Want to go a whirlwind tour with stops in eight countries and three continents? You'll see plenty of history on this trip, but it might not be the kind you'd imagine. Dreamed up by Burger King, this trip will explore the history of the hamburger.

That's right. A whole trip centered around the burger. With stops in varied locations like Spain, Russia and Germany, the locations are certainly a traveler's dream. But the beloved hamburger certainly isn't a dream for your hips and thighs.

Ground-meat patties trace back to the days of Ghengis Khan, but there's some debate about when the patty met the bun. Many claim to be the inventors of the burger, and rather than debate who's hamburger hopped to first, let's cast a nutritional eye on the burgers we know:

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I just think Paula Deen is the best. She's sweet, funny and the epitome of southern charm. It's a rare day that Paula claims any of her recipes are light and healthy -- after all, butter is The Lady's favorite ingredient. But I'm OK with that. I've tried a few of her recipes, and so far they've all been yummy; they just need to be served in small portions and paired with very light and nutritious sides.

But Paula really takes the cake with her recipe for Brunch Burgers. Or should I say she takes the doughnut? She makes a basic burger and tops it with bacon and a fried egg. It's a little non-traditional, but I can get on board with that. In fact, it might be quite tasty. But then she pulls out glazed doughnuts and uses them in lieu of a hamburger bun. I swear to the Gods of Food Network, my arteries started to clog just watching her do that.

If you're a fan of burgers, try some of these healthier burger recipes.

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Summer is the perfect time for hot dogs at the family BBQ, big pretzels at the county fair, and cold treats straight from the ice cream truck. Although these foods can be less-than-perfect options for our kids who love them so -- think lots of salt, sugar, and fat -- WedMD says they can be not so bad, really. Check them out.

• Nachos & Quesadillas
• Hamburgers & Hot Dogs
• Ice Cream
• Frozen Yogurt
• Waffles and pancakes
• Marshmallows
• Popcorn
• Watermelon
  
  

Hot dogs? Healthy? I never thought so. Try light and reduced-fat dogs and you'll be OK, says Sarah Krieger, an American Dietetic Association (ADA) spokeswoman.

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Burgers are a thing of the past for me -- I stopped eating red meat a little more than a year ago, which struck burgers right from my diet. Turkey burgers never really did anything for me so a burger-free girl I am. Makes me think I'm in the minority when I stumbled upon this statistic in the June 2008 Redbook magazine: Americans eat 13 billion burgers per year. Now that's a lot of beef. Check out these other stats:

• The year a burger was first served on a bun: 1891

• Ounces of meat in a Wendy's "Where's the beef?" hamburger: 4

• The cost of a hamburger at White Castle when the chain first opened its doors in 1921: 5 cents

• Pounds gained by Super Size Me star Morgan Spurlock after eating McDonald's for one month: 25
  
  

This site has some more burger stats. Got any of your own?

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Okay, so I admit that this post is purely for fun -- it's a dress that looks like a hamburger! We all love hamburgers (they're one of the most popular foods ever) but we also know how unhealthy most of them are, so why eat one when you can wear one instead?

Of course it's not really that fashionable (it is clothing that looks like food, after all) but it could make a cute Halloween costume or something. And the single best part about this particular hamburger? It comes off your hips just as fast as it goes on.

Oh, and don't forget to check out "The Sundae Dress" and "The Ice Cream Cone Dress" too. You know, in case you're in the mood for dessert.


Via Slashfood

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If someone told you that a hamburger could be the riskiest menu item at the next restaurant you go to, it would probably sound alarmist. Escherichia coliform (that's E. coli for the rest of us) is staying in the media, so it's not quite as crazy as it appears. Turns out less than a half of one percent of beef is even tested for the bacteria.

With hundreds of varieties of E. coli, not all of them are harmful. As this article states, estimates suggest that we excrete 10 billion E. coli bacteria every time we go to the bathroom. So what's there to worry about? Well, beef is placed into boxes by the ton before getting processed.

That's 2,000 pounds of pre-hamburger meat. But less than a pound of meat per ton gets analyzed for bacteria! If the tiny amount they tested checks out A-OK, then so does the rest of it. Thousands of pounds of meat get processed this way every day, leaving some people to believe it can be risky. Should you give up burgers altogether now? No way, while the article does raise some questions, you can take steps to ensure you get the safe products. Check it out for more information here.

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Barbecuing is one of the great things about summer. But as I mentioned in this post, all that fatty meat can be a recipe for disaster. So what can you do to make your backyard barbecue healthy and fun for the whole family? Well, we've written a lot on summer barbecues -- there's these suggestions from our own Jessica, these ideas for games, and then there's this article from Glee Magazine, which lists some suggestions for your summer backyard barbecues:

• Have veggie burgers instead of beef burgers
• Replace potato chips with soy chips
• Enjoy a fruit-based dessert instead of s'mores

They also suggest using vegan cheese instead of regular cheese, but being a die-hard cheese fan, I can't advocate that. After all you need to have some fun at the barbecue, right?

Another thing I love at barbecues is fresh veggies cooked on the grill. What about you?

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