Can a Vegetarian, Vegan, or Dieter Enjoy a Cheeseburger at McDonalds?

In the realm of vegetarian lifestyles, there are vegetarians and vegans. While I cannot commit to being a vegan, I absolutely love my vegetarian-inspired McDonalds' cheeseburgers. I discovered them by accident one day while staring at all of the toppings associated with various McDonalds products. These low-calorie, yet tasteful products are easy to order and, while some locations may charge a little extra, most are happy to modify a cheeseburger free of charge. Here's how I do it:

Most people know that a standard McDonalds' cheeseburger contains meat, cheese, ketchup, pickles, mustard, onions and a bun. When I elect to make it a "vegetarian cheeseburger," I eliminate the meat and ask to substitute the meat patty with shredded lettuce. This way, I still have the "bulk" of the sandwich to fill me up, but eliminate the meat ingredient. According to the McDonalds' online nutrition page, a cheeseburger has 300 calories and a double cheeseburger has 440 calories. Logic would deduct me to say that a meat patty has at least 100 calories (based on the two caloric differences between the single and double cheeseburgers), however, just to be sure, I calculated the total calories with the lettuce substitution method using the "bag a meal" option. I was close, but actually the beef patty contained 90 calories. So a cheeseburger, minus the meat has 210 calories and 6 grams of fat. Although I am not sure about the bun, for vegans who may be interested, I went ahead and subtracted the cheese; which further reduced the total to 160 calories and only 2 grams of fat. Lettuce has a zero calorie and fat content, so with the added lettuce, the totals are correct.

Should you decide you would like to try this, my suggestion is to try it on a Wednesday when cheeseburgers are on sale for .69 and if not satisfied, you will not be out the full, "regular" cheeseburger price. Fair warning though, some McDonalds do charge for lettuce, although, the most I have been charged is ten cents. I was with a friend though, who decided to add on tomato, in addition to the lettuce, and she was charged .50 for the tomato. I can not comment on the tomato myself, since I don't order it, as the cheeseburger already has ketchup on it.

All in all, if you are on a diet, or just want to try something different, I highly suggest you try this out. At the very least, it can add a change to the "McDonalds routine" of many frequent diners. I can honestly say though, once I tried it, I will never go back to eating a regular cheeseburger. I know it's not for everyone, but for me, it was and still is, a good choice.