Protein Packed Broccoli Salad

It may not sound like all of these ingredients could possibly come together to make something edible, much less delicious, but I'm here to tell you that you are in for a pleasant surprise! This is another recipe I've looted from All Recipes and adapted to suit those who might be watching carbs, fat, or both.

This has become a favorite of mine because of its tangy sweet flavor and because it allows me to eat some veggies and increase my protein consumption at the same time. As a VSGer, I know that I have to get protein in first and quite honestly, by the time I've done that, I don't have a lot of room for veggies or anything else and I started to miss them. I can actually have a few bites of this without feeling like I'm sacrificing protein for the chance to nibble on something different.

This is a favorite of Tanner's too, he loves it!

Ingredients:
• 10 slices of turkey bacon (I use Oscar Meyer)
• 1 head of fresh broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
• ¼ cup of red onion, chopped
• ½ cup of raisins or green seedless grapes (I prefer the grapes)
• 3 tblsp white wine vinegar
• 2 tblsp splenda
• 1 cup low fat or fat free Mayo (note most of the fat comes from the mayo and the sunflower seeds)
• 1 cup sunflower seeds (optional; it tastes really good without them, but they add protein and good fats)

Directions:

1. Cut broccoli into bite-sized pieces and throw in a cold pot with water. Bring to a boil and then immediately strain and set aside. This will soften up the broccoli, but still leave it firm with a bit of crunch. It will also help preserve all the nutrients in the vegetable.
2. Fry bacon according to the instructions and set aside. When cool, chop it up.
3. In medium sized bowl, combine broccoli, onion and grapes/raisins. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, splenda and mayo (when I make it, I don’t do this, I just throw everything in one bowl and then mix it all together because I’m lazy like that).

If you just LOVE doing dishes and want to be a hot shot chef and do everything “by the book” then by all means, grab that extra bowl and mix the vinegar, splenda and mayo together and then pour over broccoli mixture and toss until well mixed.

Note for Bariatric Eaters: If you are a bariatric eater, you can add some unflavored protein powder like Pure Unflavored Protein Isolate to the mayo mixture. If you are adding the protein powder, then I would recommend mixing the mayo mixture separately, adding the protein powder, mixing it up well and letting it sit for about 5 minutes. Stir it again and then add to the broccoli mixture. Pure will add between 12-24g of protein to the entire recipe depending on how many scoops you use.

4. Refrigerate for at least two hours. The longer the better actually as it allows all the flavors to come together. It is great made the day before.
5. Before serving, toss salad with the bacon and sunflower seeds.

Serves 12
Nutritional Information: 130 calories, 8 carbs, 10g fat, 5.5g protein

If the fat content scares those of you who aren’t eating the minuscule portions Bariatric Eaters are eating, you can try reducing the amount of turkey bacon (which comprises 30g in the whole recipe) or reducing the amount of sunflower seeds (64g in 1 cup).

Using fat-free mayo instead of low-fat mayo may reduce your fat further, but it may also increase the carb count so if you are carb-conscious, you may want to stick with regular mayo or low-fat.