Healthy and Delicious “Mac” Salad Recipe

Even if it’s snowing, as long as I am being “productive” inside (reading can be research!), then the day is not wasted!

•Looking up local shops for various products

•Trying my hand at a new recipe or “art”

•Making bone broth or extra soup to freeze for later

•Entertaining company and sharing great laughs

•Reading up on exciting new locations to make sure to visit and experience…

It’s all positive “work” that we don’t have to feel “guilty” about!

And that’s pretty much how I feel about food!

I don’t like wasting my time and money on mediocre meals, or, the second-guessing that comes with it if the ingredients aren’t too great.

I like connecting with my food (and the people that provide it).

It tastes better, and we feel better.

We buy better, we are better.

If I could sum what I’m trying to say, it would look like this recipe: the Healthy and Delicious “Mac” Salad!

We all know what “Mac” I’m talking about (ahem, from that rather large fast-food restaurant).

The sauce, the pickles, the beef and cheese.

BUT, we all know that the ingredients from any fast-food place are not yummy (I’m ALWAYS dang disappointed!), real, or great for us at all.

But, we want the intended flavors and advertised satisfaction!

Introducing this “Mac” Salad that I stumbled across a while ago that I just can’t seem to get enough of since.

It is by the ladies of “Trim Healthy Mama”, a nutrient-dense, healthy lifestyle meal plan organization. I don’t follow their “plan”

(don’t act like you’re not surprised after all these “feel good” recipes!),

but, they do a REALLY great job at examining flavor profiles and getting a recipe “right.”

The ingredients are all real, and, this salad tastes exactly how you want it to:

It’s got the lettuce.

The pickles and sauce.

The beef and cheese (I know where you can get some EXCELLENT, locally-raised/grass fed burger).

Even the sesame seeds on top!

You don’t have to feel guilty eating this bad boy (my children love it!), and, it’s an interesting dish that you can easily pack up and take with you to the office, on the go, or eat leftovers for lunch the next day (and you don’t have to stop at the fast-food place!).

This special salad is also “hearty” enough to be filling and serve for supper (plus, with all of the beef and cheese, the husband won’t complain about having “salad for supper”!)

These ingredients are simple, you have them on hand, and, the burger is super easy to stock up on (come see me at the farm or market!) and brown up when you get a craving.

Healthy and Delicious Mac Salad

This recipe is adapted from a “Trim Healthy Mama” cookbook, and tastes exactly (only much better) than the famous saucy, cheeseburger from a big chain fast food restaurant.
Assemble in one big bowl and serve, or make individual little bowls for children, guests, or to store and take along on a trip!

Serves 6-8

Salad Ingredients:

- 2 pounds ground beef, thawed

-1/2 cup of water (or beef broth or bone stock)

-1.5 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

-2 teaspoons paprika

-1 teaspoon good salt (like mineral salt)

-1 teaspoon black pepper

-1 large onion, finely diced

-1 tablespoon butter

-3 large heads of romaine lettuce, shredded or roughly chopped

-3 tomatoes, roughly chopped

-8 oz. Cheddar cheese, grated or finely shredded

-3 dill pickles, finely chopped (or 1/3 cup dill relish)

-Thousand Island Dressing (recipe below)

-1/4 cup sesame seeds

Thousand Island Dressing Ingredients:

-3/4 cup mayonnaise

-1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

- 5 tablespoons ketchup

- several dashes of hot sauce (your brand of choice)

- ½ cup dill pickle relish

- 2-3 tiny pinches of stevia, or your sweetener of choice (raw sugar works well) to taste

Instructions:

1) Brown and cook the beef and onions in a large skillet with the butter over medium-high heat. Add the water (or broth), Worcestershire sauce, paprika, salt, and black pepper.

2) While beef is cooking, add all of the dressing ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth (refrigerate until ready to serve).

3) Once the beef is done, stir in the shredded cheddar cheese and set aside with a lid on to keep warm.

4) To assemble the salad (or individual salads), first layer the lettuce, then the meat/onion/cheese mixture, then the tomatoes, pickles, and finish with the Thousand Island dressing.

5) Top with the sesame seeds, and dig in!