With carb-dropping being the latest craze in the diet world, Burger King dropped the buns off their hamburgers to keep up.
The Home of the Whopper released a new, low-carbohydrate menu Jan. 18 that includes three classic Burger King meals without the sesame seed buns.
The modified Original Whopper, Double Whopper and Chicken Whopper now will be served in a salad bowl with all the requested ingredients and condiments on the side at cheaper prices.
“It’s kind of like a salad with meat,” said General Manager Maria Dunn of the Florida Boulevard Burger King. “We’re offering it without the bread for the Atkins Diet to watch carbs.”
According to Burger King’s nutritional facts, the Original Whopper Sandwich with lettuce, pickles, onions, tomatoes, ketchup, mayonnaise and cheese contains 800 calories. The sesame seed bun contributes 260 calories to that sum.
“As far as weight loss goes, 260 calories is a lot, but that’s a whole food group,” said registered dietician and dietetics instructor Brandi Milioto. “As a dietician, we promote whole grain for fiber benefits.”
Milioto said that people on diets do not necessarily have to cut an entire food out because it will make them crave that item even more. Carbohydrates need to make up about 50-60 percent of a person’s daily diet.
“You can still eat fast food,” Milioto said. “Just make wiser choices. Eat smaller hamburgers, and order a salad as a side instead of french fries.”
Dunn and Shift Manager Mona Lisa Jenkins for the Highland Road Burger King said that as far as they know, no other food distributor is doing anything quite like this.
“It’s really good for their marketing,” said Denelle Walker, a communications studies sophomore. “They’ll gain more customers.”
According to Dunn, they are selling about 35 low-carb burgers a day, so the bunless burgers will probably be around for awhile because of increasing demand.
“It’s a wonderful product,” Dunn said. “It tastes just like a whopper. You get the flame broiled taste.”
But to make up for the lack of ingredients, Burger King is decreasing prices to $1.99 for the Single Whopper, $2.79 for the Double Whopper, and $3.19 for the Chicken Whopper.