Ham salad has been a favorite way back from when I was a little girl. We called it ‘sandwich spread’. Sometimes it would be made from leftover ham. Often it was made from ring bologna. We would have it on sandwiches for lunch and even broiled on buns. It was rarely an appetizer; it was a meal. Today I still love it but only indulge when I see it served as an appetizer, and then test my powers of self-control and eat one, just one. Well I have been missing ham salad and thought it was time I tried a version lower in fat and sodium that would still taste like my memory tells me it should. This ham salad is chunkier than most, which are almost paste-like in consistency. The texture makes you chew it a bit more which helps satisfy you as well. It is made from lean, cubed ham you can find in every grocery. The total saturated fat in this entire recipe is 4 grams, which is very light compared to most ham spreads.So several small appetizers would not contain very much saturated fat at all. Fat-free mayonnaise cuts down on the fat too. I like to serve it on cucumber or zucchini rounds to eliminate even more calories and fat. Try this simple recipe with few ingredients as an appetizer, on a bed of lettuce, or a sandwich.
For about 1 ¾ to 2 cups of ham salad you will need:
½ of a 16-ounce package cubed ham, 95% fat-free
3 dill pickles, about 2 ½ inches long
3 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise
2 teaspoons minced, dried onions
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Spread one half of the ham and the whole pickles on a paper towel and blot dry to remove most of the liquid. This is what adds the sodium to the ham and pickles. Get rid of it!
Coarsely chop the ham and place in bowl. Next finely dice the pickles and add to the ham. Add the onion and pepper and stir well. Add mayonnaise and mix. If the mixture seems dry, wait a bit and it will moisten. Cover and refrigerate one hour to allow the onions to rehydrate. Serve on toast points or crackers, or vegetable slices.
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