Is it still too hot to turn on the stove or oven in your part of the world? Over the weekend, we had a small break from the hot weather when it rained on Saturday but it was still humid and muggy. It makes me think of that Simpsons episode where Homer builds a tent onto the fridge because it’s so hot. Ah, fridge tent! I think I’ll be needing one of those this summer. Phew! But back to the subject of cooking and eating. If you don’t want to cook, you can get take out but that gets boring and expensive after a while. I decided to take a recipe for one of my favorite salads and change it up a bit. Okay, it still involves a bit of stove top use but it’s worth it I promise.

Here we have Paula Deen’s recipe for Broccoli Salad. My changes included reducing the sugar by half, substituting half the mayo for Greek yogurt, replacing the cheese with a 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds and substituting bacon for chicken bacon. I wanted to take away some of the “heavier” elements from the salad so that it would be a lighter option for a meal on a hot day. Not to worry, you still have the creaminess and tanginess from the mayo and I can’t say that I missed the cheese at all. I like the extra crunch you get from the sunflower seeds. Did you know that sunflower seeds are loaded with nutrients including vitamins E & B and magnesium. I think the best part of this salad is all the different veggies you get to eat in a single serving. Enjoy!

Broccoli Salad
(Yield: 6-8 servings)

Ingredients:

• 8 slices cooked chicken bacon, crumbled
• 1 head broccoli
• 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

• Cook the chicken bacon, set it aside and allow the bacon to cool before crumbling.
• Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and the red onions into small pieces and place into a large bowl.
• Cut the broccoli head and stems into small bite sized pieces add them to the bowl with the tomatoes and red onions.
• Add the cranberries and sunflower seeds and gently toss all of the ingredients so they are thoroughly mixed.
• In a separate bowl, combine the mayonnaise, low-fat Greek yogurt, white wine vinegar, sugar, black pepper and salt and mix thoroughly.
• Add the dressing to broccoli mixture and toss gently.

(Adapted from: Food Network)

Recipe notes: If you don’t like the “raw” taste of broccoli, you can blanche the broccoli for a minute or two and then place it into ice water to stop it from cooking.