Two Updated (Weight Watchers) Summer Salad Classics

Thursday evening we took in the concert at Ellisville’s Bluebird Park after the Ellisville Community Farmers’ Market (local readers – GOGOGOGO if you haven’t been! And come every week! And buy delicious Baetje Farms artesian goat cheeses and Marcoot Jersey Creamery cows milk cheeses from me!! I’m beside the beer/wine tent.)

We always pack a picnic dinner, and since we’re following Weight Watchers during the week, I looked to lighten some old favorites, German potato salad and broccoli salad (gorgeous broccoli was in this week’s Lee Farms CSA box). The resulting salads were so flavorful that we didn’t miss the full-fat versions. The potato salad is a modified Weight Watchers recipe with a funny name for such, “Enlightened German Potato Salad” – I guess it is new age compared to a traditional recipe for it. I tweaked the recipe by using slightly more potatoes than the WW recipe called for and adding one of my new faves, Laughing Cow blue cheese (1 Weight Watchers Plus point per wedge). It still has great tang and the requisite saltiness and smokiness from a (little bit of) bacon. We ate it at room (well, outdoor concert) temperature, and I’m sure it would be tremendous a slight bit warmer.

And the broccoli salad. Well, this is the bomb – because – the broccoli is the star of the dish since it isn’t swimming in mayo. The salad is super fresh and very light. The recipe, which I based off one from my friend Alanna’s A Veggie Venture blog, interestingly has you finely dice the stems for added texture and crunch.

Both salads are winners even if we’re not following Weight Watchers.

Light German Potato Salad

3 generous 1 cup servings

1 pound uncooked red new potatoes, medium-size

 

Dressing

1 1/4 ounce bacon, diced

1/3 of a medium red onion, chopped

1/8 C white wine vinegar

1/3 t Stevia or 1/4 t sugar

1/4 t celery salt

1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

1 wedge Laughing cow blue cheese, chopped (or regular blue cheese to taste)

In a saucepan, bring the potatoes to boil in enough lightly salted water to cover the potatoes. Reduce the heat and simmer until tender, 15 to 20 minutes; drain but reserve a few tablespoons of the cooking water. Let the potatoes stand until they are cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes, and cut into bite-size pieces.

Cook bacon in a large skillet (I used the Dutch oven) over medium-high heat until crisp, about six minutes. Drain on paper towels and set aside. Pour off and discard all but 1 tablespoon of the pan drippings.

Add onion to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about five minutes. Add vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper and stir to combine. Add the potatoes to the pan and gently toss to coat. If needed, add the reserved potato cooking water (by tablespoons) to make enough “sauce” to coat the potatoes. Sprinkle with the bacon and blue cheese. Stir until the blue cheese slightly melts. Serve warm or room temperature.

Print recipe.

Broccoli, Bacon, and Raisin Salad

Serves 6 (1/2 cup serving)

4 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

1 - 2 broccoli tops, about 1 pound, washed and dried

Dressing
1/4 C Hellman's Light mayonnaise
1/4 C plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1 T lemon juice
1 T or sugar substitute (I used 1 t Stevia)
1/4 C red onion, chopped

1/3 C raisins

While the bacon cooks. Cut the broccoli florets into bite-sized pieces. Finely dice the stalks. If the skins are tough, peel the stalks.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients.

Add the broccoli and stir until the sauce completely and evenly covers all the pieces. Stir in the raisins and cooked bacon.

Refrigerate for two to three hours so the dressing softens the broccoli and the flavors meld.

Print here.