Big Mac Salad? Yes, Salad!

Heaven in my bowl...

Here we go again with my modern day mentality when it comes to eating. Besides the internet, I think one of the greatest inventions of the 21st century is the McDonald's Big Mac. It's impossible for me to explain the zen-like experience I have when I eat one.  It's ridiculous, and a bit embarrassing to be that in love with such a terrible excuse for a food, but I bear it all here, so there you go.  And for the record, I may eat ONE a year. I just know how bad they are, so I stay away.  

Anyway, my same HCG diet going friend Krista, who introduced me to the buffalo chicken dip, also introduced me to the BIG MAC SALAD. Yep, I'm screaming that at you via caps lock. It tastes like a Big Mac, only without the bread, and who needs that anyway?!  It's meaty, creamy, cheesy, and has all the flavors of a classic Big Mac. I'm going to show you all of exactly what I did.  This recipe isn't necessarily low fat (for me), but for the average eater, it's a HUGE improvement in reducing the bad fats in the traditional Big Mac sandwich.

I'll go ahead and give you a second to thank me. No. It's okay. Take your time. I don't mind. :)  Crappy pic...again. Night time cooking. Fluorescent light pics. You know the drill at this point.

Big Mac Salad

1 pound 5% fat ground beef, cooked, crumbled, drained, rinsed

3 cups salad greens (I used shredded iceberg for authenticity)

2 pickles sliced

1 tbsp minced onions, rehydrated

1/4 cup shredded cheddar or 2 slices fat free American cheese

1/4 cup low carb 1000 Island dressing (recipe below)

pepper

Halve all of your ingredients, because this makes 2 salads worth of food.  In your bowl, place 1.5 cups of your salad greens. Top with half of the browned beef, cheese, dressing, pickles, minced onions, and pepper. Some people like to mix the onions and pepper in with the browned beef, but I just prefer to do it on my salad.  Sit down and prepare for some heaven in your mouth.  Serves 2. (Use less beef for lower protein intake if you need to stretch your daily allowance out.)

Low Carb 1000 Island Dressing

2 tbsp fat free mayo

2 tbsp light mayo

1 tbsp ketchup (you can use sugar free ketchup, I just use regular Heinz)

1.5 tbsp dill pickle relish

Mix all together and refrigerate for 15 mins, then serve. Keeps for up to 2 weeks.  Serves 2.

Nutrition

Calories 375

Carbs 7g

Fat 15g

Protein 50g

Just for comparison, this is the nutrition info for an actual Big Mac from McDonald's...

Calories 550

Carbs 46 g

Fat 29g

Protein 25 g

Who am I kidding? There is no comparison on this one!  I'm not sure what to say about this salad except to thank Krista. The first one I made I ate in less than 3 minutes. It was a combo of deliciousness and not having had eaten in 7 hours. This is a really fun way to transform modern foods into something special for a diet, or even to surprise your friends with at a funky dinner party.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

Love, peace, and hamburger grease!