The Perfect Hot Dog

Now that it is getting warmer and summer is fast approaching, I want to talk about hot dogs. I absolutely love hot dogs and I always have. We lived by a Kessel grocery store (those don't exist anymore) when I was growing up. Every summer, the boy scouts would set up a hot dog stand outside of the store. These hot dogs weren't anything special... just plain old hot dogs in a white bread bun. They had big containers of ketchup, mustard and relish set up on the counter of the stand in a bin of ice.

My dad loved hot dogs. Sometimes on one of those Michigan hot and humid summer evenings right before the sun went down, the six of us would pile into the van, drive the half mile up to the store and get hot dogs. We never ate them at home. My dad would open up the back of the van and we would eat them in the parking lot, "like tailgating," he would say. One of us would run into the store and get a few cold Faygo grape pops. They even had little 25 cent bags of Made-Rite chips. That was the best summer dinner.

Since I've totally changed the way I eat, hot dogs aren't really an option anymore. However, I've found a way to make it work because since the weather is getting warmer, I want to replicate those summer dinners of my childhood. I am really into grass fed uncured beef hot dogs on sprouted grain buns. Specifically, Applegate Farms The Great Organic Uncured Hot Dog (in a blue package) and Ezekial 4:9 buns. Both products were purchased from the local food co-op. They ran a little pricey ($8 for the hot dogs and $5 for the buns), but good clean food can be expensive and after calculating it with A.J., they run about $1.40 per hot dog. Check out my awesome lunch on Saturday:

Now, I would much rather eat the above than this hot dog, one that is filled with:
Sodium nitrites and nitrates

MSG (Monosodium Glutamate)
Hydrolyzed vegetable protein
Corn Syrup
Dextrose


Think about it.