Oh summer, I can almost taste you right around the corner and it doesn’t help that I’m already in salad mode. Summer equals amazing salads! Win-win!

This week, I wanted a BLT bad, and I’ll be honest: I don’t eat bacon a lot but when I do, it’s on! So I had a thought to come up with a healthier version without losing the pizzazz of the traditional sandwich! This lead me to dissecting what an amazing BLT has and once you get past the bread layer, I usually prefer a jazzed up version of plain mayonnaise! Some would say with the crisp lettuce and ripe tomatoes, a basil aioli would be a wonderful compliment so here we are.

I made a lovely salad with romaine lettuce, cucumbers, green onion, and a variety of cherry tomatoes and topped it with my Basil Honey Vinaigrette and I’m still not mad about it! Plus it’s super easy and even better, no actual cooking!

Basil Honey Vinaigrette

For your ingredients:

• 2.5 Cups Fresh Basil Leaves, Whole
• 1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 Cup or 8oz 0% Fat Greek Yogurt
• 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
• 3 Cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 Whole Shallot, Chopped
• 3 TBSP Honey
• 2 TSP Salt
• 1.5 TSP Pepper

Total Prep Time: 10 Minutes

1. Start with your basil and once you have your 2.5 cups pulled from the stem, add to a blender or food processor with the oil and half of your vinegar.
2. Once the leaves are pureed, add in your garlic and shallots to blend down to a puree as well.
3. Once liquefied, add the remainder of your ingredients.

Yields 12 servings per batch. Estimated Weight Watchers Points: 3 per serving

That’s it. And I know I say that a lot but life is too short to spend your entire day in the kitchen (even though I do anyways).

This dressing would be fabulous on a number of things: a new version of bruschetta, pasta salad, bean salad, on a sandwich – really, the possibilities are ENDLESS!

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did creating it!

Cheers!

Taylor Guardino, The Food Lover Gone Southern