burgers and breakfasts

[Caitlin W]

Are burgers compliant as long as they are made with complaint ingredients?  If the answer is yes would it be considered SWYPO if you used portobella mushrooms as buns?  What about sweet potato pancakes as buns? I know pancakes in the sense of breakfast pancakes are banned but potato latkes are okay (I noticed this from a previous post).  So if burgers and buns are okay then can I use the potato latke or a pancake that is pretty much a sweet potato latke as the bun or does that fall under SWYPO.  The recipe uses shredded sweet potato, coconut flour, ginger, nutmeg sea salt, and eggs.  It's basically the sweet potato hash recipe you have on instagram but in "pancake" form.  I'm really not trying to be a PIA with this question, I'm just trying to get some clarification.

 

Also for some clarification...a lot of the breakfast options are eggs and I feel like I will get sick of eggs very quick.  Can I do something like a sweet potato "oatmeal" with shredded sweet potatoes, spices, raisins, nuts and coconut milk to change it up and still be compliant?  Please advise.  Thanks.

[AmyS]

Basically, you want to think about meal composition like this:

 

1. 1-2 palm-size portions of protein

2. 1-2 or more thumb-size portions of fat

3. 1-3 cups of veggies

 

Do that three times a day, the first time within an hour of waking up.

 

To respond to your question about burgers, burgers are a staple on many Whole30 diets. The bun is not compliant of course, but burgers themselves, topped with compliant toppings and served as part of a meal that includes the other items above, are great choices. You can easily make a burger patty or two that fit the length, width, and thickness of your palm!

 

Using bun substitutes like mushrooms or sweet potatoes seems a bit messy to me - I mean, the point of the burger bun is to not mess up your hands while you eat the burger, right? Whether you use mushrooms or sweet potatoes (in rounds or hashed up and fried), you're still going to end up using a fork or making a big mess. Re-think what a burger looks like on a plate. Envision it like this: 1 or two burger patties on your plate, topped, say, with guacamole. On the side you have a big grilled portobello mushroom and a good size serving of roasted, cubed sweet potato topped with your favorite seasonings (I put salt and cumin on everything, some folks swear by nutmeg or something else). Include some steamed dark leafy greens drizzled with a good olive oil and some of the best salt you have in your kitchen. There you have a great hamburger-based meal that includes the elements you listed in your post, and composed in a way that will give you maximum nutrition, a flavor WOW, and at the same time (and this is very important) a new way of thinking about what it means to have a burger for your meal.

 

When it comes to breakfast, we ask you to re-think that meal just as much as you re-think your burger meal. In fact, many Whole30ers give up using the name "breakfast" at all and just plan to eat Meal One within an hour of waking. Oatmeal substitutes are not allowed on Whole30, because we want you to eat well, not just replace your old foods with technically compliant but still iffy nutritionally substitutes. So for your Meal One using sweet potatoes, think about this: maybe you have a leftover burger from last night, so you get that out and heat it up. Heat up some ghee in a skillet. Shred in some sweet potato, and fry it up. When it's almost done, toss in an egg or two, cook until it gets to the desired level of doneness. Put the sweet potato/egg hash on your plate, top with the burger, add some of the leftover leafy greens from last night, and you have breakfast.

 

Now maybe none of that sounds good to you - but we ask you to give specific attention to meal composition so that each meal feeds you very well and keeps you satisfied for 4-5 hours. You can combine your proteins, fats, and veggies according to your taste buds' preferences, but make sure you're making a meal, not just a technically compliant but nutritionally deficient substitute for the foods you are moving away from.

 

Eat up and enjoy!

[Tom Denham]

You can eat burgers, steaks, roasts, fish, shrimp, rabbit, bison, eel, crab, liver, etc. for breakfast. Enjoy! 

 

You can use mushrooms as buns. You cannot use a sweet potato pancake as a bun. You cannot eat sweet potato oatmeal during a Whole30. The reason mushrooms are okay is they are real vegetables. The reason pancakes and oatmeal are never okay despite all the ingredients being compliant is that we specifically warn you that no pancakes or other conventional foods made with compliant ingredients is okay. We've been doing this for years now. The people who stay close to conventional foods like pancakes and oatmeal stay stuck in their old food ways. The Whole30 they do proves to be a 30-45 day event and then they are back where they started. That is a waste of time and we want better for you.

[Carlaccini]

What you could do as alternative to the sweet potato "pancakes" is use slices of cooked sweet potato.  It's a bit similar to the portobello burger "buns".  Or you could just wrap it in a lettuce leaf and eat.  I've done that too when I was in "I want to eat a burger with my hands" type of mood.

[Rebe_J]

I love burgers, too, but I eat a lot more slowly when I use a utensil. Once I pick food up with my hands, I tend to not set it down again.

[ladyshanny]

^^^ THIS!

 

We eat burgers often in our house.  My hubby used to go buy himself buns (or I did on occassion for him) but now he doesn't even bother either. As long as you have all the condiments you love (and are compliant) and some tasty sides to go with them, you won't miss a "bun" substitute.  And...if you just can't get past a burger not having a bun, rename them to "mini meatloaves" which would not require a bun!  

[ultrarunnergirl]

I've used lightly grilled (small) portabellos, red bell pepper halves and butter lettuce leaves as a "bun" on my burgers. Portabellos are the tastiest, but by far the messiest. Think juices literally running down to your elbows.

 

I also enjoy biting through the crisp peppers, though their flavor is rather distinct so it's a different burger experience.

 

Lettuce leaves are the most practical and I also enjoy the sensation of biting into something crisp and NOT DRY like a traditional bun. When I have occasionally off-roaded with a burger that has a particularly alluring brioche bun or similar, I have been disappointed. Bread is so ... meh on a burger.

 

In any case, it will be messy to eat with your hands. Often I just eat my burger with a fork, or resort to that halfway through.

 

One very important thing to remember: Always top your burger with a slice of avocado. YUM!

[ladyshanny]

Lettuce leaves are the most practical and I also enjoy the sensation of biting into something crisp and NOT DRY like a traditional bun. When I have occasionally off-roaded with a burger that has a particularly alluring brioche bun or similar, I have been disappointed. Bread is so ... meh on a burger.

 

ME TOO!  Sometimes I have agreed with myself to suffer the consequences of eating a bunned burger and then.....it's just so.....dry and gummy and tasteless. I far prefer my burger either with lettuce or just naked.