I make my own salad dressings most of the time, but I always keep some of my favorite low calorie dressings on hand for week night meals and quick lunches. I particularly like to use either Newman’s Own Cranberry Walnut Lite Vinaigrette, or LiteHouse Blueberry Pomegranate Vinaigrette because they have a slightly sweet taste to them.

Serves: 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
1 pound Brussels sprouts
6 slices bacon, reduced sodium
2 eggs, large, hard boiled
1/2 red onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon vinegar, balsamic
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
2 slices bread, whole wheat, or any

Preparation:
To make low fat croutons, toast bread in a toaster. Remove crust and cut toast into half inch cubes. Or you can purchase low fat or fat free croutons, or any other for that matter.

Here is where I substitute with bottled salad dressing, some fruity low fat vinaigrette that you like will do just fine. Otherwise, to make the dressing, add olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey and Dijon in a small bowl and whisk together.

To make the salad, cut the Brussels sprouts in half. Remove core and bottoms. Separate the leaves as much as you can as if they were pieces of lettuce (or to save time, remove the core and quarter them or slice them). Place leaves in a medium size bowl and set aside. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon to skillet and cook until crispy brown. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel.

Remove most of the oil from the pan (I know a lot of cooks would leave it all in because the bacon grease adds flavor, but it’s not really good for you. Once you see bacon grease harden at room temperature, I am pretty sure you will agree that we shouldn’t be eating it), leaving a very small amount to saute the onion. Add onion to the skillet and cook over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until soft. Add Brussels sprout leaves and stir gently. Cook for about 2 minutes until leaves are crisp tender and still hold their shape. Pour dressing over skillet and toss gently. Top with bacon, croutons and chopped or sliced egg. Stir gently and serve.

Nutrition: Per Serving About: 240 calories, 14 g fat, 3.5 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 11 g protein, 19 g carbohydrates, 5 g dietary fiber, 280 mg sodium