Nutrition Facts on Low Fat Yogurt Coleslaw vs Mayonnaise Coleslaw

Low fat coleslaw is really very easy to make. It is not much different than the sweet mayonnaise coleslaw we all grew up on. The main difference is the slaw dressing. Some of the best coleslaw recipes I have tasted, in fact, were healthy coleslaw recipes.

So how do you make slaw dressing that isn't laden with fat?

The secret ingredient to a healthy coleslaw is substituting high calorie mayonnaise for low fat coleslaw yogurt.

When you consider that a cup of mayonnaise has about 1440 calories, you can easily see why coleslaw is so fattening.

A cup of low fat yogurt has about 140 calories and nonfat about 100.

Substituting your mayonnaise coleslaw recipe with low fat yogurt calories...you will save a whopping 1300 calories for every cup you substitute.

Low fat yogurt nutrition is another consideration.

When you compare the nutrition of mayonnaise to the nutrition value of low fat yogurt, it becomes easy to see why low fat yogurt is the better choice.

Look at the chart at the right- this gives a breakdown of low fat yogurt calories and nutrition:

Now let's compare low fat yogurt nutrition to mayonnaise calories and nutrition:

With low fat yogurt nutrition you get lots of calcium, very low sodium, and cholesterol.

Mayonnaise nutrition is mostly fat. My favorite mayonnaise, Best Foods Real Mayonnaise is all fat.

Some of you are saying to yourself, "My mom always made coleslaw with Miracle Whip."

Yes, many coleslaw recipes call for Miracle Whip instead of mayonnaise.

Just to get a clear comparison, here is the nutrition facts for Miracle Whip:

So let's recap:

Calories in a tablespoon of mayonnaise - about 90 calories

Calories in a tablespoon of light mayonnaise - about 50

Calories in a tablespoon of Miracle Whip - about 40 calories

Calories in a tablespoon of low fat yogurt - about 9 calories

Now that we have looked at the nutrition facts, how can we make a coleslaw recipe with yogurt? I like using nonfat Greek yogurt because it is thicker and more consistent to the way that mayonnaise incorporates into coleslaw. And Greek nonfat yogurt has almost the same calories as regular low fat yogurt.

Here is my recipe for Greek yogurt coleslaw

Yogurt Coleslaw Recipe (healthy, nonfat and sugar free)

• 4 cups shredded green cabbage (64 calories)
• 1 cup shredded purple cabbage (16 calories)
• 1 cup shredded carrots (45 calories)
• 1/2 cup finely sliced red onions (40 calories)
• 3 TBL chopped green onions for garnish (4 calories)
• 1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt (140 calories)
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 TBL dill
• 2 TBL celery seeds
• 3 TBL Stevia

Mix all ingredients together except green onions. Sprinkle green onions on top of salad for garnish. Refrigerate for at least an hour- best if chilled overnight.

Serving size appx. 1 cup/ 52 calories

Total calories for entire salad- 309 calories!

Mayonnaise coleslaw- about 1600 calories or about 267 calories a serving!

Now you can see why substituting mayonnaise coleslaw for yogurt coleslaw is better nutrition for your family.