Everyone has a different ‘summer’ food. For some, watermelon equals summer. Others, it’s burgers and brats. At our house, the ultimate summer food was BLTs.  As soon as tomatoes were in season, we ate them on a weekly basis. I loved the saltiness of the bacon with the sweet tomatoes and the crispness of the lettuce with the creaminess of the mayonnaise. It’s the perfect marriage of tastes and textures.

Manatee and I have struggled with this. He loves tomatoes and lettuce. He won’t admit to many people but he also loves mayonnaise. After my first run with Weight Watchers, we both fell in love with turkey bacon. Then there’s always the problem of bread. He doesn’t like bread. We suspect he might even have a gluten allergy. So BLTs in the traditional sense are out.

For the past few years, I have made a BLT pizza for my nephews who always spend Fourth of July with my parents (the recipe was included in a recent CSA post). You know how much I love pizza but Manatee kept asking if we could turn it into a salad. Finally I agreed and we made it last night. We will never go back. It’s taste of summer with a healthy twist.

CSA Notes: I added a bunch of broccoli and swiss chard to the recipe. It’s a great way to sneak in some extra, healthy veggies.

(B)BLT Salad

Servings: 5
Serving Size: approx. 2 cups
Weight Watcher Plus Points: 4

12 oz Jennie O Extra Lean Turkey Bacon

1 pint of grape tomatoes halved

6 cups of shredded/chopped lettuce**

1 bunch of scallions, chopped

1 bunch of broccoli, chopped (optional)

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

  1. Cook turkey bacon in frying pan. I find it hard to not overcook turkey bacon. I recommend not multi-tasking during this step and pull it out as soon as the sides start to crimp. You can always put it back in if it’s not cooked enough.


  2. Chop up remaining vegetables. Mix broccoli (if using), scallions and lettuce together. Keep tomatoes separate.
  3. Chop up bacon. Keep separate.
  4. Mix Dijon mustard and mayonnaise together.

     

  5. Let each individual mix together a salad.


  6. Enjoy!


The great thing about keeping the ingredients separate is that it makes leftovers much easier. It also allows each person to decide how much dressing to include. I have to admit that I went a little over board with the dressing the first time and had to add lettuce to even it out.

You can doctor this up as much or as little as you want. Today I am going to grill some chicken breasts and may throw that in when I make another salad later. It’s very customizable.

 

 

 

 


Blt Salad

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