RECIPE DOCTOR
Broccoli salad healthier minus mayo

By Elaine Magee
Knight Ridder News Service

Q. I've seen this broccoli salad served at countless barbecues and church functions, and I finally came across the recipe for it. I was completely shocked with the amount of mayonnaise called for. Can you tweak this to taste just as great but with a lot less calories and fat grams?

A. This recipe got my attention from the mere fact that it featured my favorite green veggie. I have a problem with the mayonnaise, too — we can't spend all our fat grams for the meal just on one side dish!

To lighten the recipe, I cut the mayo down to 1/4 cup and added 3/4 cup of fat-free sour cream, and cut the sunflower seeds in half, to 1/2 cup. You could even cut it down to 1/8 cup of mayo and 14 tablespoons of fat-free sour cream if so inclined. Five slices of bacon is plenty, and halves the fat and calories; or you can substitute reduced-fat Louis Rich Turkey Bacon and add an extra slice.

The loss of calories and fat was huge: 209 calories instead of 401, and 11.8 grams of fat instead of 34.

I have steamed broccoli all the time, so having it this way — with all the salad trimmings — is such a treat!

Popular Picnic Broccoli Salad

• 6 slices Louis Rich Turkey Bacon
• 6 cups bite-size broccoli pieces (about 2 heads of broccoli)
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped (more if desired)
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 3/4 cup fat-free sour cream
• 1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds (lightly salted)

Place bacon in a large nonstick frying pan and cook over medium heat, flipping often, until nicely brown and crispy. Cool, then crumble and set aside.

In large salad bowl, toss broccoli with raisins and red onions.

In a 4-cup measuring glass, whisk together sugar, vinegar, mayonnaise and sour cream. Pour over broccoli mixture and toss to coat well.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to blend flavors. Before serving, sprinkle sunflower seeds and crumbled bacon over the top, toss and serve.

Makes 8 servings.

Original recipe: 401 calories, 34 grams fat, 5.5 grams saturated fat, and 23 mg cholesterol per serving.

Per serving: 209 calories, 7 g protein, 22 g carbohydrate, 11.8 g fat (1.8 g saturated, 3 g monounsaturated, 6.1 g polyunsaturated), 13 mg cholesterol, 3.5 g fiber, 213 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 48 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids: 2 g. Omega-6 fatty acids: 4 g. Weight Watchers WINNING Points: 4.

Elaine Magee is author of "The Recipe Doctor Cookbook" and "The Flax Cookbook." Readers may write to her through www.recipedoctor.com. Personal responses cannot be provided.