BLT in a Bowl

(from Parents magazine June 2008)
prep time: Minimal. If you have precut lettuce, you might even be able to finish this in the time it takes to cook the bacon.

Salad
8 slices cooked bacon
4 cups sliced green-leaf lettuce
1 cup halved yellow and red grape tomatoes
1 cup low-fat croutons

Dressing
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1 Tbs. water
1 Tbs. cider vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
Pinch of pepper

Combine all the ingredients for the salad in a large bowl. Then, in a smaller bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients; toss salad with dressing. Makes 4 servings.
Nutrition per serving: 185 cal; 8g protein; 12g fat; 10g carb; 32mg calcium; 2g fiber.

Cook's notes: We thought just plain ol' red grape tomatoes were fine, thanks, and we didn't bother with the croutons since we had none in the house. I made about 3/4 the recommended amount of dressing, and next time I will only make half; only use the full amount if you really, really like dressing.

To cut some fat and some add protein, we only ("only"!) cooked 6 slices of bacon and we added diced, cooked chicken breast to the salad. This recipe was a definite hit: Darling Husband ate 3/4 of it while I was out of the house in the evening, and 2 year-old Darling Son didn't seem to notice that he was eating lettuce, which he has always previously refused to eat. I think we'd maybe rather eat this than the sandwich.