What could be healthier or more low fat than salad? Well, it depends what’s in it and on it. In its basic state—a bed of salad leaves with chopped vegetables, it is indeed low fat and healthy. It’s what is added to our salads that gets us into trouble.
Salads prepared at restaurants or fast-food joints are not always the healthiest dishes on the menu. And those salad kits from the grocery store, with condiments and toppings included, offer convenience but may not necessarily be low fat. The salads listed below should raise some red flags.
High Fat Salads and Dressings:
- Chef-style salads are high in saturated fat, thanks to all that meat and cheese—and that’s before we even think about the dressing.
- Cobb salads feature bacon, eggs, blue cheese, avocado and creamy dressing.
- Classic Caesar salad with its egg-based dressing, croutons and cheese is high in both fat and cholesterol.
- Taco salads, with their cheese, refried beans, guacamole, ground beef, sour cream and deep-fried shell, are an all-round nutritional nightmare.
- Greek salads are often loaded with oil and feta cheese.
- Asian salads with fried noodles and a generous sprinkling of nuts.
- Dressings in general, especially ranch, blue cheese, thousand island, high oil-to-vinegar ratio vinaigrettes, and regular mayonnaise or sour cream.
No one can eat plain salad for long, though, so how can we add flavor and interest to our salads without overloading them with calories and fat? Find out on the next page.
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