Eat bread salad, guilt-free.

Who said you can’t have bread? And in your salad, for that matter? Break the rules and eat bread salad, guilt-free.

Never heard of bread (panzanella) salad? Then you’re in for a treat. This salad screams summer. Ripe, in-season tomatoes and crusty bread star in this classic, fresh, filling, rustic Italian dish.

As super-healthy as this salad is, if you’re a keto-lover, it’s not for you. You gotta have the bread with this! The traditional dish is made with crusty Italian bread, but I use either a high-fiber multigrain variety, or a sourdough whole-grain bread loaf (Sourdough has less impact on blood sugar levels.) and it works just fine. Just make sure you’ve toasted the bread just enough and fully soaked it in the dressing.

Everyone in my family scoffs this salad down. That may be because the vinaigrette dressing soaks up the bread cubes and adds a perfect amount of flavor.  Here’s how I make it, but you can add other veggies/ingredients to suit your taste.  Add fresh mozzarella too if you like.

Ingredients:

1 cucumber, partially peeled, halved and sliced

1-2 tomatoes (quartered and sliced), or 1-2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes (halved),

pitted Greek olives (1/2 cup, or to taste)

1/3 loaf whole grain/sourdough bread, cut into cubes

Small handful of fresh basil

1/2 cup mozzarella chunks or balls

Dressing:  Equal parts olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, a little black pepper, a little lemon juice, whisked together.  Can adjust quantities to taste.

Directions:

Bake the cubed bread on a cookie sheet for a few minutes or until browned but not hard.  Combine with vegetables and olives in a bowl.  Add dressing and toss, making sure dressing covers bread.

That’s it!  Serve and enjoy.