Picnic-ready Broccoli Slaw

Years ago I used to purchase this wonderful broccoli salad in a nearby gourmet deli. I knew it wasn’t low in fat, but I told myself that all of that broccoli I was eating would help balance the fat. I know, delusional. It had a savory mayo based dressing, crumbled bacon and either raisins or grapes (depending on the chef), but the fat and calories could blow your socks off (see below)!!!

Now that I’m older and wiser, I no longer eat regular mayo or bacon. But I still missed that broccoli salad…so I decided to create my own.

This recipe is SUPER EASY! Fortunately you can now buy packages of both shredded broccoli (sold as ‘broccoli slaw’) and bite sized pieces of broccoli. I’ve used both in this recipe, so it just depends on your individual tastes.

Healthy Broccoli Slaw

1 (12oz) package	Broccoli slaw or recipe ready fresh broccoli
3 fl oz (6 Tbsp)	Lite Vidalia onion dressing (I like Ken’s brand)
1 cup	Red grapes, sliced in half
¼ cup	Roasted sliced almonds (found in the produce section)

Place broccoli or broccoli slaw in a medium sized bowl, add dressing and grapes and toss until well mixed. Toss in almonds right before serving (1 Tbsp per serving if not using the entire recipe). Cover and refrigerate any unused portions. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition per ¼ recipe (about 1 cup)

	Healthy recipe	Regular recipe
Calories	147	402
Fat	6.6 g	30 grams (ouch!)

Get creative and mix up the ingredients. Try a different low fat or fat free dressing. Try using raisins or mandarin oranges instead of grapes. Missing the bacon? Try bacon bits (real or fake) from the salad dressing isle. If you come up with a great combination, let me know. I’m always looking for new ideas for fresh veggies!

- Renee