I’ve taken two very popular dishes, a BLT and Chicken Caesar Salad, and combined them into one terrific salad! You’ll love how quickly it comes together because I’m using store-bought cooked chicken, a light bottled dressing, and Milton’s Multi-Grain Baked Snack Crackers, for the croutons. This main course salad has all the incredible taste sensations of these two dishes but with a fraction of the fat and calories. Each serving has 320 calories and 13 grams of fat. This includes the dressing, crackers, and cheese.
Ingredients
- 12 strips Oscar Meyer Center Cut Bacon, see shopping tips
- 12 cups romaine lettuce (3 cups per salad)
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 cups chicken breasts, (8oz.) cooked with skin removed, cut into bite-size pieces, see shopping tips
- 24 Milton’s Original Multi-Grain Baked Snack Crackers, see shopping tip
- ½ cup Girard’s Light Caesar Dressing, Ken’s Steak House Lite Caesar dressing or Cardini Light Caesar Vinaigrette, see shopping tips
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, Champagne vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 4 tablespoons fresh shredded Parmesan cheese, (1 oz) for topping
Instructions
- To cook the bacon: place on a microwave-safe plate two sheets of paper towels. Lay on top of paper towels, 6 slices of bacon in a single layer. Lay another 2 sheets of paper towels on top of bacon.  Cook in microwave until crisp (~4 to 5 minutes). Blot cooked pieces and set aside. Repeat steps with remaining 6 pieces, using more paper towels.
- In a large bowl, add lettuce, tomatoes, chicken, and crackers. Crumble all the bacon into the bowl. Add dressing, vinegar and toss well. Add more dressing, if desired.
- Divide salad among 4 dinner plates. Sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon cheese.
Notes
Makes 4 main course salads (about 4 cups each)
Healthy Benefits
Cooking bacon in the microwave on paper towels trims most of the fat. Almost all the fat remains in the towels rather than in the bacon thus in your stomach!
Shopping Tips
You might be familiar with Milton’s wonderful Multi-Grain bread but did you know they make great snack-size crackers? I’m using their multi-grain but the whole wheat would work too. They’re super tasty and great to use instead of croutons, in any salad. Many supermarkets carry them. Check Milton’s website to find where they’re sold in your area, http://www.miltonsbaking.com/. If you can’t find them, choose a small reduced-fat baked cracker. I’ve combed the supermarket shelves looking for one of the leanest regular bacon choices and Oscar Meyer Center Cut Bacon is my favorite, compared to most regular bacon. It’s much lower in fat and calories, 3 slices contain 70 calories and 4.5 grams of fat. Once cooked on paper towels, most of the fat soaks into the paper, not left in the bacon. Most supermarkets carry Girard’s Light Caesar Dressing, Ken’s Steak House Lite Caesar dressing or Cardini’s Light Caesar Vinaigrette. If you can’t find them, use your favorite light Caesar or light Italian style dressing. I love the packages of cooked chicken at Trader Joe’s. I used their chicken breast strips and cut them into bite-size pieces.
Serving Tips
Make this main course salad meal even heartier by serving with a cup of soup. One to try, Creamy Tomato Soup Florentine.  WW Freestyle SmartPoints 5-Blue
WW SmartPoints 7-Green
WW Points Plus 7 Â
Healthy Benefits
Cooking bacon in the microwave on paper towels trims most of the fat. Almost all the fat remains in the towels rather than in the bacon thus in your stomach!
Shopping Tips
You might be familiar with Milton’s wonderful Multi-Grain bread but did you know they make great snack-size crackers? I’m using their multi-grain but the whole wheat would work too. They’re super tasty and great to use instead of croutons, in any salad. Many supermarkets carry them. Check Milton’s website to find where they’re sold in your area, http://www.miltonsbaking.com/. If you can’t find them, choose a small reduced-fat baked cracker. I’ve combed the supermarket shelves looking for one of the leanest regular bacon choices and Oscar Meyer Center Cut Bacon is my favorite, compared to most regular bacon. It’s much lower in fat and calories, 3 slices contain 70 calories and 4.5 grams of fat. Once cooked on paper towels, most of the fat soaks into the paper, not left in the bacon. Most supermarkets carry Girard’s Light Caesar Dressing, Ken’s Steak House Lite Caesar dressing or Cardini’s Light Caesar Vinaigrette. If you can’t find them, use your favorite light Caesar or light Italian style dressing. I love the packages of cooked chicken at Trader Joe’s. I used their chicken breast strips and cut them into bite-size pieces.
Serving Tips
Make this main course salad meal even heartier by serving with a cup of soup. One to try, Creamy Tomato Soup Florentine.  WW Freestyle SmartPoints 5-Blue
WW SmartPoints 7-Green
WW Points Plus 7 Â
| SKINNY FACTS: for 1 salad (about 4 cups including crouton crackers, dressing, and cheese) 305 calories, 13g fat, 1g sat fat, 6mg chol, 32g protein, 13g carbs, 4g fiber, 557mg sodium, 5g sugar |
| FACTS: for Freestyle SmartPoints 186 calories, 1g fat, 12g protein, 3gsugar |
Skinny Facts
Serving: 4cupsCalories: 305kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 32gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 557mgFiber: 4gSugar: 5gBlue Smart Points: 5Green Smart Points: 7Plus Points: 7
