Spring and summer are my favorite seasons, and along with the reemergence of new leaves and spaghetti straps come baseball games and cookouts. To me, this translates to cheeseburgers & hot dogs. Sure, that may sound fat kid-ish, but it’s the truth. I love burgers & dogs. In fact, when I was growing up, most of my birthday parties were at Fuddruckers. Man, those were the best days…you know, when you could eat a burger, fries AND a complimentary cookie and actually lose weight? Freakin kids…they have it so easy…
I don’t eat red meat often but the kid in me still exists, so I crave them more than I should. I haven’t had one in a while since they’re not exactly diet-friendly, but as soon as I saw that it’s Burger Week, I thought this would be the perfect time to find skinny-friendly burgers in the DC area. And as if I even needed a reason to do so…just reading the word “burger” had me planning my lunch at 9am.
As you may have read before, I’m a HUGE fan of Elevation Burger, but I knew there had to be more than one burger joint that caters to those of us that are watching what we eat. So today I present to you, Burger 7.
Burger 7 has 3 locations around the DC area and there is one right down the street from my work. Somehow I have never been, so I went to the website this morning to see if they offered anything on the lighter side so I could celebrate Burger Week without breaking my diet (umm, bikini season is coming, folks). To my surprise, they have a nutrition calculator!
This made it super easy to make a low calorie burger. And when I saw they offer wheat buns AND lettuce wraps…DING DING DING DING DING! Winner.
And once I got there, the healthy options just kept on coming.
They offer turkey, chicken and veggie burgers as well as turkey bacon and grass fed beef. They also cook with olive oil, which I always love to see. Oh, and even their ketchup is healthier…
I was happy I beat the lunch crowd so I could take pics without people giving me the stink eye…
Anyway, onto my order…now, we all know that beef is high in fat but there are a lot of ways to make it healthier. Usually I skip the cheese and get guacamole, but today I decided to splurge and cheese it up. I’m allowed a little bit of fat and it is Burger Week after all.
So, I ordered a cheeseburger with B7 sauce, tomatoes and caramelized onions wrapped in lettuce.
The burger was nommmmm-tastic…straight off the grill, not overly greasy and perfectly seasoned. The toppings were just as delicious and their B7 sauce is amazing…it’s similar to McDonald’s special sauce but obviously made with healthier ingredients so it’s not as overpowering. It’s the perfect taste. And as a carb lover, I didn’t even miss the bread. It is that flavorful AND filling.
In total, it came to only 277 calories! Pretty awesome considering just a PLAIN burger patty and bun is 360 calories. The burger itself has 10 grams of fat but since I had the cheese it was 16 grams…but hey, you gotta splurge every once in a while. But if you are watching your fat, just get the burger. With all the amazing low calorie toppings they offer, you won’t even miss the cheese.
To sum it up, I have officially found a new favorite grub spot. Even my 7 year old self would have been pleased.
And with locations in Arlington, Tysons Corner & Alexandria, it’s time you get on it.
