Broccoli Avocado Salad with Bacon Bits

I know how lucky we are to be living in Europe. But I quickly forgot how spoiled I am when it comes to sports on TV in Europe. I rarely have to! Even though we have figured out how to watch our favorite US shows, live sporting events aren’t so easy. They are usually played in the afternoon or evening in the States, which is the middle of the night here. Rough on Jon, great for me. But with the start of March Madness, and a vast amount of games played all throughout the day, the computer has been streaming on overdrive and he has been awake ’til the wee hours of the night.

Since Jon doesn’t have many sports watching opportunities, I let him take over the TV this weekend. As much as I’d have liked to keep him company on the couch, the endless hours of basketball were more than I could handle.

I retreated to the bedroom, grabbed the iPad, and turned on Netflix. I found the ridiculous show, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and I was occupied for hours (thirteen episodes and all of season one to be exact). I cannot get the auto-tuned theme song out of my head for the life of me.

Though we enjoyed our Sunday for completely different reasons, we enjoyed our Monday for the same reason. First reason was that the sun was out and second was this broccoli avocado salad. He actually liked a vegetable dish that I made! It’s a miracle, I tell ya. I guess I just have to throw bacon on top of anything green and I may get a stamp of approval.

The other reason I liked Monday? Because I had dinner on the table in twenty minutes thanks to this salad and a hamburger patty.

And we had a break from basketball.

And this salad is creamy without mayo, making for a deliciously healthy dinner.

And it’s a little bit sweet, a little bit spicy, and a little bit salty.

Just how I like it.

Broccoli Avocado Salad

Broccoli Avocado Salad is a creamy and hearty side dish, made with only healthy fats and natural sugars. Paleo and Dairy-Free.

Serves 4

Total Time- 20 min

Ingredients

1 head of broccoli
1/3 cup of raisins
½ cup of chopped nut of choice (almonds, pecans, cashews…)
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
2 ripe avocados
juice from 1 lime
½ jalapeno, finely chopped
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons water
1 ½ teaspoons apple cider or white vinegar
4 strips of cooked bacon, crumbled*
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Chop the head of the broccoli into bite-size pieces. Peel the broccoli stalk with a vegetable peeler, chop off the end, and cut what is left into small cubes. Throw the broccoli stalks and florets, raisins, nuts, and shallots into a medium bowl.
In a separate bowl, mash the avocado with the lime juice until smooth. Add in the jalapeno, garlic, olive oil, water, syrup, and vinegar. Stir until combined.
Pour the avocado dressing into the broccoli bowl and toss the salad to coat. Sprinkle bacon crumbles on top of the salad. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes