Guacamole “SteakBurger” Swap

Happy Monday all!  As you read today’s guest post, we will be heading off to cruise The Bahamas :D  Don’t worry, I am taking a bazillion pictures so there will be LOTS to share when we get back.

Today’s guest poster is Liz from the Not So Skinny Kitchen.  Liz and I both share a healthy Weight Watcher mission and are part of the Craving Ellie in My Belly (CEiMB) cooking club.  I adore Liz ~ she is such a fun person and she even hooked me up with some Buffalo Wild Wings sauce when I had to forfeit mine at the Las Vegas airport because it was too big for my carry on 😀 Liz makes some pretty tasty and healthy recipes so be sure to stop by the Not So Skinny Kitchen because I am pretty sure you will find something amazing to cook.

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A year and a half ago, if you had brought guacamole near me, I would have crinkled up my face as if to say "Ew, yuck!" and politely said, "No thank you." Then one day, while I was at my favorite fast food joint, Chipotle, I decided to brave the green mush. Now I can’t get enough of it. On chips, in wraps, atop a salad, I’ll eat it any which way, but my absolute favorite way is on a cheeseburger. I can’t remember where I first tried this combination, but it was love at first bite. I’ve been hooked ever since! Pretty much any time I go to a burger place that offers avocado or guac as a topping, that will be my first choice. With this in mind, you can imagine how delighted I was to see a Guacamole Steakburger offered at my local Steak ‘n Shake a while back. It was amazing, and coming from someone who doesn’t usually love Steak ‘n Shake unless it’s 3AM and the only other option is Waffle House, that is quite the compliment. They don’t just top the burger with guacamole, they add some heat in the form of pepperjack cheese and a mysterious chipotle sauce. My excitement over this new burger was only squashed by the ridiculous nutrition information I later found. Get this – 770 calories and a WHOPPING 55 grams of fat, 15 of which are saturated fat! After seeing this, I knew I could recreate this burger at home for a fraction of the caloric cost. Here’s what you’ll need for this much healthier version:

I opted to make these using a vegetarian patty from Dr. Praeger’s. These burgers have a list of ingredients that reads more like a salad bar than a frozen food item which is what attracted me to them in the first place. I love that I can actually see the chunks of vegetables in it, and I know exactly what I’m eating. Even though I’m not normally one to turn down a "real" beef burger, these are very satisfying and tasty. After cooking, they have a nice crisp outside and soft inside. Since they only take 8 minutes per side in the broiler, I am sure to keep a Costco-sized box in my freezer at all times. Onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray or nonstick foil, and into the oven they go.

While the patties are under the broiler, I get the rest of my sandwich assembled. To keep this quick and easy, I sliced up a fresh avocado to use in place of the guacamole. I have seen individual servings of guacamole at the grocery store which would also work well in this recipe, but I actually really liked the texture of the piece of avocado. Plus it’s less messy, and since I’m known for wearing my food, this is a big bonus for me.

Since I’m not sure what the chipotle sauce Steak ‘n Shake uses is made of, I had to improvise. This chipotle mayo from Kraft was on sale for half price at my local grocery store, so I decided to give it a try even though I do not normally eat mayonnaise. It adds a nice kick without too many extra calories or much of a mayo taste.

Then we layer on our lettuce and tomato.

And it’s time to pull the patties out of the oven.

Top with onion and the avocado slices, and we’re done. Pair with a side salad, and you’ve got dinner in less than 20 minutes.

Now, for the BEST part, the Steak ‘n Shake version comes in at an astonishing 19 WW POINTS. My healthified version has only 341 calories and 14 g fat, and it’s only 7 WW POINTS. So next time you’re thinking of heading out for a fast food burger, fix this instead, then go out for a kid’s Orange Freeze with all the calories you saved 🙂 [For reference, I calculated the POINTS value using an Arnold Select Sandwich Thin, a Costco-sized Dr. Praeger’s veggie patty (which is bigger than their regular patties, I believe), 1 tablespoon of Kraft Chipotle Mayo, and 1/4 of a medium avocado. The lettuce, tomato, and onion are all 0 POINTS.]

Thanks for guest posting LIz ~ I definitely LOVE guacamole and have a feeling I am now going to need to try your healthy swap too 🙂