Build a Healthy Salad with Bolthouse Farms Creamy Yogurt Dressings...Featuring Summery Lemon Basil Shrimp Salad #Healthy2021 #salad #summereats #shrimp #lemonbasil

Summer is in full swing here in Texas...which means we're eating more main dish salads for dinner! It's a win-win situation, because I don't have to heat the oven...and it's an excellent way to make sure we're eating plenty of healthy veggies. What many people don't realize is that the majority of the calories and fat found in most salads comes from the dressing used. Because I don't want to sacrifice flavor -- or creamy texture -- I use Bolthouse Farms Yogurt Dressings in many of my salad creations. Today, I'm featuring their tangy, herbal Lemon Basil Yogurt Dressing to flavor my Summery Lemon Basil Shrimp Salad. A 2-TBS serving of this delicious dressing has just 40 calories...and only 2.5 grams of fat! What this gluten free dressing doesn't have is artificial colors, flavorings, or preservatives. Today's salad creation features a delicious chunky shrimp salad served on a bed of in-season Summer veggies...and heart-healthy avocado. The end result is a seasonal dinner entree that's filling...without leaving you feeling stuff and bloated. To save a bit of prep time at dinner, the shrimp salad can be made early in the day and stored covered in the fridge until you're ready to assemble the salad(s) later that evening.

Summery Lemon Basil Shrimp Salad

a Weekend Gourmet Original

Ingredients (makes 1 main dish salad):

For the shrimp salad:

• 1 cup boiled shrimp (4.66 ounces) -- coarsely chopped
• 1/8 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/8 cup finely chopped scallion
• 2 TBS Bolthouse Farms Lemon Basil Yogurt Dressing
• 1 TBS 0% plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 TBS finely chopped fresh basil

For the salad base:

• 1.5 cups chopped romaine lettuce tossed with 1 additional TBS Bolthouse Farms Lemon Basil Yogurt Dressing
• 1/4 cup small grape tomatoes
• 1/4 cup very thinly sliced cucumber cut into half moons
• .75 ounces thinly sliced avocado
• 1 boiled egg, cut into four wedges

Directions:

Step 1: Make the dressing for the shrimp salad. Add the Bolthouse Farms Lemon Basil Yogurt Dressing, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, and fresh basil to small bowl. Stir until the ingredients are completely incorporated and set aside.

Step 2: Add the shrimp, celery, and scallions to a medium bowl. Pour the reserved dressing on top of the shrimp mixture, and stir to evenly coat the shrimp with the dressing.

Step 3: Assemble the salad. Toss the chopped romaine and additional tablespoon of Bolthouse Farms Lemon Basil Yogurt Dressing together in a small bowl. Arrange the romaine on a plate or serving platter, leaving a "hole" in the center to place the shrimp salad. After the lettuce is arranged on the plate, evenly arrange the tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, and boiled egg quarters on top of the lettuce. Finally, carefully spoon the shrimp salad into the "hole" in the center of the plate.

Step 4: Serve this complete meal salad with a refreshing beverage -- sparkling water with lemon is a nice, healthy pairing. This salad is so pretty to look at...and bursting with refreshing Summer flavors!

This is one amazing salad! The tangy dressing and sweet shrimp are a fantastic flavor combination. Then, the creamy avocado and garden fresh veggies round everything out. I especially like that every bite has a slightly different flavor profile...depending on which components end up on your fork. The shrimp salad itself is very versatile...I'm thinking it would also be delicious served between two toasted cauliflower sandwich thins smeared with a bit of avocado! 

Bolthouse Farms salad dressings can be found refrigerated in the Produce section of most major grocery retailers. In addition to the creamy Yogurt Dressing line, they offer a trio of vinaigrettes and four plant-based dressings. 

Disclosure: Bolthouse Farms sent me a sampler of their salad dressings to facilitate recipe development for this article. As always, all opinions stated are solely my own.