When is a Salad Unhealthy?
The other day I ordered a salad at a restaurant. The meal that came back made me realize that "salad" means everything and nothing.
In a salad you can find beef, chicken, vegetables, fruit. You can find eggs, cheese, and an innumerable number of dressings, fats, and oils.
On the positive side most salads tend to contain mostly whole unprocessed food - and those who eat salads do have a higher nutrient intake. On the negative side is the energy density of some the brand-name salads.
AOL has detailed some of the more calorie-dense salads.
- Ruby Tuesday's Grilled Salmon Salad: 590 calories and 35 grams of fat.
- Dairy Queen's Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad: 800 calories and 48 grams of fat.
- Chili's Southwestern Cobb Salad: 970 calories.
- Pizzaria Uno's Chicken Waldorf Salad: 920 calories and 62 grams of fat.
- Cosi's popular Signature Salad: 683 calories and 52 grams of fat.
- T.G.I. Friday's Pecan-Crusted Chicken Salad: 750 calories and 50 grams of fat.
- Arby's Sante Fe salad: 844 calories and 55 grams fat.
- Wendy's menu, the Mandarin Chicken Salad: 520 calories and 25 grams of fat.
More like this in Food
24 Comments
Add Your Comment
ADVERTISING
New
- FROM DIET BLOG
- On-Off Fasting: Does It Work?
- 400 Calorie Fix
- 5 Factor World Diet
- Quick Giveaway: Powerhouse Weight Loss Game
- FORUM
- Low Carb Atkins Diet- Tips to Cut the Carbs.
- How Can I Gain a Healthy Weight and Keep it?
- How Do I Eat Healthy at University?
- Starving Myself and Exercising, But Not Losing an Ounce?
Categories
| Body Image Celebrities Diet Pills Diets Exercise |
Fast Food Funny Stuff Success Stories Teens and Kids Tips and Tools |
RSS Feed
Follow @DietBlog on Twitter
Is the DQ salad supposed to be 800, not 80?
Replywow- just because you're eating salads doesn't mean your cutting fat or calories. good to know-
ReplyAlmost all of the salads are reasonable if dressing is eliminated or reduced. The only ones that couldn't be saved where the ones with deep fried protein or bacon.
Gee, what a shocker. Eating vegetables paired with a cup of fatty dressing or fried chicken won't make you lose weight.
ReplyGosh, I lost 100-pounds with lots of salads, big salads, topped with lots of full-fat creamy dressing(s) and lots of protein (meat, cheese, eggs, etc.).
What I skipped was the breading, croutons, fake bacon bits, other fake stuff, bread on the side, and any high carb or high GL stuff in the salad.
Not only did I lose the weight, I've kept it off for more than six years, my blood work is envious (HDL 70, Triglycerides 65, LDL 90), fasting blood sugar 78-82 and I still eat that way - high fat, adequate protein and good carbs only and no more than 90g a day net, mostly from non-starchy vegetables, low GL fruits, nuts, seeds, and legumes. I don't do grains.
ReplyHere's the nutrition info from the DQ website ... they list a crispy chicken salad without dressing at 420 calories, and a grilled chicken salad with no dressing at 270 calories. There's no caesar dressing option, but the worst contender is ranch dressing at 310 calories. That could bring their worst salad up to 730.
Replyhttp://dairyqueen.com/templates/pdf/NutritionBrochureFoods2007.pdf
That's the problem with salad's. People see the word and they assume something is healthy. Plus here in the US, a salad usually means lots of lettuce with unhealthy stuff thrown in to make the lettuce taste good.
Gal
Reply"In a salad you can find beef, chicken, vegetables, fruit. You can find eggs, cheese...On the positive side...."
I thought that was supposed to be the positive side! "Energy density" is a GOOD thing.
From E.'s comment: "Eating vegetables paired with a cup of fatty dressing or fried chicken won't make you lose weight."
Actually, yes, it can! That's the beauty of carbohydrate restriction.
ReplyWould anyone pay $6-10 for a vegatable only salad?
ReplyI do not disagree that the concept of 'salad' as combination of vegetables has been lost.
I do think it is better to recommend a vegetable salad than a burger and fries.
ReplyAs a vegetarian, one thing that always bothers me is that when I go to restaurants, all the salads have meat! It's the ultimate vegetarian food, but it's been corrupted. The trusty side salad is always a fall back, but it's usually pretty lack luster. And if I have to say "without chicken" I feel like I'm getting ripped off.
ReplyHere in Australia, you not only have to negotiate the dressings, but "salad" can also mean more potato, bacon and pasta than vegetable.
ReplySalad dressing are filled with so much dense calories that you will be eating more without even knowing it. Eating salads are great but several things need to be taken out of them. Watch the amount and kind of dressing you put on your salads, limit the amount of cheese and bread you put on as things add up fast.
ReplyAlmost all of those salads, according to the AOL report, can have their calories cut in half by just changing the type of dressing you use or ask for it without cheese. Every time I go to a restaurant, I ask for my salads without cheese, bacon, croutons, fried tortillas, etc., and I get the dressing on the side so I can use only a little bit. I manage to reduce the caloric content of most salads that way.
However, seeing as I LIKE salads a lot, I often eat them as a meal. I make them with nuts, my own lowfat dressing (I use 2 Tbsp EVOO and 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and a 1/2 cup of water and a pack of Italian dressing seasoning), and lots of fresh veggies. This way, I can get more nutrition into my diet and still enjoy eating my salad.
ReplyWhat's wrong with cheese? Well, as long as it's not over processed chemical cheddar kind. Any other downside except for the calories count?
ReplyOne nice substitue for dressing is a slice of lemon or lime. Unfortunately, the only fast-food salad that includes this (the lime) is the McDonald's Southwestern Salad, which also includes a huge pile of dorito-style chips piled on top. But you could probably have those left off.
ReplyWhen I was growing up in the Nebraska in the 1960s, "salad" was always something red and gelatinous and lettuce (iceberg, of course) was just something you slipped underneath the salad to serve it for a special occasion - eating said lettuce was entirely optional. Yes, we loved our Jell-O....
ReplyAnother option instead of salad dressing: mustard! I sometimes use it in a pinch if there is no lowfat/low calorie dressing options. Sometimes I'll ask for salsa instead of dressing as well. That also tastes pretty good.
And there's nothing inherently wrong with cheese, it's just that most kinds are very high in calories. If you want cheese on your salad, use a little fresh-grated Parmesano Reggiano or Romano cheese. Hard cheeses have more flavor, so you can use just a little and it'll still taste good.
ReplySalads are supposed to be a light part of a larger meal. So if they contain lots of calories, the problem are in the the extras - dressings, meat, extra portions of nuts, etc. Simply eat the vegetables and cut off the rest will do the trick. Or alternatively we don't need to go for the main meal. These salads with all the extra stuff is a nutritious meal by itself.
ReplyDon't cut back on fat too much. You need "good fats" in order to absorb the nutrients in the salad.
ReplyBut hasn't there been studies showing that when fat is added to greens more of the nutrients are absorbed than if they were eaten alone?
ReplyMost of the calorie labels are with the dressings, where 75% plus of the calories are. Sure you can turn 350 calorie salad into 1000 calories by just adding a cup of ranch dressing!!
ReplyThere are some studies that say added fat, ie in avocado increase the absorption of some fat soluble nutrients.
ReplyIt always annoys me when restaurants use ice berg lettuce in their salads. It basically has zero nutritional value.
Reply