Mesquite Ranch Venison Burgers

Even though it's a burger, it's really, surprisingly, light.

First, venison (and most wild game for that matter) is extremely lean and, of course, packed with filling protein. We had some part of a deer in the freezer from a friend of ours (thanks Luke!). Don't ask me which part, but in any case, we ground it up with our handy meat grinder.

Tip: It's a good idea to grind super lean meats twice so they aren't tough (I won't charge ya for that one).

Once you have some ground meat, add this magic ingredient. It packs some huge flavor in a small amount, so don't go too crazy. For added flavor, add a little garlic powder and onion powder. Then, mix it all up with your hands and form patties...4 ounces is plenty, and the good thing about the lean venison is that it doesn't shrink once you start grilling, so what you see before cooking is essentially what you get when it's all done.

If you have the time, wrap the patties in some plastic wrap and let them "marinate" in the fridge for a few hours to really incorporate the flavor through the meat.

To grill: Find a strapping outdoorsy husband, hand him a plate of venison patties, and point him in the direction of the grill.

No, seriously, I love to grill, but with a cold front that went through last night, I kept myself in the comfort of the indoors and gave Ryan the pleasure of grilling alone tonight. It took 4-5 minutes on each side, but it will depend on the size and thickness of your burgers.

Now, what about the bun? If you've ever looked, many hamburger buns can have upwards of 200 calories each. Look for some bread (100% whole wheat) that has 50-60 calories per slice, and you can save 100 calories on your bread alone (I won't charge ya for that one either). I like this Nature's Own. It only has 50 calories per slice, and it tastes great...what more could you ask for?

Top the burger with whatever you like...lettuce, tomato, onion...and just a little light ranch for some zing.

And this is what you get! The salad is some low fat cottage cheese and tomatoes on a bed of fresh spinach, topped with a bit of red onion...no dressing, just a little salt and pepper and you're good to go! You won't even miss the dressing.

Compared to a typical burger and fries, we just saved more than 400 calories! And I think I can speak for both of us when I say, we are every bit as satisfied.

Eat well and stay healthy!