Chris and I just LOVE burgers.

If we're out getting food at a restaurant we usually choose two things and split them, and that's often something we'll go for - especially if it has interesting or unusual ingredients!

However, restaurant burgers can have a TON of calories and be a pretty substantial indulgence... The meat is usually pretty fatty (and delicious), and there's often cheese, bacon, avocado, and/or tasty sauces that really up the calorie count. Before you know it, half your day's worth of calories have been sunk into one meal!

Sooooo, ages ago when I started paying attention to nutrition and how to decrease the caloric cost of foods I love, I did some thinking about what I'd be willing to let go from this delicious dish without sacrificing my overall enjoyment... The only thing I settled on was the bun.

Not that I don't like bread necessarily, I do... I just don't care about burger buns. I've never felt that the bun was what made a burger special - on the contrary, I think a regular-ass bun is something that actually has detracted from my enjoyment of burgers in the past. This being said, for me, the bun was OUT!

Source

Here in California, it's not uncommon to see people carb-cutting and ordering "protein-style" or "naked" burgers, which are typically wrapped in lettuce. This is something I have come to just LOVE - now I get my burgers that way because I like it better, even more than for the effect of calorie and carb reduction!

Chris still really likes to have a bun with his burger, so we do trade off and get it sometimes when we're sharing... But if it were up to me, I'd never have the bun and would always opt for fresh, crunchy lettuce instead! There's also a restaurant here in SB that places your burger (with all the fun toppings) onto a little lightly dressed arugula salad if you prefer it without the bread. Totally my jam!

So give it a shot and let me know what you think! You can save yourself anywhere from about 100-400 calories and 20-60 grams of carbs just by skipping the bun... That can make a pretty big difference, especially if burgers are one of your go-to treats like they are at our house!

This isn't just for when you're out at restaurants, either... We use this technique at home when we're making "copycat" restaurant burgers for a healthier version of some of our favorites! We use lean beef, light cheese, plenty of crisp veggies, and lighter sauces, all wrapped in lettuce, to decrease the calories and increase the nutritional value of a meal that would ordinarily be a big (and less frequent) treat for us!

Try this technique the next time you order (or make!) a tasty burger, and tell me your thoughts!

Please feel free to comment, upvote, or resteem if you'd like! :)