Broccoli and Bacon Salad Recipe (lowfat, low carb)

If I would have been on top of things I would have made this!

Ingredients
4 cups broccoli, finely chopped
1 1/4 cups jicama, chopped into small, bite sized pieces
1 small red onion, finely chopped
6 slices cooked extra lean turkey bacon, finely chopped
1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
1/2 cup fat free Greek yogurt plain
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar
3 tbsp dried cranberries
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper

Instructions
Whisk garlic, mayonnaise, yogurt, vinegar and sugar in a large bowl.
Add broccoli, jicama, onions, bacon, cranberries and pepper; stir to coat with the dressing.

*I like to add cheese, almonds or pine nuts and double bacon, but then it's not really a lowfat recipe anymore;)

Mexican Quinoa Salad

1 1/2 cups water
1 cup quinoa, rinsed/drained
1/2 cup seeded/chopped red bell pepper
1 small jalapeno, seeded/diced
2 green onions, chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 15-oz can black beans, drained/rinsed
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 cup cilantro
1/2 cup salsa
1 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 lime
salt
pepper

-Heat the water to boiling in a 2-quart saucepan and add the quinoa.  Lower the heat to medium-low and cover.  Cook until the liquid is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and cool.

-When the quinoa has cooled, add the peppers, onions, tomatoes, beans, cumin, cilantro, salsa, oil and lime juice.  Season with pepper and salt, and toss to blend well.  Chill before serving.

The MOST Delicious Salad You'll Ever Eat (Shaved Zucchini Salad) by Anna Hastings

I was so sad not to be able to come last week.  But, if I had, I would have made this, and you all would have adored it.  Seriously.  This salad is amazing.  I got it from a friend, who got it from a friend, who got it from epicurious.com.  You will love this for two reasons.  It tastes amazing and it uses all that zucchini that overpopulated your garden.  In fact you might even start to think your garden should actually produce more zucchini so you can eat this salad for every meal, every day.  Have I talked it up enough?  Well here it is:

Shaved Zucchini Salad with Parmesean Pine Nuts

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tb fresh lemon juice

1 tsp coarse salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

2 lbs medium zucchini, trimmed

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

small wedge of Parmesean cheese

Preparation: 

Whisk oil, lemon juice, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, and crushed red pepper in small bowl to blend.  Set aside.

Using a vegetable peeler or V-slicer and working from top to bottom of each zucchini, slice zucchini into ribbons (about 1/6" thick).  Place ribbons in large bowl.  Add basil and nuts, then dressing; toss to coat.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Using vegetable peeler, shave strips from Parmesean wedge over salad.
(And a little P.S.  I've been trying to watch my weight and trying to make recipes lower cal. so I only put in about 1 or 2 TBS of the olive oil and it was completely delicious still).