A Dietitian's View

Beyond the all-beef patty, there are the familiar turkey burgers and veggie patties. You can also find burgers -- fresh or frozen -- that are made from ground buffalo (bison), chicken, salmon, tuna, even mahi-mahi.

Compare the nutrition facts labels if available. (USDA guidelines require mandatory nutrition labeling on frozen burgers, but not on fresh seafood or meat products.

Look for ground meat products (beef, buffalo or poultry) that are labeled with the percentage of lean meat versus fat. A product labeled 80/20 means that it's made with 80 percent lean meat and 20 percent fat. Simply making the change from 80/20 to 95/5 will slash the fat content by two-thirds, and cut calories by one-third.

If the percent lean isn't specified, reach for ground sirloin, the leanest of the ground meats. (The next best is ground round, followed by ground chuck).

If you're grilling turkey burgers or chicken burgers, look for those made with only skinless white meat. One popular brand of turkey burger has 17 grams of fat per 4-ounce patty -- far more than the 6 grams of fat in the same size burger made with extra lean ground beef. A closer look reveals that it's made with "85/15 ground turkey," meaning that it also contains dark meat, skin and fat. So unless the label specifies skinless ground turkey breast or ground chicken breast, it likely has nearly as much fat and calories as typical ground beef.

You can also add juiciness after grilling by topping burgers with grilled onions and mushrooms, roasted red peppers, thick tomato slices, salsa, avocado relish, low-fat mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard or barbecue sauce.