The Best Healthy Burger Alternatives

The first healthy burger alternative is an old favorite in the Pacific Northwest. It turns out that the Shitake Mushroom has a flavor and texture that is easily substituted for beef hamburger; therefore it is often used as a healthy burger alternative. Frankly, it is often times placed on menus of finer Northwest restaurants as a gourmet delicacy, as opposed to simply an alternative to beef. This healthy burger alternative can be marinated, baked, fried, or even grilled to the tasters perfection and served just the same as you would serve a beef hamburger.

Shitake mushrooms can easily be found in the mushroom selection of the produce department in your local supermarkets. Sometimes they are considered to be a specialty item and are featured as such, and sometimes they are considered to be Asian produce, and will be placed amongst such items as Daikon radishes, and leeks. They typically cost between $5.50 and $7.50 per pound, which might seem expensive until you realize that a healthy burger alternative size Shitake mushroom cap is quite light and will weigh in at a cost that is usually quite comparable to the cost of a single beef hamburger.

Another healthy burger alternative can be found in your grocer's frozen food section, or in the bulk food selections of many large supermarkets. I am referring to a product that is sold under the brand name Gardenburger in the frozen food area. It is referred to as a Veggie-burger mix, or something similar, in the bulk food sections, I have tried the Gardenburger brand burgers, and I have even included them as menu selections in restaurants I have owned. These pre-formed healthy burger alternatives are outstanding. They are made from grains and, coincidentally, from mushrooms, which I believe are primarily an ingredient added for texture purposes. Either way, you don't taste the mushrooms. All you taste is a well-prepared hamburger without any beef or meat.

The Veggie-burger mix that you can buy in the bulk food sections of most large supermarkets is as easy to prepare as adding water, forming, and frying. After the mix is prepared, it is treated essentially the same as hamburger. You season it, prepare it, and serve it in the same way that you would beef.

The fat content of both of these healthy burger alternatives along with the cholesterol content is greatly reduced or eliminated.

The great thing about either one of these healthy burger alternatives is that they are great burger substitutes, but they are also really good tasting features, if not gourmet specialties, in their own right.