Gourmet BLT Salad

Recipe from Jill Buhler, Executive Administrative Assistant, Guidant Corporation.

This is a healthy take on the classic summertime favorite BLT sandwich. It makes a perfect picnic lunch or light dinner. Grow your own tomatoes for a fresh taste.

Ingredients

Dressing

1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Salad Fixings

Romaine lettuce, chopped
Spinach leaves
1 tomato (sliced or chopped) (10 grape or cherry tomatoes sliced in half)
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons shredded Swiss cheese
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons bacon (torn into pieces)
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds

Preparation

Toasted Slivered Almonds

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Spray a cookie sheet lightly with olive oil cooking spray and spread the almonds out on the cookie sheet.
Bake in oven at 300 for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly brown.

Salad

Mix together oil, lemon juice, garlic cloves, salt and pepper. Set aside, let sit for at least one-half hour.
Stir dressing before pouring on to salad.
Right before serving, pour some dressing over romaine lettuce and spinach leaves in bowl, toss the lettuce and leaves.
Add the shredded cheeses, bacon, tomato, red pepper, green onions and toasted almonds over lettuce and toss lightly.

Yields 4 servings of salad per recipe.

Note: The dressing recipe is enough for two large salads. Do not use the entire recipe on one salad. You can store the dressing in the fridge, for up to 3-4 days. (When using next day, take out of fridge and let dressing "warm up" a bit on counter for 10 minutes, stir and pour.)

Baker’s Tip: Add chopped chicken to turn this perfect lunch into a delicious main entree.

Nutritional Analysis (per serving)

273 calories
8 g protein
11 g carbohydrates
24 g fat
79% calories from fat (14% from saturated fat)
120 mg calcium
3.5 g dietary fiber
If adding chicken, nutritional analysis will change.

Recipes