Cheeseburger Salad
Meal: 327 cal Protein: 28g Carbs: 12g Fat: 19g
This salad is one of my favorites. It’s easily changed to what you have available in your kitchen and what you love. I love the different textures that are created with each technique. There are fresh, sautéed, grilled, and pickled items with a home made dressing. Yum! But Salad eaters beware! The difference between a delicious, nutritious salad and a big mac in a bowl is felt in just a few ingredients – the meat, the dressing and the cheese. Items like Olive Oil are dangerous where every extra spoonful is 100 calories.
We’ve lightened this salad by shifting the proportions of the meat and cheese with the vegetables. Plus, we’ve created a much lighter dressing. All of this has saved almost 1,000 calories, or 250 calories per serving.
We’ve added flavors by including sautéed and pickled vegetables to the mix and we’ve swapped out a flavorless American cheese for a beautiful Swiss cheese that we know pairs well with the dressing. If you’ve never had dehydrated onions before, you’re in for a treat. You’ll find them in the spice section of your grocery store and they add a wonderful sweetness to any meatball, meatloaf, burger or ground meat mixture.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Oil
- 1 lb Ground Chicken
- Onion Dehydrated
- Sea Salt & Pepper
Directions
- Preheat sauté pan on Medium. Brush with 1 Tbsp Olive Oil.
- In a bowl, combine chicken, onions, salt and pepper.
- orm into 4 burgers. When grill pan is hot, cook burgers until desired done-ness.
- Remove from pan and set aside.
- Once cooled, dice into bite sized pieces.
Ingredients
- 8 oz Mushrooms
- 2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- Sea Salt & Pepper
Directions
- In same pan, keep heat on and add mushrooms to the pan and sauté.
- Add apple cider vinegar to the pan and deglaze, scraping up all the little bits from the burgers.
- Cook the mushrooms until the liquid has been fully absorbed and they have darkened (caramelized) on the bottom side.
- Don’t move the mushrooms much and they will caramelize on their own beautifully.
- Set aside.
Ingredients
- ¼ C Rice Vinegar
- ¼ C Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Honey or Maple Syrup
- 2-3 Shallots or 1 Small Onion, sliced
Directions
- In a small saucepan over medium, add vinegars and honey.
- Cook until honey is fully melted and the vinegar is warm.
- Place onions in a jar or bowl and pour the vinegar mixture over the onions.
- Set aside.
- NOTE – store excess in your fridge for up to 2 weeks. I make large batches and put them in salads, wraps, and on burgers.
Ingredients
- 1 head Leafy Green Lettuce chopped or torn
- 1 C Tomatoes Cherry or Grape, sliced in half
- 2 oz Swiss Cheese finely or regular shred
- 6 Tbsp SMART Thousand Island Dressing
Directions
- In a salad bowl, start with the lettuce, then add tomato, cheese, burgers, onions, and mushrooms.
- Mix well.
- Toss with Thousand Island Dressing and serve.
