Lean & Green

This spinach salad is packed with protein and nutrients and equally delicious. Like many spinach salads, this includes lots of chopped up hard-boiled eggs. But because most of the calories and all the cholesterol is found in the yolk, we use two whole eggs, plus the whites of six additional eggs. bon appetit!

Recipe

8 large eggs
6 cups baby spinach
4 tablespoons Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing, divided (recipe follows)
1 8-ounce can beets, rinsed and sliced
1 cup carrots, shredded
2 tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted

dressing:

1/3 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
1/3 cup nonfat buttermilk, or nonfat milk
1/3 cup nonfat plain yogurt
2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar, or white vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese, (1 ounce)

-Whisk mayonnaise, buttermilk (or milk), yogurt, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a medium bowl until smooth. Add cheese and stir, mashing with a spoon until the cheese is incorporated.

Preparation
Place eggs in a single layer in a saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook at the lowest simmer for 10 minutes. Pour off the hot water and run cold water over the eggs until they are completely cooled. Peel the eggs, discard 6 of the yolks, chop the remaining yolks and whites.
Toss spinach and 2 tablespoons dressing in a large bowl. Divide between 2 plates. Top with chopped eggs, beets, carrots and pecans. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons dressing.

Nutrition: Per serving: 300 calories; 13 g fat (3 g sat, 6 g mono); 216 mg cholesterol; 26 g carbohydrates; 22 g protein; 8 g fiber; 823 mg sodium; 592 mg potassium.