After all of the holiday goodies and sweets, I thought it about time to get at some healthy cuisine! Here's a nice refreshing salad. Cool as a cucumber would put it nicely. But seriously, this is a light salad/side dish you can feel good about. Cucumbers are a great vegetable to use for many types of salads, they are low in calorie, zero fat, mostly water, and they are mild in flavor but taste good. I think it's great that you can find cucumbers all year long and that they always seem to be there when you want them.
I like to eat sliced cucumbers with just a little salt and pepper sometimes. I remember my Mother would often make cucumbers & onions salad, (I need to ask her about making that, so I can share that too!) I also like to use cucumbers instead of crackers, as in cheese and crackers or hummus and crackers etc, using the cucumbers instead, makes for a lower calorie snack, and the carb conscience can love on that idea!
When a recipe calls for using sour cream, I often use plain non-fat greek yogurt instead, which I did for this recipe, but you may want to use sour cream. I just happen to love greek yogurt and find it works well as a replacement, and I feel it is a healthy choice. This is something I like to make for myself as a snack, or as a side to go along with lunch. Just double or triple the recipe of course to make a larger quantity.
I like to eat sliced cucumbers with just a little salt and pepper sometimes. I remember my Mother would often make cucumbers & onions salad, (I need to ask her about making that, so I can share that too!) I also like to use cucumbers instead of crackers, as in cheese and crackers or hummus and crackers etc, using the cucumbers instead, makes for a lower calorie snack, and the carb conscience can love on that idea!
When a recipe calls for using sour cream, I often use plain non-fat greek yogurt instead, which I did for this recipe, but you may want to use sour cream. I just happen to love greek yogurt and find it works well as a replacement, and I feel it is a healthy choice. This is something I like to make for myself as a snack, or as a side to go along with lunch. Just double or triple the recipe of course to make a larger quantity.
Cool & Creamy Cucumber Salad
Ingredients:
1 medium to large cucumber
1 tbsp plain non-fat greek yogurt or light/fat-free sour cream
1 tsp finely chopped onion or 1/4 tsp onion powder
1 tsp fresh dill, chopped or 1/2 tsp dried dill
1 tsp sugar or 1 packet of no calorie sweetner
1/2 tsp vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
use more or less of the ingredients to your taste.
Directions:
Begin by either peeling the cucumber or not, (I leave a little of the skin on by running a peeler down four sides, and/or scrape down the skin with a fork) and then slicing the cucumber into thin slices (approx1/4 inch). Set cucumber slices in colander and place where they can drain off some of the moisture. Meanwhile in a large mixing bowl, mix together the yogurt (or sour cream), onion, dill, sugar and vinegar. Dry off cucumbers with paper towel if they appear too wet. Add cucumber slices to yogurt (or sour cream) mixture and toss lightly. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Best if it sits in refrigerator for a little while before serving. (I usually just toss in the ingredients as a guess-ta-mation, so I tried to put this together with measurements for sharing, the ingredients can be adjusted per your taste.)
Enjoy!...
