Saturday night we decided to throw the meal plan and caution to the wind, and boy was there ever a ton of wind to toss it to! TheHub decided he would like a burger cooked on the grill for dinner. Even though it was very windy, the day was sunny and warmish (as long as the wind was not blowing). The only issue for me was the dreaded bun. I actually have some keto compliant buns in the freezer, but I was being nice that morning and made us French toast for breakfast. I very rarely eat breakfast, but occasionally I do like to share a morning meal with TheHub. I had already eaten my keto bread for the day prior to him deciding he wanted burgers. Bummer!
Instead I decided to turn my non-hamburger into a cheeseburger salad. This is not a recipe but more of a how to. You know what you like on or off a burger and should adjust this accordingly.
Put lettuce on your plate, the bigger plate and the more lettuce the better. I had no true lettuce but I did have a box of spring greens and filled the bottom of a dinner plate with it. Once I had it down as a base I diced a slice of sweet onion and sprinkled it all around the greens. I did the same with 4 dill pickle slices, and 1 tomato slice. Next I cut a slice of extra sharp cheddar in half, then cut each half and once again into smaller strips and sprinkled them around the greens. While the burger was cooking (TheHub summons his inner cave man and insists of doing the grilling. Like I am dumb enough to not let that happen) I blended about a tablespoon of mayo with a teaspoon of sugar free ketchup (Shameless plug for Heinz. It tastes like the real thing). I put the dressing over the greens, then squirted a bit of yellow mustard over it.
The grillmaster brought the burgers into the house and I chopped mine into bits, the spread it over the salad. The only thing left to do was pop the top of a Diet Buffalo Rock Ginger Ale* and dig in.
It was delicious and I never missed the bun. If you are trying to cut back on bread, or cook a burger and forget to buy buns, give it a try! It was great!
*BTW if you have never had
Buffalo Rock Ginger Ale and can find it, you owe it to yourself to give it a go. Intensely gingery does not even begin to describe it. It might be an acquired taste, but it is my favorite soft drink, and though I am not a huge fan of soft drinks I allow myself one of these every 3 or 4 days.
I think I prefer your version of a "hamburger" without the bun. It looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteIt tasted just like the "innards" of a traditional burger. All that was missing was the bread.
DeleteYummm! I do something similar, but not nearly as pretty as this. Using green leaf lettuce as a base, I sprinkle garlic/basil vinegarette like Holy Water, toss it all in a deep bowl and add a few walnut pieces (aka, faux croutons). Don't you wish more restaurants offered keto-friendly burgers? We normally keep diet Giner Ale on hand; I'll look out for the Buffalo Rock!
ReplyDeleteI like my meals to look attractive on the plate, but that does not mean they do all the time.
DeleteI like the sprinkling like water reference. It made me grin.
Buffalo Rock is intense (and I am not kidding) but I love it.
I have almost every meal we consider over salad. The kids have it with carbs. I've had meatloaf, meatballs, chicken nuggets, hot dogs (do not recommend), grilled chicken, burgers, tacos, etc. It typically works well. Taco salad is my tried & true favorite.
ReplyDeleteTaco salad is one of my go to meals. When we were first married I had hot dogs over a salad and it was not received well. Since doing keto I have eaten them over coleslaw and with onions and mustard it tastes much like a slaw dog.
DeleteHa, great minds think alike with the hot dog salad ;-)
DeleteThis is a good reminder that almost everything can be eaten as a salad. A good way to get more veggies in. Now to convince the carnivores in the family that a cheese burger would be good this way. :)
ReplyDeleteI eat a lot of veggies during the day, so for me it is all about the no grain thing. In our little family of two, only one of us ate it as a salad!
DeleteI've never thought of using a burger on a salad but why not? Looks good and I'm sure it was tasty.
ReplyDeleteI have all kinds of stuff over salad greens, but this one was particularly tasty.
DeleteHooray for tasty innovations.
ReplyDeleteNecessity!
DeleteI, too, eat stuff on salad greens. We just had spring mix last night with a slice of ham.
ReplyDeleteI would have had to add a little more than just ham to the greens, but I am sure it was tasty.
DeleteThat cheeseburger salad sounds so good! I know I would love it. I need to Google the ginger ale now and see if I can get it here. :)
ReplyDeleteIt was very good!
DeleteMy challenge (self-inflicted) is not to eat the burger. We have virtually stopped buying/consuming meat. We do eat lots of salads, just for different reasons.
ReplyDeletebest... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Salads are great and I have some type of salad or slaw daily.
DeleteI think I could learn to skip the bun if I was more diligent about having salads or salad stuff ready to go. I do like ginger ale so will keep my eyes open.
ReplyDeleteI always have salad stuff washed and ready so it is not a big deal to throw a salad together. I am excited to find real tomatoes here now! That makes everything better
DeleteYour cheeseburger salad sounds good and healthier than burgers on a bun! :)
ReplyDeleteI love your burger salad! I do similar things frequently for lunch. Whatever meat we have left, ham, chicken, hamburger/meatloaf, taco meat, I put it on my lettuce/spinach mixture, sprinkle with cheese, craisins, sliced apple sometimes, and maybe a few fritos crumpled on top for crunch and flavor...or walnuts/pecans, whatever strikes my fancy for the day. I am not on any special kind of diet, I just like my food that way. Oh, I use Marie's Coleslaw Dressing for my salad dressing. It has a lot of celery seed in it. It's probably not diet worthy, but I like the taste of it. Thank you for sharing your dinner with us. I've never seen that kind of ginger ale, but ginger ale is my favorite soft drink, but I rarely drink anything but unsweet iced tea or water with my meals. Have a blessed and happy day/week!
ReplyDeleteYum, it looks delicious. We actually do homemade hamburgers on the grill along with grilled onions. We don't use a bun.
ReplyDelete