A fresh cucumber salad

January 8, 2015

There are certain foods that constantly rotate when a person thinks about dieting. Cucumbers are one of them.  I have always been fortunate that cucumbers are the one vegetable I actually like and really enjoy eating, otherwise dieting would be such a nightmare.  In my family home, cucumbers are served in a variety of different ways from garnish to stand alone dishes.  I am often floored by how low calorie they can be. For example, this dish is just 70 calories and the salad portion size takes up a significant part of the dinner plate.  On this day I baked chicken with lemon pepper and made mashed pototoes GTLF style... a recipe I'll share eventually.  My entire dinner came in under 500 calories very easily and it was very filling.

Cucumber Salad

GTLF: Vegetable p. 140

serves 4, working time 30 min., total time: 30 minutes plus chilling time

1/2 C plain nonfat yogurt

2 tablespoons reduced fat sour cream

1/2 tsp. grated lime zest

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 1/2 pounds cucumbers peeled and thinly sliced

1/2 C julienne cut radishes

1/2 C thinly sliced scallions

3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

1. In a large serving bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sour cream, lime zest, lime juice, salt and pepper.

2. Add the cucumbers, radishes, scallions, and mint and toss gently to combine.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour.

Nutritional Information: 1 g fat, 70 calories, 12 g carbohydrate, 4 g protein, 3 mg cholesterol, 319 mg sodium.

Tips: This dish works best cold,  GTLF says you can make it as much as 8 hours ahead of time.  However, if it's longer than that, the salad can become a little watery.