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.

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...

Tortilla Brunch

It was a late Sunday morning...it was too late to make a belly filling full breakfast, but it was too early for a light lunch of sandwiches. Thank goodness for the concept of BRUNCH!!! Combine the two... so, I did. Here it is...makes 4 of them, with a couple of small portions of leftovers.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lbs. ground Italian sausage
• 2 hash brown patties
• 2 eggs
• 2 TBSP milk
• 4 six inch tortillas
• Shredded cheese
• Italian herbs

Directions

1. Preheat the toaster over to 425 F and then place the hash brown patties in for 15 minutes
2. While they bake, brown the Italian sausage over medium heat
3. Whisk the eggs with the milk and Italian herbs in a bowl, and pour into a small skillet. Cook over a medium heat
4. Flip the hash brown patties and return to toaster over for 10 minutes
5. Flip the eggs when needed
6. When all are done cooking, split the hash brown patties in half lengthwise and split the eggs into 4 strips
7. On a 6" tortilla, place one strip of potatoes, one strip of the eggs, cover with a few pinches of shredded cheese, add several tablespoons of browned sausage on top
8. Fold up the bottom and then each side of the tortilla
9. ENJOY!!!

Suggestions

• Top the fillings with whatever sauces (Tabasco, ketchup, mustard, etc) with what you like
• Use larger tortillas by adding more of the fillings, but that means you need to make more because the above would only make 2 tortilla brunch meals
• Serve with a side of fruit and milk (for kids) and/or coffee or tea for adults
• Use the Muggle Eggs recipe to cut down on the time to make the egg mixture

  

  Muggle Eggs

SPAM® (the meat, not the emails)

Hearing the word "SPAM" causes a lot of us to cringe a little, depending on the context of the conversation where it is mentioned. If it is heard at work, that probably means that it refers to a new slew of emails due a computer virus. If it is heard during a conversation about what we are having for dinner, that means something else entirely.

I became acquainted with SPAM® because of my grandfather. As a member of the 8th Army Air Force during WWII (the predecessor of the US Air Force) on a B-17, he endured tinned meat in the rations that he was given. When returning home, he never gave up on making family lunches and dinners from it. SPAM® became a common word spoken when around him. I keep a tin of it in the pantry (due to the extremely LONG expiration date time), and still occasionally make it because I want it. That's why I thought it might be time to pass it on to my son as a family tradition.

Imagine my surprise when grocery shopping and we saw SPAM® now offered as individual SLICES of SPAM® Classic instead of just getting a large tin. I decided to get a simple slice, fry it up and make a fried sandwich with it (topped by cheese and ketchup) to be his introduction to tinned meat (pictured at right). I've eaten it right out of the tin at work, as a sandwich when it has been fried, and cut up to be included in an omelet. There are a LOT more flavors and recipes of SPAM offered today than what I was used to, so I encourage you to try them once in a while. To answer your first question, no, he didn't like it much. But then again, he doesn't like ham in general, which is what SPAM is made of.

Which brings me to my last point of this entry. If you want to know more about SPAM and the recipes that are available, click on the links above. But how does it compare to a similar sized beef hamburger? Here you go. Some nutrients differ, but overall, it is about the same. Keep a tin in your pantry when you need to raid it... your tongue will occasionally appreciate it...

SPAM

Hamburger

Sub / Hoagie / Grinder / Po' Boy Sandwiches

Po'-boy, from Parkway Bakery, New Orleans.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The other day I pulled into a TA truck stop to get gas. It was lunch time and I had some time to kill, so I decided to go in to browse and have lunch at Popeye's (since I hadn't eaten there yet). I stared at the menu and immediately decided that it was time to have my first po' boy. I ordered a spicy dressed fried chicken po' boy, Cajun fries and biscuit.

I had heard about them before, but I grew up in the Northeastern U.S., so I was brought up on "subs," " grinders," "hoagies," "Philly cheese steaks," "heroes," "zeps," "blimpies." Reading the history of a "po' boy" on the back of the wrapper is what led me to do a little surfing to find out what the "differences" were since they seemed the same to me. I will say, that having been to a Popeye's for a po' boy, I WILL be going there as often as possible.

The best explanations I am sharing come from Wikipedia for a Po' Boy and Submarine. I'm not going to bore you with all of the details. For more information, click on the links for each.

They all began appearing on menus in the late 1800s and early 1900s across the U.S. The Italian culture brought them to the Northeastern U.S., and Louisiana brought the po' boy around 1920 (due to a street car strike). Regardless of the "reasons" they are so yummy, I'm just glad that they exist. I have a pizzeria and a Subway less than a mile away. The only real difference is what is put on or in them and the spices used...

It also brings to mind a sandwich that I ate a lot of in Pittsburgh, PA from Primanti Bros.  The original location was in the Strip District, which is where a lot of things happened. The Primanti Bothers started in the 1930s to provide a meal for the produce truck drivers that needed a complete meal, all in one. They make their sandwiches with the main entree (steak, eggs), french fries, cole slaw, and tomatoes all between 2 slices of Italian bread. A trucker could make his delivery to the Strip, grab a meal, and be back on the road in no time. All for a decent price. Sigh...the memories of finding a place to eat after a long evening of being out... but I digress...

A key point that I learned from doing this surfing, is that if you are going to make your own sub / hoagie / po' boy, putting a layer of cheese on the bottom, then the meat, and then another layer of cheese helps prevent the bread from getting soggy...good to know. Maybe that is why a true Philly Cheese steak has so much cheese folded into it. Happy eating...