Cucumber, yoghurt and mint salad

This simple recipe makes a creamy cucumber salad that can be served as a side dish with spicy meals, or as a healthy dip for crackers or vegetables sticks. Rich in calcium and low in fat and calories, this salad is suitable for those following gluten-free, cholesterol-lowering or Mediterranean diets.

• Ingredients
• Method
• Nutritional content

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings of a side salad

• 2 large (300 g) Lebanese cucumbers, grated or very finely diced
• 250 mL low-fat Bulgarian or Greek yoghurt
• 1 tsp minced garlic (optional)
• Juice of half a lemon
• 30 g fresh mint

Method

1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl.
2. Mix together with a spoon.
3. Serve chilled.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: No cooking
Difficulty rating: Easy
Tips

• Serve with fresh wholegrain bread for a light and healthy lunch that’s high in fibre. Fibre is an important micronutrient used by the gastrointestinal system to digest food;
• Serve as a side dish with curry and rice or any other spicy meal.
• Use to dress a green salad for a meal that provides loads of vitamins and minerals to keep your body healthy.
• If you are cooking for people who are lactose intolerant or follow a vegan diet, substitute milk yoghurt for calcium-enriched soy yoghurt. Choose the brand with the highest calcium content, as these individuals often have difficulty eating enough calcium to maintain healthy teeth and bones because they are unable to eat dairy products.
• Check the package label on several brands of yoghurt and choose the one with the lowest fat content, with no added sugar or salt. Choosing reduced fat dairy products with no added sugar or salt is an easy step you can take to improve your diet.
• Serve this healthy salad with every meal if you have trouble consuming enough calcium or have increased calcium needs, for example because you are
  • A pregnant woman in the second or third trimester;
  • A breastfeeding woman;
  • An adolescent girl or a mature woman.

This recipe comes to you from Michelle’s kitchen in Dulwich Hill, NSW.

Nutritional content

Nutritional analysis per serve:

Energy	215 kJ 51 cal
Protein	4.7 g
Total fat	0.4 g
Saturated fat	0.1 g
Carbohydrates	6.0 g
Total sugars	5.8 g
Fibre	1.3 g
Sodium	67.6 mg
Cholesterol	2.5 mg
Potassium	303.6 mg
Calcium	208.7 mg

 

More information

For more information on nutrition, including information on types and composition of food, nutrition and people, conditions related to nutrition, and diets and recipes, as well as some useful videos and tools, see Nutrition.