Woman cannot live on cake alone. Every once in a while, some veggies must pass our lips, too. At least bacon makes it better.

The first time I saw Broccoli Salad, I wasn’t touching it. Who the heck puts dried fruit in with broccoli? And why would they ruin perfectly good bacon with a concoction like this? But while I spent the next few hours avoiding it, people came and went raving about the salad. They couldn’t get enough of it! So I caved. And then I grabbed another bowl. And another. They almost had to pull the remains from my grasp–at least I restrained myself from dunking my head in the bowl.

Ever since, I’ve been trying to recreate that euphoric experience. This is slightly divergent–I’ve reduced the mayonnaise to make it slightly healthier, replaced the sugar with honey, and utilized white wine vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar–but it’s equally good. I use raw broccoli here, but you can blanche it if you prefer. Prepare the salad at least 2 hours before you will serve it to let the flavors have a chance to get acquainted with each other. Leftovers? You probably won’t have any, but you can keep it in the refrigerator for a day or two.