Just about anything with bacon is a winner for me. I love it and I love the over 100 years-old woman who claimed her longevity came from eating bacon every day. I’m in for that! A BLT sandwich is really great also and I have finagled a couple of ways to eat one on a low carb diet with low carb breads that are very tasty. But when I saw a recipe come across on Facebook for a BLT Pasta salad, I knew I had to figure an adaptation for low carb. Pasta is one of those things that you don’t eat or eat very sparingly when trying to maintain the lc lifestyle, so I turned to my favorite substitute item for pasta, potatoes, and rice — cauliflower.

So with just a few adjustments and a little enhancement, I present the low carb version of the …

BLT Plus C Salad

2 cups Chopped Cauliflower
8 ounces lean Bacon
2 medium ripe Tomatoes
1 teaspoon chopped fresh Thyme
1 teaspoon Garlic, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons Mayonnaise
3 tablespoons Greek Yogurt
3 tablespoons Sour Cream
1/4 teaspoon Cumin, ground
2 tablespoons chopped Chives
4 cups chopped Hearts of Romaine lettuce
1 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese

Bring a pan of water to a boil and add the cauliflower. Let cook for about 10 minutes until it is tender. Cut into bite-sized pieces if it is too big. Drain. Put into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Chop the tomatoes into bite-sized pieces.

Pan fry the bacon or cook in the oven until it is completely done. Remove to a paper towel to drain. Put 2 tablespoons of bacon grease into a skillet and add the garlic, then add the tomatoes and thyme. Cook for about five minutes until the tomatoes are warmed, but not cooked. Crumble the bacon into pieces. Reserve 1/4 cup for garnish.

Add the tomatoes and bacon to the cauliflower and toss together. Add the shredded cheese and lettuce and toss again.

Mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, and yogurt and add the cumin, chives. salt, and pepper. Pour over the salad and toss to mix it in and coat it. Garnish with reserved bacon and chives. Serve warm. You can add slices of avocado or a tablespoon or two of guacamole if you wish. (Not included in the nutrition info.)

Refrigerate leftovers.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition info per serving:
Calories: 330.5 Fat: 24.1 g Net Carbs:5.6 g Protein: 21.4 g

If you’d like you can add more lettuce to the salad with only a little more in the carb count.

TIP: This can be a very versatile base salad. Instead of bacon (or in addition for real bacon lovers), substitute in tuna, ham, chicken, or taco meat. The possibilities abound.

Let me know how you like this salad in the comments.