Burger Or Pizza For Comfort? Why Not Both?
Amidst the winter season, we crave comfort food, those packed with flavour and calories.
It is unsurprising because the colder seasons meant a scarce supply of food for our prehistoric hunter-gatherer ancestors. Our brains developed clever mechanisms to encourage us to collect and consume as much food and nutrients as humanly possible, so we could survive the cold winters.
In those days, preserving food was not an option, so our ancestors learnt that the best form of storage was weight gain. As nightfall draws earlier and the temperature drops, our instinct to ‘stock up’ internal calories kicks in - a program we haven’t been able to switch off.
While this article shares profound insights into how our evolutionary physiology and psychology impact our eating habits, it is not a history or science lesson. Instead, it serves to make you aware of why it happens so you can not be so hard on yourself when you pile on a few extra pounds over the festive and colder seasons.
In those days, preserving food was not an option, so our ancestors learnt that the best form of storage was weight gain. As nightfall draws earlier and the temperature drops, our instinct to ‘stock up’ internal calories kicks in - a program we haven’t been able to switch off.
Instead, rather than encouraging you to resist those urges, we are going to equip you with the perfect recipe to satisfy those winter cravings.
But, don’t worry, our other articles will help you lose weight in time for the warmer months.
What is comfort food?
Comfort food can be defined as any food that brings you joy, but a more appropriate definition would be, a food or category of foods that are calorie dense, meaning they are light but high in calories, and flavourful, which you can consume in large quantities, almost uncontrollably.
They tend to be highly processed and high in sugars or saturated fats, and once you begin eating them, you feel an urge to overeat.
Cakes, biscuits, and chocolates are good examples, but foods like cheese and chips also rank highly as comfort foods.
Comfort foods can also be prepared meals, some of which can be reasonably healthy, like lasagne, spaghetti bolognese, burgers and pizzas. Of course, these too are energy-rich, although they are also more nutritious than the previous examples.
This blog post looks at two of the nation's favourite comfort foods, both in the winter and the summer. And, as well as comparing them, we provide a unique recipe that combines them, so you don’t have to choose between them.
This is a sure way to satisfy all of your dinner guests with an absolute indulgence.
Pizza
Pizza is the epitome of comfort food. It is energy dense, full of flavour, and you can easily find yourself stuffing your face, slice after slice. You generally know when you are full and don’t need to eat any more, but with a good pizza in front of you, you just cannot resist.
Pizza is like a blank canvas. You can spoil yourself with any choice of toppings, limited only by your creativity. From tomato to pesto bases, with a wide variety of cheeses, vegetables, and even fruit (for those pineapple lovers), not to mention a range of marinated cooked meats.
You really can’t go wrong if you choose a pizza as your source of comfort.
Burgers
Burgers are another comfort food, but their high protein content ensures more self-regulation. Nonetheless, you can stack and pack them with a wide variety of ingredients to ensure they are bursting with flavours.
Stacking multiple patties has become the norm since restaurants like McDonalds and Burger King competed with the Big Mac and Double-Whopper meals. They are often accompanied by either raw or cooked onions, gherkins, tomatoes, lettuce, various types of cheese, bacon, and sometimes red peppers or onion rings.
When they are packed out this way, no one can deny them ‘comfort food’ status.
They are generally healthier or less bad than pizzas and buying gluten-free burgers enhances their profile by reducing the inflammation caused by gluten, an ingredient many are intolerant to or prefer to avoid.
Halal Origins has a selection of delicious gluten-free burgers, including salt and pepper flavoured gluten-free beef burgers, salt and pepper flavoured gluten-free chicken burgers, and salt and pepper flavoured gluten-free lamb burgers.
_______________________________________________________________________________________ Must read: Animal Fat; Friend, Not Foe ______________________________________________________________________________________Pizza Burgers
This is not your regular pizza. We are not talking about using burger patties as a pizza topping, no, that would be far too simple and not indulgent enough. We are talking about using burger patties as the main base, with all the other goodies melted on top. If this doesn’t satisfy your winter comfort food cravings, nothing will.
Ingredients
- If using the burger buns, place them at the bottom of a baking tray. Place your cooked burgers on top. If not, just the burgers.
- Place your cooked onions and thinly sliced gherkins equally over the burgers.
- Scatter your grated cheese over the burgers and their toppings. Make sure to leave no gaps between the burgers.
- Place your chopped mushrooms, roasted peppers and pineapple slices on top of the cheese.
- Place the tray into the oven on medium heat (170-180) and let the vegetables roast and the cheese melt.
- Once the toppings are cooked and the cheese melted, remove the tray from the oven and place the mixture onto a big plate. It will look messy, chaotic, and childishly disturbing, but it will be delicious and worth it.
Final Thoughts
This dish brings together two beloved comfort foods - gluten-free burgers, and pizza, to make one superhero indulgence of a dish. If you are not sharing this dish with friends that resonate with your extravagant indulgence, perhaps eat this one alone in secret, where no one can judge you.
Just kidding, it’s that time of year when you can go all out, stuff your face, and not hold back, even if just once. Our gluten-free burger pizza recipe is a surefire way to get your tastebuds firing and satisfy all of your comfort eating in one sitting.
Halal Origins has the finest gluten-free burgers, including a selection of salt and pepper seasoned beef, chicken and lamb burgers. Don’t miss out, treat yourself, you deserve it.