Healthier Hotdogs: They Really Exist
It's that time of year again—summertime, eating outside, and lots of grilling! So pass the processed meat, please. You've probably heard all the urban legends about hotdogs: They contain pig ears, snouts, tails, and every other animal entrail you'd never touch with a 10-foot pole. But they're not all bad! We searched high and low for the best hotdogs out there, made with 100 percent real beef, not "variety meats," as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) likes to call them. And ours are organic or grass-fed, higher in omega-3s and vitamins, and untainted by the genetically modified animal feed, hormones, or antibiotics in unhealthy factory-farmed fare. Grab your tongs and hit the grill with these healthy dogs.
Like this? Sign up for The Daily Fix, Rodale.com's FREE daily newsletter, to get more information about organic food and healthy living!
« Prev
Slide 1/11
Next »
Applegate Farms Great Organic Beef Hotdog
Calories: 110
Fat: 8 g (3 g saturated)
Sodium: 330 mg
$5.99/8 hotdogs; applegatefarms.com
Good to know: Not only are these hotdogs the lowest calorie 100 percent grass-fed dogs out there, but they're also the most widely available.
Read More: 5 Healthy Ways to Enjoy Eating Meat
« Prev
Slide 2/11
Next »
Organic Prairie Organic Uncured Beef Hotdogs
Calories: 120
Fat: 11 g (4 g saturated)
Sodium: 360 mg
$47.00/35 hotdogs; organicprairie.com
Good to know: All the meat products sold under the Organic Prairie brand are raised on certified-organic U.S. family farms. Order online in bulk, or look for smaller packages at grocery stores nationwide.
Read More: Homemade Sausage in 10 Minutes or Less
« Prev
Slide 3/11
Next »
Let's Be Frank
Calories: 170
Fat: 13 g (6 g saturated)
Sodium: 430 mg
$8.00/4 franks or $50.50/30; letsbefrankdogs.com
Good to know: These all-beef, grass-fed hotdogs come from a ranch certified by the Food Alliance, a program that certifies farms that treat animals and people humanely, and have eliminated antibiotics, hormones, and genetically modified organisms from animal feed, in addition to working to protect the environment around their ranches.
Read More: Guide to Buying Grass-fed Beef
« Prev
Slide 4/11
Next »
Rocky Mountain Organic Meats
Nutrition info isn't available because the cost of getting that information was too high for this small, Wyoming-based ranch, says the company's president and founder Rod Morrison. "All of our hotdogs are completely grass-fed, and everything comes from Wyoming," he says. "We’re the cowboy state. We know how to do this."
$7.60/4 hotdogs; rockymtncuts.com
Good to know: Per USDA guidelines, hotdogs that list "by-products" or "variety meats" on their ingredients labels need only contain 15 percent muscle meat to be called hotdogs. Don't worry—none of our picks contain "variety meats."
Get more organic food tips and healthy living info in The Daily Fix, Rodale.com's FREE daily newsletter!
« Prev
Slide 5/11
Next »
U.S. Wellness Beef Garlic Franks
Calories: 140
Fat: 9 g (4.5 g saturated)
Sodium: 430 mg
$8.60/6 hotdogs; grasslandbeef.com
Good to know: Canadian researchers have found that daily intake of omega-3s in the amounts that exist in the average serving of grass-fed beef (about 35 mg per 3 oz serving) lowered triglycerides, blood fats that contribute to heart disease, without affecting cholesterol levels.
Grill This, Not That: Hundreds of healthy grilling secrets at your fingertips!
« Prev
Slide 6/11
Next »
Tendergrass Farms Pastured Pork Grassfed Franks
This small collection of family farmers, which includes the noted sustainable farmer, author and lecturer Joel Salatin, doesn't have nutritional information for their hotdogs.
$8.99/4 hotdogs (5 lb. package); grassfedbeef.org
Good to Know: For the pork purists out there, these "beyond organic" franks come from pigs that live their entire lives on the pastures of small family farms, which is something that even USDA Organic standards don't require. All of the farmers that contribute to this Virginia-based animal agriculture operation recently pledged to feed their pigs, chickens and turkeys GMO-free feed, as well.
Read More: Herbs and Spices Make Grilling Healthier
« Prev
Slide 7/11
Next »
Homegrown Meats Grassfed Beef Hot Dogs
Calories: 130
Fat: 11 g (4.5 g saturated)
Sodium: 590 mg
$7.99/4 hotdogs; homegrownmeats.com
Good to Know: Not only are these hotdogs certified by the American Grassfed Association (a program that verifies animals eat only grass their entire lives), but they're also Animal Welfare Approved, the strictest certification program for humane animal treatment.
The Happiness Diet: Give your brain the nutrients it needs to be happy and healthy!
« Prev
Slide 8/11
Next »
Niman Ranch Fearless Franks
Calories: 195
Fat: 16 g (7 g saturated)
Sodium: 566 mg
$5.99 to $6.99/8 hotdogs; store.nimanranch.com
Good to know: These franks are made without antibiotics, hormones, and nitrites. Look for them at Whole Foods and other natural-food stores nationwide.
Read More: 7 Weird Things You Can Grill
« Prev
Slide 9/11
Next »
Tallgrass Beef Grassfed Beef Hot Dogs
Calories: 150
Fat: 13 (6 g saturated)
Sodium: 450 mg
$49.95/18 hotdogs; tallgrassbeef.com
Good to know: Though Tallgrass Beef sells its products in grocery stores across the country, they're a mainstay in the Chicago area, where Tallgrass hotdogs are sold at Wrigley Field.
Read More: Green Cleaning Tips for Your Grill
« Prev
Slide 10/11
Next »
Prescott Frost Organic All-Beef Hot Dogs
Calories: 160
Fat: 14 g (5 g saturated)
Sodium: 450 mg
$7.50/6 hotdogs; prescottfrost.com
Good to know: This ranch, owned by the great-grandson of poet Robert Frost, is located in the Sandhills of Nebraska, a region often called the Napa Valley of grass-fed beef.
Like this? Sign up for The Daily Fix, Rodale.com's FREE daily newsletter, to get more information about organic food and healthy living!
« Prev
Slide 11/11
Next »
Facebook
Twitter
