Going through my freezer, I remembered that I had about two pounds of frozen ground beef. As I am having difficulties with my gas grill, I tried to think of other things I could do with that much beef, and a recipe similar to one I use for hamburgers popped into mind. However, I am also on a low-carb diet. Most meatloaf recipes I’ve seen involve using some sort of bread. Now, I do have some low carb bagels I could use but I’d prefer to do this without the bread at all. Is this possible or will my meatloaf lose all consistency and just fall apart?
Man, you’re only talking about a cup of bread crumbs for a couple pounds of meat. How much are you going to eat at one sitting?
It’ll be just the opposite, we’re talking hockey puck-ish. Grains and veggies help keep the mixture softer, as does NOT overmixing it. Whiz some of the bagels in a food processor, or if they are stale, use a cheese grater. Add some chopped or pureed carrots, celery, onions and other favorite veggies. My grandmother’s meatloaf was always a Technicolor™ marvel. If too much spinach went in, it had a greenish cast. An extra tomato or two, made it decidely pink. Judicious use of herbs is also called for, thyme is the best, IMHO, plus parsley and basil. Every time I make one, it’s a bit different, but always good. Experiment!
You have to have the bread. Otherwise, as noted, all you have is a lump. A proper meatloaf is springy and moist and sops up gravy. I use crushed Saltines in mine, but oats, dried bread and such work fine. I don’t know about bagels. The boiling might make them too dense to work. Give it a try and let us know how it turns out! 
Here’s mine, with a cornmeal-bourbon crust.
Nott’s Horseradish Meatloaf…Feb. 28, 2004
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2 lb. ground chuck
6 slices bacon, crumbled
2 eggs
1 cup rolled oats
6.5 oz prepared horseradish
½ Hungarian pepper, chopped
¼ green bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
½ cup onion, chopped
1 tsp. fresh rosemary, minced
½ tsp.paprika
½ tsp. curry powder
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbs. ginger root, grated
1 ½ cup pasta sauce
8 dashes Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
2 tsp. brown sugar
2 oz. Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Corn meal, sprinkled on top
Moosh together all ingredients, except the last two together. Form into two loaves in two baking dishes. Dribble 1 oz. of Kentucky Straight Bourbon on each loaf. Pick up corn meal in your fingertips, and sprinkle it over both loaves until you can’t see the loaf.
Bake for 1 ¼ hour. If necessary, absorb oil from edges with folded paper towels.
Garnish with, um, golf tees, rosemary, whatever.
Ooooh. I may have to try that. Just because I’m a big fan of horseradish.
Anyway, I don’t know how bagels would work…but hey, give it a shot (and to think someone was just questioning when this smilie would every be appropraite ;j ). Put in an egg to bind it, and you don’t need a whole lot of breadcrumbs. Certainly not enough to violate low carb standards.
I usually put ground turkey, beef, and rice in my meatloaf. Though if you can’t get all of the ingredients, two out of three ain’t bad. 
The Alton Brown meatloaf recipe is one of the best.
Mine is usually turkey thigh meat, bacon, onion and lots of sage, rosemary and thyme; sometimes I’ll put paprika and red peppers in there.
The more bread you put in, the softer and more spongy it will be, but I daresay there’s probably some kind of lower-carb substitute that would be more or less acceptable - maybe courgette (zucchini), although you might want to pare away the dark green skin before processing it.
Man, you people do a lot with meatloaf. Anyway, here’s what I’m thinking:
ground beef
colby-jack
bacon
green onion
a toasted, crumbled bagel
Worstechire sauce
minced garlic
green chile
an egg or two
Anything I’m missing?