It was egg salad that made me fall in love with hard-boiled eggs. Prior to that, I'd always seen those perfect ovals of white as a missed opportunity for an omelet. When I finally tried an egg salad sandwich for the first time, I was smitten. The delicate texture of whites and creamy yolks mixed with mayo and served on dark, crusty bread is pure comfort. Now they're a favorite for me.

Of course, traditional egg salad isn't exactly the healthiest meal. Combining multiple eggs, salt and mayo on the aforementioned crusty bread is rich in calories. One of those deli egg salad sandwiches I love so much can have 600 calories or more and 6 grams of saturated fat. Yikes!

That's why we set about making healthier egg salad at EatingWell Magazine. Using a few simple techniques, we slimmed down egg salad without sacrificing any of its flavor. Our tricks are so simple:

--Ditch half the yolks. Next time you make egg salad, start with 8 eggs for 4 servings, discard or set aside half of the yolks. Every 4 yolks you don't use saves you 2 grams of saturated fat and 59 calories per serving.

--Slim your sauce. Instead of just using plain old mayonnaise, try mixing 3 tablespoons each of nonfat yogurt and low-fat mayo, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt (this is for 4 servings). The result tastes every bit as good as the egg salad you remember, but with 115 fewer calories and 2 grams fewer of saturated fat per serving.

--Get creative. Adding raw vegetables, like carrots or celery, gives egg salad great texture and, even better, gives you extra fiber, making the whole meal more filling.

Veggie Egg Salad

Yield: 4 servings, about 3/4 cup each

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

3 tablespoons nonfat plain yogurt

3 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

8 hard-boiled eggs (see tip)

1/2 cup finely chopped carrot

1/2 cup chopped cucumber, peeled and seeded if desired

1/4 cup sliced scallions

Combine yogurt, mayonnaise, pepper and salt in a medium bowl.

Halve eggs and discard 4 of the yolks (or save for another use). Add whites and the remaining 4 yolks to the bowl and mash to desired consistency. Gently stir in carrot, cucumber and scallions.

Tip: To hard-boil eggs, place eggs in a single layer in a saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and cook at the barest simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, pour out hot water and cover the eggs with ice-cold water. Let stand until cool enough to handle before peeling.

Recipe Nutrition:

Per serving: 135 calories; 7 g fat (2 g sat, 2 g mono); 189 mg cholesterol; 7 g carbohydrate; 0 g added sugars; 11 g protein; 1 g fiber; 314 mg sodium; 248 mg potassium

1/2 Carbohydrate Servings

Exchanges: 1 1/2 lean meat, 1/2 fat

(Matthew Thompson is the associate food editor for EatingWell Magazine. EatingWell is a magazine and website devoted to healthy eating as a way of life. Online at www.eatingwell.com.)