Spinach & Broccoli Salad with Homemade Croutons

The biggest challenge I had in making salads after diagnosed with IC was Salad Dressing and Croutons... the two best parts of a salad!!   I read a lot about using Cottage Cheese as a salad dressing on IC message boards, but admittedly had an unnatural fear of Cottage Cheese.  Something about the curds really freaked me out.   So the first time I made a salad dressing I took Cottage Cheese, Dill, Onion Powder and put it in the blender to smooth out the curds.   It was delicious!!  And now that I've been eating Cottage Cheese for a while, I have gotten over my fear of the curds and can eat it without blending first.

Making Homemade Croutons is so much easier than I thought and just as good.   I literally made these the same time I made my salad and then just stuck them in the freezer to cool them off for about a minute before adding them to my salad.

In making a salad, salad dressing, or croutons... the only thing that holds you back is your own imagination (or in my case,  fear!).  Play with vegetables and friendly spices to find something you like.   Here's one of my favorites.  Not many ingredients, but was all that I had in my refrigerator today.   And as I sit here now, my belly is smiling because it was quite tasty and I feel good knowing I had a healthy lunch!

Ingredients:
For Croutons-
1 slice of Bread (I use the heel), cubed
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 Tsp Dried Parsley
For Salad-
2 Cups packed fresh Spinach
1 Cup Broccoli, chopped
1 Tsp Dill (more or less per your taste)
For Dressing-
1/4 Cup small curd low-fat Cottage Cheese

Directions:
For Croutons-
Preheat oven 475.  Pour Olive Oil, Garlic, and Parsley in a small bowl.  Mix Bread squares in the mixture.   Place on a cookie sheet and bake about 5 minutes.  
For Salad-
In a bowl, mix together spinach and chopped Broccoli.    Top with Cottage Cheese, Croutons, and sprinkle with Dill.