Got a creamy salad itch? Try one with broccoli, blue cheese

Tis the season of backyard barbecues, picnics and outdoor potlucks. Today, I have the perfect solution for scratching the creamy-side-salad itch while actually getting in some healthy raw veg. Win-win.

Creamy Broccoli and Blue Cheese Salad stretches just a smidgen of silky-and-satisfying mayonnaise with some low-fat Greek yogurt, and the resulting salad is creamy, but not cloying. Blue cheese brings a nice sophisticated hit of flavor, and there is just enough to add complexity without being so overboard that kids won't eat.

Because a little blue cheese goes a long way, you get a lot of flavor for your cheese calorie, but feel free to swap for a milder cheese like crumbled feta or even shredded sharp cheddar.

The bulk of the salad is healthy raw vegetables: broccoli, cabbage and carrots. Halved grapes add the perfect touch of sweetness and pairs perfectly with the tangy blue cheese and red onion. You can spend 10 minutes breaking down your own florets, chopping cabbage and grating carrots, or spend an extra dollar to buy them prepped in the produce aisle. Either way, the salad takes minutes to make, and it holds up well for a couple of days in the fridge.

Which means leftovers can be brown-bagged for lunch the next day no problem.

And, you can feel great about having a plethora of one of the most touted health foods out there: simple raw broccoli.

Creamy Broccoli and Blue Cheese Salad

Servings: 6

Start to finish: 15 minutes

Salad:

4 cups small broccoli florets (raw)

½small red onion, sliced thinly

1 cup shredded carrots

1 cup shredded red cabbage

1 cup red grapes, sliced in half

¼cup blue cheese crumbles

Dressing:

¼cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt

2 tablespoon light mayonnaise

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 small garlic clove, finely minced or pressed, or 1 teaspoon granulated garlic

¼teaspoon (or less or more) hot sauce

½teaspoon kosher salt

¼teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place salad ingredients into a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients and taste for seasoning. Pour dressing onto salad and toss. Chill before serving.

Nutrition information per serving: 93 calories; 32 calories from fat; 4 g fat (2 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 8 mg cholesterol; 335 mg sodium; 13 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 7 g sugar; 5 g protein.