Fitting the Bun

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We all spend our lives trying to do things to "fit in" with what is going on around us. I was thinking about that on the drive home today, and then instantly shifted to what I  was going to make for dinner. Then, I blended the thoughts and came to the conclusion that I even make my food "fit in" to what is going to be around it. Mainly this is about hamburgers and how you eat them. Some use a bun, some use 2 pieces of bread, I use a 6" tortilla. What does this mean about "fitting in?"

Tortilla Burgers

If using a bun, make the burger a circle, if using bread, make it square, and if using a tortilla, make it like you see pictured at the right (a long ellipse). I do that so I can place the burger on the lettuce, tomato, and relish; but then am able to fold over each side and then the bottom of the tortilla. If I made it round, it wouldn't fold well, and everything would drip out the bottom and stain my clothes.

If using 2 pieces of bread, making it as a square eliminates the "dead zone" created by a round burger. If using bread, I use a large glass to cut the slices into circles to get rid of the crust, and fit the burger.

I shared my Grandma's Burgers recipe and the comparison between Bread vs. Tortillas. To expand that, here is a bun vs. 2 pieces of bread vs. a 6" tortilla. The info about the condiments or burger isn't included because the same amount of each is used. The data comes from the other entries and the bun from MyFitnessPal. The highest info is in red, the mid with yellow and the lowest with green. Remind you of a stop light?

	Nickles Italian Bread	La Banderita Tortilla	Hamburger Bun
Serving Size	2 slices	1 tortilla	1 bun
Calories	160	81	120
Total Fat	2 g	.7 g	2 g
Sodium	360 mg	209 mg	206 mg
Total Carbohydrates	30 g	15 g	21 g
Sugars	2 g	0 g	3 g

Notice anything there? Which one has the most green lights? The tortilla has the least calories, total fat, and carbs (especially sugar carbs). Grab a calculator and double all of those numbers if you eat 2 burgers (like most of us do). Scary, isn't it?

Another benefit to using tortillas for sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, burritos, soft tacos, and darn near everything else; I don't buy a loaf a bread for the sandwiches, a package of hamburger buns, a package of hot dog buns, AND a package of tortillas. One package does them all, especially if you rip the tortilla in half for hot dogs. The 6" tortillas cost a LOT less than the others, and you get more of them. The family pack that I buy has 20. To equate, I would have to buy 2.5 packs of hamburger buns and 2 packs of hot dog buns. That dramatically increases the cost of buns vs. tortillas.

I watch my diet and keep some money in my pocket. Both allow me to get that special Snickers bar every month without draining the wallet and feeling the guilt if my waist expands... Bottom line, make it all fit YOU.

Grandma's Burgers

Okay, another family recipe that has never been written down, but I can't keep it to myself, that would be selfish. This is the recipe for my Grandma Rose's hamburgers. She taught it to me so I could learn to expand my ingredients into a way to feed more people, still have flavor, and be full of nutrition. Is how you can turn 1 pound of ground meat into a way to make 6 burgers that are about 1/3 of a pound, instead of 4 that are only 1/4 of a pound. Yes, I follow it with a few suggestions.

Ingredients

• 1 lbs. ground meat (beef or sausage, your choice)
• 1 egg
• 1 slice bread
• Milk
• Italian herbs, salt, pepper, whatever you like
• Bare hands

Directions

1. Wash your hands, take off jewelry and watches.
2. Put the slice of bread on a plate or in a bowl. Soak it with the milk and let it soak.
3. Put the meat in a large bowl.
4. Crack the egg, and dump it over the meat.
5. Place the soaked slice of bread over the meat.
6. Knead mixture with bare hands, and sprinkle herbs over each layer before turning.
7. Use hands to cut the mixture in half lengthwise, and then in thirds (to get the 6 patties).
8. Form the patties and cook them on the stove, in the oven, or on the grill until they are done to the preferred taste. Then serve...

Suggestions
✔ Substitute a 2/3 cup of bread crumbs instead of the slice of bread
✔ Add 1/4 tsp. of smoke flavor sauce in the winter if cooked inside to make it taste like it was done outside.
✔ Hand press them to 1/4 pound in size and thickness to get 8 patties from 1 lbs. of meat
✔ Save at least one patty for the dog, they'll appreciate it
✔ When taking the slice of bread off of the plate of milk, lay a couple of Oreos on it to enjoy while grilling
✔ Use ground sausage instead of just ground beef, or combine them together to add flavor

Bread vs. Tortilla

So, my son and I got into a conversation about nutrition and he asked why I eat 6" flour tortillas instead of bread like him. I answered "because it is better for you," to which he replied "PROVE IT." Here is the results of the research we did together, form your own decision (I'll still keep eating tortillas).

We started by comparing the wrappers from the bread he normally eats (Nickles Italian) and the tortillas (La Banderita) that I eat. Then online to find out what was available from the "nutrition" sites out there (this one is the best, click HERE).

Nutritional Data	Nickles Italian Bread	La Banderita Tortilla
Serving Size	1 slice (32g)	1 tortilla (33g)
Calories	80	81
Total Fat	1 g	.7 g
Cholesterol	0 mg	0 mg
Sodium	180 mg	209 mg
Total Carbohydrates	15 g	15 g
Dietary Fiber	1 g	2 g
Sugars	1 g	0 g
Protein	3 g	3 g

So, what does this all mean? Think about making a sandwich. Using the same amount of lunch-meat, lettuce, slice of tomato, condiments...that doesn't change anything, but you have to double the numbers for the bread since it takes 2 pieces of bread to make a sandwich, you just roll the tortilla. Bread sandwich ends up being 160 calories, 2 grams of fat, 360 mg of sodium, 30 grams of carbs (2 grams of sugar).

So yeah, I'll stick to using the tortillas...that allows me an extra Snickers bar every month without the guilt or weight...