose either the bun or beer - you decide!

Remember that there is no hurt in keeping things simple with what you have on-hand!

No beef left behind,

Becky