I don’t know about you but summer just makes me want to barbeque and grill everything!  Eating outside, with friends, and having some good old clean American fun is what it’s all about.  But, there are some definite fat traps that lie lurking at every barbeque.  One of the BIGGEST offenders is the classic potato salad.  It may have “salad” in the name, but this side dish is a calorie BOMB.  While potatoes aren’t bad for you at all, its the gloppy mayo that is thrown into the dish that makes it so pudge-inducing.  The average cup of potato salad contains about 358 calories, 20.5 grams of Fat, 170 mg of Cholesterol (57% of your daily value — how much cholesterol you CAN eat in a day), and a whopping 1323 mg of sodium (also more than half the recommended daily value for sodium).  That’s just gross.

So I did a little research, and found the most delicious, amazingly yummy, healthy potato salad out there.  And the best part?  No mayo whatsoever (the recipe uses a vinaigrette made with rice vinegar — a delicious sub!).  And how do I know it’s that amazing?  Besides having enjoyed it for the past 4 days now  – my mom and dad devoured it the last time I made it, and D asked to eat the last bit left at 11 pm last night.  So you know it’s THAT good.

Here’s the recipe courtesy of Cooking Light (takes about 45 minutes to do — a lot of chopping, but makes a HUGE batch so it will last for a while!):

DRESSING:
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

SALAD:
5 cups cubed red potato (about 2 pounds)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped peeled cucumber
3/4 cup sliced grape or cherry tomatoes
3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped orange bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 (2 1/4-ounce) can sliced ripe olives, drained
1. To prepare dressing, combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; stir with a whisk.

2. To prepare salad, place potato and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan. Cover with water to 2 inches above potato; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or until tender; drain.

3. Add potato to dressing in bowl, tossing gently to coat; let stand 15 minutes. Stir in cucumber and remaining ingredients; toss well. Cover and chill.

CALORIES 90 (28% from fat); FAT 2.8g (sat 0.2g,mono 1.6g,poly 0.8g); IRON 0.9mg; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 19mg; CARBOHYDRATE 14.9g; SODIUM 295mg; PROTEIN 1.8g; FIBER 2g

Cooking Light, APRIL 2008

ENJOY!!