Burger or Fries?

[Tyler]

Okay, so now it's confession time.

As much as I love fine dining and cooking nice meals from scratch, I'm also a 22-year-old male and I do frequent fast food fairly often.

My nutrition knowledge is extremely limited, but I believe I remember either reading or seeing on TV that fries are insanely unhealthy and have so much trans fat.

My question is simple: are fries worse in terms of nutrition than hamburgers? I understand it depends on the size and what not, but just generally.

Are they about the same, are fries way worse, or are burgers worse than the fries?

The reason I ask is because I'd gladly substitute a second burger for my fries if it's healthier to do so. Grabbing a small burger like a cheeseburger from McDonalds or a Jr.Bacon Cheeseburger from Wendys costs about the same as fries anyhow.

Thanks!

[Bake2live]

Honestly it would depend on where you got the fires from.

I mean say you get them from Mc. Donalds compared to a hamburger you cooked in your own home. I'd say the fires are more. but if you get a burger with oh say everything on it mayo the works I think it might add up to fires maybe a bit more.

[Liketobake]

I agree with baketolive, it depends where you get it. For optimal nutrition, I would recommend making both the burgers and the fries from scratch. Making hamburgers is not that difficult, and quite fun from my experience. Making the perfect fries can be a more difficult feat, but not unachieveable by anyone. Practice makes perfect.
Here is my own vary general reciepe for hamburgers!
I package of ground beef (lean is ideal)
1-2 eggs three if you get the super small kind
salt
pepper
rice or bread
fried up onion and garlic (clove garlic) if you don't have any the ground kind will do
paprika
Place everything in a bowl, and mix/mush them together with your hands (the best part!) and then make them into hamburger patties.
Fry them on medium heat, until no longer raw..(I do the cut one in half test,and try a sample).
Now enjoy with your favourite condaminents, and veggi's. For added nutrition eat multigrain buns with your burgers.
:)

[momof2]

HI Liketobake,

I like your hamburger recipe. One thing I do differently is use rolled oats instead of bread or rice. The oats are supposed to help lower cholesterol levels. I also like to throw in a little sage for a slightly diffent flavor!

[PigsnieLite]

PLites Burger Recipe:

Ground sirloin! I dont know many pounds, I guess it would be the size of my mums purse.
1 pack of French onion mix.
1 egg.
2 teaspoons of mayonnaise
2 teaspoons of pickle relish.

MIX ALL IN BOWL! (But crack egg first!) MIX WELL. Afterwords, shape ground beef into patties that look like Louisiana. Then drop patties in pan sizzling wid oil. Cook until both sides are toasty brown. I even like the edges singed. Wallah! PLites Hamburgers! Eat wid rice. (Im 1/4 Asian.) :D

[Liketobake]

PLites Burger Recipe:

Ground sirloin! I dont know many pounds, I guess it would be the size of my mums purse.
1 pack of French onion mix.
1 egg.
2 teaspoons of mayonnaise
2 teaspoons of pickle relish.

MIX ALL IN BOWL! (But crack egg first!) MIX WELL. Afterwords, shape ground beef into patties that look like Louisiana. Then drop patties in pan sizzling wid oil. Cook until both sides are toasty brown. I even like the edges singed. Wallah! PLites Hamburgers! Eat wid rice. (Im 1/4 Asian.) :D

Nice reciepe PLite ! The mayonnaise is not my style, but might be more Tyler's

[Tyler]

Hmmm... Liketobake is starting to learn my pallete already... scary.

The rolled oats sound good.. I believe it's the texture they give when cooked with meat like that.

Onion mix is also really good in burgers.

Urgh.. my mouth is watering now.. I think I may make some burgers for supper today!

[Liketobake]

Hehe

:)

[PigsnieLite]

Onion mix is to give it instant flavour! Then you wont haf to mess wid that salt to taste crap! And the mayo & egg is for binding the whole mixture together. PLite, Genius! BTW, I made that recipe up myself when Pigsnie yelled at me to cook my own dinnur for a change. Hee.

[Liketobake]

Mayo is one substance I have never been very fond of. I don't quite understand how sooooooo many people love it..

[KAYLINDA]

Mayo is one substance I have never been very fond of. I don't quite understand how sooooooo many people love it..

So...are you a miracle whip girl?

[Liketobake]

So...are you a miracle whip girl?

No, I prefer my burgers plain. Just some ketchup, and sometimes some mustard, and I am happy.

I also prefer cheese burgers to just plain burgers.

:)

[Ginger]

I prefer a grilled portabello mushroom (marinated in balsamic vinegar) on a bun with fresh spinach leaves, roasted red bell peppers, provolone cheese, and a tiny smear of mayo. I like oven baked sweet potato fries on the side :D

[Liketobake]

Ginger that sounds yummy. I am not a mushroom fan, but portobello mushrooms are the only mushrooms I like.

I once had an exotic pasta dish (I forget the name of it) that had portobello mushrooms in it and it was so good.

The primary reason I don't like most varieties of mushrooms is because of the texture. However portobello mushrooms are tastey enough to make up for the strange mushroom texture.
:)

[PigsnieLite]

I dont think mushrooms are tasty at all. Its like eating soft fat buttons. Har.

I add mayo when I am forming the hamburger patty so the ground beef will stick together. It is edible glooey.

[Liketobake]

Remember you can use eggs instead of mayo when you are forming the burger.

[PigsnieLite]

But eggs arent sticky enough! Is there some sort of food glue in the supermarkets?

[Liketobake]

Eggs are sticky enough when I make burgers. I use a few large eggs (2-4) for a good size batch of burgers.

:)

[watsjame]

I saw an interesting news story today about French Fries and trans fats on cnn. Maybe this will answer some questions for you too.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/09/26/trans.fat.ban.ap/index.html?section=cnn_topstories

[PigsnieLite]

Fries are GODS GIFT! Do not repulse papas fritoos. Now, broccoli on the other hand ... :mad:

[Liketobake]

Fries can be just as lovely and better for your health if they are baked in the oven with some olive oil used to grease the sheet.

:D

[PigsnieLite]

Baked fries! Waaah, no way! They haf to be FRIED in delicious greasy oil or they are not fries at all. They are just long baked potatos. :(

[NOCHEF&JUSTLOVESFOOD.YUM]

Burgers hhmm I like to add onions, jalapenos and worchestire sauce. Fries, I LOVE McDonalds number one even at my age, but try these?

BAKED FRENCH FRIES

4 potatoes, cut into French fries
3 tbsp. butter
1 1/2 tsp. salt
Dash of pepper
1 tbsp. minced onion
1/2 c. grated Velveeta cheese
1/2 c. half & half

Place potatoes in a foil lined pan. Mix all other ingredients together and pour over potatoes. Bake, covered, with foil at 375 degrees for 1 hour.

[Benton Tarantella]

I think fries are more unhealthy than burgers. I never liked the McDonalds burgers (common fast food ones are way better), but their fries are delicious. Can't say I've tried fries baked in olive oil, but if there's some way of keeping the taste and making them healthyer, it's wonderful news. Thanks for the recipes, guys. You're making my mouth water.

[Mancook]

I think that I will go for fries rather than eating hamburger because the latter has more fat than fries. It can turn our body fat which is bad for our body. I guess that it all depends on the person eating it, so I will not force anyone to choose fries because I believe on free-will.

[classact]

I would go for fries anyday. Wait, that's only if they're IN-N-OUT fries. :p The thing here is though, that it depends on how many fries you're having, doesn't it? And also what kind of burger you're having. For example, if you're having a Big Mac that would definitely amount to something.

[Dishwashboy]

This seems to be the most popular thread around here because it already has 25 responses.

I think that I would go with fries because it has fewer fats. I’m sad to say that I haven’t been able to avoid hamburgers because it tastes much better than fries.

[she_cookie]

I love both!
I usually get both when i am out, burger and fries and a coke, or diet coke ( i used to be on a diet and i'd like to stay fit.. even if i eat hamburgers..).
If i don't have enough money or i don't feel like eating to much i stay with the nurger only. It gives me the sensation i ate more :)

[Dishwashboy]

I would never eat bake fries even if they don’t have any fats on them. I guess that I will stick with French fries.

Anyway, I think that I have said enough of this. I will just try to be true to myself and eat both fries and burger. Those two goes well together.

[bellapria]

I would agree. Mayo isn't my favorite either, but that could be because i know it is unhealthy. I love a good hamburger however.

[Lory]

I like both :D
If i am hungry and in town, i usually eat a hamburger, i can hold it and walk at the same time :)
If i have the time to stay and eat sitting down, i have the fries too.

[Mary Lou TheCollardPatch]

One of the Ways We Like Hamburgers in Louisiana and Texas!

Here's a neat variation on hamburgers. This recipe is from my cookbook Flavored with Love, available at Amazon.com.

Green Chili Cheeseburgers
Chop green chilies and add to the hamburger meat. Mix in some seasoned breadcrumbs, an egg, some tomato sauce, and Paul Prudhomme’s Meat Magic®. Grill the patties; add cheese.

[jglass]

Sometimes we just crave a burger and fries.

[Mary Lou TheCollardPatch]

To get that good taste of fries with fewer calories, we sometimes make oven fries. We cut fresh potatoes in the shape of fries, place them on a baking sheet with sides, add a small amout of canola oil or cooking spray, and bake them until they are brown and crisp.

Another advantage to these fries is the ability to control the amount of salt. Fast food fries are loaded with grease and salt.

[Soozie]

People, you're poisoning your gourmet selves with fried this, fried that, sugar this, mayo that. It's unbearable. Drop the damn fries, boil your potatoes and mash'em OR cook them country-like in the oven. Don't fry the meat in oil, grill it, if you desperately have to eat it. Otherwise, throw it in the nearest trash. Mayo is only acceptable on salads, with fresh onion, not deep fried with white flower and eggs.

You need to love yourselves more.