LINNY'S BIG MAC IN A BOWL

1/2 pound raw ground beef (about 5 1/2 ounces cooked weight or 153 grams cooked) *

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 slice deluxe American cheese, broken up

1 teaspoon minced dry onions

46 grams dill pickle slices or 2 dill spears, chopped (about 1 5/8 ounces)

2 tablespoons Smoky Thousand Island Dressing

1 1/2 ounces iceberg lettuce, shredded

Brown the ground beef, seasoning with salt and pepper; drain off the fat if desired. Meanwhile, soak the dry onions in a little water to rehydrate them. Add the cheese and cook until it melts. Put the meat in a large salad bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Toss and eat at once.

Makes 1 serving

* I left the fat in but you can drain it off, if you like. Below are the counts for the full fat version as well as the drained version.

With drained meat:

Per Serving: 497 Calories; 39g Fat; 32g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 5g Net Carbs

With undrained meat:

Per Serving: 661 Calories; 50g Fat; 46g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 5g Net Carbs

Someone named Linny posted this recipe idea on Low Carb Friends. I tweaked Linny's recipe to make just one serving and to cut the carbs a bit. This really does have the flavor of a Big Mac hamburger. However, the meat itself was a little bit off, in my opinion. The beef patties at McDonalds are very bland and soft and cooked crumbled ground beef tends to be a bit harder but maybe I shouldn't have gotten my meat quite so browned. I think that to get a texture closer to a real fast food burger, you might try steaming a frozen pre-made patty and then cut it into bite-size pieces. I used chopped pickles this time but I might try dill pickle relish instead next time so that there will be more pickle flavor in every bite. Click the photo to see a close-up.