[Metal Chick]

I dragged my boyfriend to Sweet Tomatoes (same as Souplantation) a couple of years ago on my birthday. He tried this salad and loved it so I found the recipe online. This is still the only way I can get him to eat broccoli. He even requested I make it for his family's dinner on Christmas Eve!

I thought I would share the recipe with any other supposed broccoli haters. One of the biggest changes I made to my version is that I half the dressing. I think there is just way too much. But you may want to make the regular amount and add it until you're happy with it though. I also use a little less sugar in the dressing, but that's because I use more raisins. They add a lot of sweetness.

Joan's Broccoli Madness Salad recipe

Joan's Broccoli Madness Salad (my variation)

1 large or 2 small bunch broccoli
1/2 c thick cut bacon, crumbled (4-5 strips)
1/2 c cashews
1/2 c raisins
1/4 c red onion, finely chopped

Dressing
1/2 c mayonnaise
1/8 c sugar
1 tbs apple cider vinegar

Cut off broccoli florets. Rinse well. Reserve stems for later. (They're great chopped up in a stir-fry) Place florets in large bowl.

Fry bacon over medium-low heat to prevent burning. Set aside on paper towel-lined plate.

Saute onion in bacon grease until tender. Spoon over broccoli. When bacon is cool enough to handle, crumble over broccoli.

Mix mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar. Let set.

Mix raisins and cashews into broccoli mixture. Pour dressing over mixture. Chill before serving.

[Jennifer 3FC]

Whoa! How many calories in that baby?

[Metal Chick]

LOL So sorry. I didn't make myself clear. I forget that there are a lot of overeaters on this site!

That is for the WHOLE RECIPE not just one serving. I wouldn't suggest eating the whole bowl! I don't know if anyone could actually. It's very filling. We usually eat it over 3-4 days (it's actually best on days 2 and 3) so 6-8 servings and on Christmas it will feed 10. But then there will be a lot of other food. It might go virtually untouched.

We usually eat it as a side to sandwiches. Even if it is high calorie (which neither of us count anyway) at least there is nutrition. I'm much more concerned with EMPTY calories than high-calorie nutritious food. So if he would rather eat this than potato chips - AWESOME!

Oh, and we use Olive Oil mayonnaise which is like half the calories of regular mayo. And when you soften the onions in the grease you're supposed to fish them out with a fork. I wasn't clear on that either. (I usually do this on my electric griddle and all the excess grease falls into a little reservoir. So there isn't a lot left on the griddle when I put the onions on.) Sauteing them just softens them up so they're not as strong, but if you don't like that idea you can use PAM for a similar effect.

But most importantly, don't try to eat the whole recipe!

[bacilli]

I was curious, so I figured out the calorie count using Oscar Meyer thick cut bacon and TJ's reduced fat mayo. The whole dish would end up around 1220 calories, so if you figure 8 servings it's not as bad as you would think, ~150 calories.

Just in case someone who actually eats meat or mayo was scared by the ingredient list!


Also, this reminds me of a broccoli dish my mom makes. It has sunflower seeds instead of cashews, and the addition of cheddar cheese. I'm told it's rather good.

[Metal Chick]

Wow! The calories aren't bad at all! Thanks for figuring that for all the calorie counters.

And I like the idea of using sunflower seeds as an alternative to cashews. I actually like sunflower seeds better than cashews, I'll see what the bf thinks.

I know that a lot of dieters seem to be scared of things like bacon, nuts, or mayo but most of the thin and healthy people I know use them all the time. But they usually use them like this, to enhance the flavor or texture of a dish.