Sometimes, there's nothing more rewarding than mustering up the strength to say "I'll just have a salad" come lunchtime. It makes me feel all high and mighty. And, in fairness, my "I'll have a salad" days are usually preceded by a string of drive-thru trips, late night pizza, and back-to-back birthday parties. A pat on the back for bypassing French fries for a plate of lettuce seems appropriate, no?
Food guilt aside, I've also upped my salad consumption because a salad is easy to assemble on a lunch break. Just pack some lettuce and a few salad toppings and bam, insta-meal.
Now, I don't sprinkle bacon bits over my bed of lettuce, but when it comes to salad toppings, my motto is "the more the merrier." Olives? Why not! Corn? Pile it on! If I'm at the salad bar at Whole Foods, my salad always weighs in above an acceptable weight class for a plastic container full of vegetables. And so the rationalizations begin: It's still technically a "salad," so I'm good to go, right? Wrong.
I asked a dietician to analyze my typical salad and she told me it's just a fat salad in disguise. Sure, it's (mostly) green and contains some vegetables, but if I don't step on the brakes to really consider all of my salad toppings, I might as well just be eating a burrito or burger.
Of course, we all know to avoid cheese, creamy dressings, and everyone's favorite offender, the crouton. But there are plenty of other, more sneaky salad toppings that can sabotage this supposedly healthier meal option. So I asked nutritionists and dieticians to reveal the unassuming salad toppings that are making my salad (and yours!) a total fat bomb, as well as what to toss on top of that baby spinach instead. How many of these ingredients are making your current go-to salad a fat bomb?
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Older comments
I love salads, little did I know.
by stacy45 Sunday, May 12, 2013 at 11:14AM Report as inappropriate
Great info. So glad I make my own salad dressings!
by purple9a Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at 05:48PM Report as inappropriate
Great article!
by WiccanLady Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at 09:29AM Report as inappropriate
Thanks for the tip about the olives!
by Amanda16 Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 05:30PM Report as inappropriate
The salad topping article was really interesting, I like to put black beans on my salad as a topping
by stacy45 Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 07:26PM Report as inappropriate
good tips
by Chris213 Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 06:22PM Report as inappropriate
This actually makes me feel pretty good about the salads I make. Glad to know I'm doing it (mostly) right!
by sportimonki13 Saturday, April 6, 2013 at 08:22PM Report as inappropriate
Great article. Good thing I haven't put any of these but I do sometimes put cheese.
by yestfl Thursday, April 4, 2013 at 08:08PM Report as inappropriate
a-ha! never trusted all those fat-free foods! Don't think I can stay away from olives though...
by venenumletalis Thursday, April 4, 2013 at 06:04PM Report as inappropriate
Good info
by EricaC123 Thursday, April 4, 2013 at 02:45PM Report as inappropriate