Egg and Bacon Salad with Creamy Mustard Dressing (12pp - Weight Watchers Friendly)

My husband remarked that it was odd to have salad in the winter, but this really is very filling and all of the different vegetables will top your vitamins up to help fight off those winter colds?! (Is that real or just a myth?)

This recipe serves 2 as large main courses, but could easily serve 4 for lunch or for people with smaller appetites. As you can see.. my single portions are served in serving dishes!!!

The nice thing about this dish is that every bite it different - sometimes you get a burst of saltiness from the capers, or creaminess from the egg yolk or sweetness from the beetroot. Some bites are warm and some cold.

The dressing is only 1pp per serving and the whole meal is only 12pp (4pp for eggs, 3pp for bacon, 4pp for potatoes and 1pp dressing). I have been able to fit this into a 28pp day easily.

If I had extra points (for example, when I started weight watchers I was on about 42pp a day) I would add salted peanuts, cubes of cheese or some croutons made from bread and cooking spray, heated up in the oven.

Ingredients (Serves 2)

1 Romaine Lettuce
1 Red Pepper
Half a Cucumber
3 Celery Sticks
2 Tomatoes
2 Pickled Beetroot
2 tablespoons Capers
400g New Potatoes
4 Eggs
8 Bacon Medallions
60g 50% Less Fat Mayonnaise
1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon lemon juice
4 tablespoons water
calorie controlled cooking spray
black pepper

Method

1. Put your eggs in a pan of water to boil. The aim is to get these to hard boiled - I don't know how long it takes; I just put mine on first and they were ready once everything else was assembled.

2. Cut the potatoes into bite sized chunks and boil in salted water until they are cooked through.

3. Whilst the eggs and potatoes are boiling, assemble the salad. I layer mine up, starting with a big layer of shredded lettuce and followed by diced cucumber and thinly sliced celery.

Next I slice the red pepper and add that along with cubed tomato, diced beetroot and the capers. 

4. Next up is the salad dressing. Combine the low fat mayonnaise, mustard, honey, lemon juice and water and season with a little black pepper (you shouldn't need salt as the salad has salty bacon and capers). You can add more or less water depending on a) the brand of your mayonnaise and b) personal taste. Mine came out thick enough to feel creamy but thin enough to pour. 

5. Chop the bacon (I slice it lengthways into about 5 strips, then I cut the strips into bite sized pieces). Heat a large frying pan and spritz with calorie controlled cooking spray (although you might not usually need oil with bacon, as the medallions have very little fat, this prevents sticking). Cook through and then sprinkle over the salad along with the potato which should also now be cooked. 

6. Drain the eggs and cover in cold water in order to peel. Once peeled, quarter the eggs and place on the salad and drizzle the dressing over everything. I tend to combine mine before I actually eat it but the beetroot turns everything PINK so I prefer to serve it non mixed!