Harvey's Healthiest

HARVEY'S

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL THING... IN THEORY.

“As the home of Canada’s Best Tasting Burger, we pride ourselves on delivering the perfect burger experience.”

Running out the door, one hand swinging wildly for the pop-tart as it shoots up, the other lunging for the keys, the thought of waking up early to make a proper breakfast is inconceivable, let alone packing a lunch for the day. This typical breakfast scenario for many university students lays the groundwork for the hectic and nutrition-less day that lies ahead.

A term used so often it’s close to cliché, “always on the go” has a connotation both negative yet exploitable by those trying to cash in on those short on time and in need of a quick bite. Fast food joints have seen more bodies come and go through their doors in recent years than Curves has ever seen on their treadmills, but is there a way to visit this convenient and readily available food source in a somewhat healthy way?

Harvey’s Restaurant rarely conjures up images of health friendly food options, but as the norms are favouring health-conscious choices (some feeble options at least) everyone is jumping on the nutritional band-wagon.

So how does Canada’s biggest burger chain measure up? In a perfect world, taste, nutrition, and value would all live in perfect harmony, but at Harvey’s, the place one starts and the other ends is one blurry, greasy, flavourless, line. As our chart shows we chose five of the healthiest burgers, but really the bottom two are neck in neck with Harvey's most unhealthy burgers. The best options were rubbery and unpleasant, but we didn't know this as we entered the Harvey's downtown and so we marched on in, unaware of the perils ahead.



Our first sign that all was not well in burger land should have come from the homeless man sitting outside of Harvey’s. “I’d love some french fries and a coke!” he yelled optimistically as we entered through the grease laden doors.

To say the destitute don't have discriminating taste buds would be a crude generalization, but the obvious lack of enthusiasm for a free burger should have been a red flag.

It didn’t take us long to realize why the old man omitted burgers from his request...

A HEALTH HISTORY OF HARVEY'S

Our Quest to find the Healthiest and Tastiest Burger

Grilled Chicken burger: After ordering the grilled chicken, applying the ketchup and mustard, wrapping it up, placing it on the tray, and sitting down to consume it, something supernatural happened between the cash register and the table. The grilled chicken transformed into something your mother would make blind-folded and after a couple of shots of tequila.

Harvey’s is known for their delicious, mouth-watering, juicy burgers, so even though it maintained it’s circular shape but no longer looked like the appetizing advertisement, you’re still prepared for a tasty experience.

So the moment your teeth gnaw into it’s tough, rubbery, and bland interior your taste buds go into a shock of disappointment. The healthy option of a chicken burger is no longer the wisest choice.

For a debutant Harvey’s customer the grilled chicken burger experience is like a bad first date; once you’ve tried it, been disillusioned, you don’t want to go for a second.

Total Calories: 290
Exercise required to burn it off: Renee needs to climb stairs for 30 minutes. Yeah, she’s gonna take the elevator.







Veggie Burger: Like the inquisitive child who couldn’t resist the temptation of eating paste, this burger was more of a curiosity than a calculated “health choice”...not to mention it tasted worse than paste. Soggy cardboard meets synthetic looking dog treats, the veggies were no where to be seen (or tasted) in this concoction. The option is Vegan, but perhaps Harvey’s is wise to the fact that vegetarians won’t be their target market Offering a lack-lustre option is more of a brown-pattied slap to the face than a compassionate offering of meat alternatives.
Total calories: 290
Exercise required to burn it off: Ariel needs to dig for worms for an hour. Ariel thinks it’s an animal rights violation to dig for worms.




Original Hamburger: Two for five dollars seems like a steal, but then you get the burger, and you taste the burger, and then your stomach slowly turns against you as you convince yourself that the second burger will go down smoother. Only false hope as the mass of beef, bun and assorted toppings forms what feels like a giant iron pellet in your stomach. You think about crying but tears are useless as an antacid.

Harvey’s cooks their burgers on a flame grill. Their claim is this method is healthier and adds flavour. The fat and grease slip through the grates and into the coals, instead of creating a blood platelet clogging stew on the cook top. We have all cooked burgers on a BBQ and in a frying pan. The visual image of pouring the grease from the frying pan after cooking up some summer specials haunts your stomach’s dreams.
Total Calories: 380
Exercise required to burn it off: Kevin needs to play cricket for one hour and five minutes. Unless he can do a layback spin followed by a lutz jump, he doesn’t want to play cricket.



Crispy chicken burger: If it wasn’t for the crunch, we wouldn’t have known it was chicken... wait... what? The only thing tasty about this sorry excuse for a burger was the spicy mayo (minus 100 on the healthy meter). Texture is important, but to only be able to identify the animal you are consuming by the sodium loaded, deep-fried, who-knows-what bread coating exterior is a disgrace to chickens everywhere. I mean… not chickens, but what they represent: flavour coupled with a health-conscious choice full of protein, fiber, and iron, and NOT 1350mg of sodium at over FIFTY percent of your recommended daily intake. The salt consumed in this sandwich is significantly higher than the most unhealthy burger option at Harvey’s (Angus burger with cheese and bacon). Pair this with some fries, and a Coke ($8.97!) and helllooo liver failure, heart-disease, and diabetes!
Total calories: 470
Exercise required to burn it off: Harpreet needs to jog for one hour outside. Unless running for the ice-cream truck, Harpreet does not jog.





Angus Burger: Yes the Original Cheeseburger is our fifth “healthiest” burger but it is also one of the five unhealthiest burgers on the menu. Furthermore, what fun is it to try the Original Hamburger and then have another one but THIS time with processed cheese. No one can convince me that margarine is butter. Just as no one can convince me one slice of cheese will dramatically improve the taste of an Original patty.

Enter the calorie laden Angus Burger. And really, the Angus is only 60 calories more than the Original Cheeseburger. Roughly equivalent to 30 minutes of Flamenco dancing....Olé! The extra calories make a huge difference in taste. The Original patty is tasteless and parched whereas the Angus is juicy and flavourful. Obviously not as “healthy” as the Original Cheeseburger but really who goes to a fast food joint for their health. It didn’t feel right to leave Harvey’s without having a REAL burger.

Total calories: 520 (enough to make you feel bad about your body image)
Exercise required to burn it off: Kevin needs to play a competitive game of
Basketball for an hour. Kevin does not need to win at said game, he just needs to try.

Harvey’s Tastiest and Healthiest Burger Winner:

The Grilled Chicken Burger!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):)

Harvey’s Healthiest Sides

Drinks
Water is obviously always the healthiest choice and if you’re itching to PAY for a bottle you can at Harvey’s! But, if you want something sweet with your meal you have a variety of options. Diet Pepsi has almost zero calories, though if your concerned about aspartame increasing your sugar craving this may not be ideal in a fast food joint. Gatorade has only 30 calories and is supposed to fuel you for your various sports activities, but really, that probably isn’t happening after the poutine and an Angus burger with cheese.

Healthy Prize: Gatorade G2 calories: 30

Fries

If you want something fried with your meal, which probably isn’t a good idea if your trying to eat healthy, but you’re at Harvey’s so you think, “What the heck!” But then you think, “why am I reading this blog post on health factors when I am in a national grease chain?” You then become very confused and order the onion rings. The onion rings were actually the correct choice. Win! The onion rings are significantly less fatty (don’t even think about the poutine) than the regular fries and those ‘vegetables’ probably account for some nutrition, right? Not really (so naive), but there’s also less sodium, which helps.

Healthy Prize: Onion Rings calories: 270


Salads
Finally something that is healthy. The healthiest salad would be the garden salad. It has the least amount of calories and it has vitamins! Something that is lacking in some other side orders. Then the crunch of frozen lettuce hits your teeth and you remember those days of ordering the onion rings and cry into your leafy “greens.” Those tears will flavour salad nicely, because your dressing options are limited.

Dressing
The tricky part is picking the best salad dressing fit for a seasoned dieter. The two top options are Frank’s Hot Sauce which has only 2 calories, and the Asian Sesame Sauce which does not scorch the top of your palate when you eat it.

Healthy Prize: Green Garden Salad w/ Asian Sesame calories: 100

Desserts:
This is the favourite part of the meal for most people. Unfortunately, there are no fresh fruits to eat, but like my grandma says eating something sweet helps you soothe the stomach. The healthiest choice and if you are on the conservative side you should order the apple sauce. It has enough carbohydrates to satisfy your craving and not enough calories to sidetrack your diet. But if you’re more the Angus Burger or Poutine type you should go for the chocolate milkshake which is guaranteed to send you into a diabetic coma.
Healthy Prize: Apple Sauce calories: 50

Meal Plans
Healthiest Meal Plan:
(burger, 3 garnishes, beverage, side dish, and dessert)

1. Grilled chicken, ketchup, lettuce, pickles, water, onion rings, apple sauce.
Total calories: 619
Exercise required to burn it off: an hour of jogging and 30 minutes of hula dancing.

Unhealthiest Meal plan:
(burger, 3 garnishes, beverage, side dish, and dessert)

1. Premium Burger with cheese and bacon, barbecue sauce, onions, pickles (2), milkshake, poutine, apple pie.
Total calories: 2 486
Exercise required to burn it off: a marathon (4.5 hours), and an hour and a half of surfing.

Healthiest Vegetarian Meal Plan:
(salad, dressing, beverage, side dish, and dessert)

1. Garden Salad, Frank’s hot sauce, water, onion rings, apple sauce.
Total Calories: 362
Exercise required to burn it off: 1.5 hours of golf, walking, and carrying your own equipment.

Healthiest Breakfast Meal Plan:

1. Whole wheat toast, one egg, two pieces of bacon, and orange juice.
Total Calories: 436
Exercise required to burn it off: one hour of playing basketball using a wheelchair.






















Final Health Grade: C+
Harvey’s may not have the healthiest burgers in town, but compared to some fast food franchises they don’t dip it, butter it, or fry it in oil either. They try their best to maintain a standard of health by cooking their burgers on a grill in view of their customers, and if their clients don’t feel like a burger that day they have the healthier option of eating a garden salad. Just remember, if you’re really thinking about your options, Harvey’s is still a fast food chain and may not be the wisest choice.

Contributors: Ariel Fournier, Renee Giblin, Harpreet Grewal, Kevin Gallagher