How Healthy Is the Salad You Eat?

I came across an article that listed some of the most pointless salad ingredients.

Salads are supposed to be healthy – usually raw vegetables full of vitamins and minerals, but then we add all kinds of things to make it unhealthy – or questionable at the very least.

I don’t completely agree with everything on the list, but one thing I think almost everybody will say isn’t quite what the salad gods had in mind is bacon or bacon bits. Way too much sodium and fat. The suggestion is if you like the salt and the crunchiness go with sunflower or pumpkin seeds.

Also on the list is fat-filled salad dressing. Looks great, tastes great, but way too many calories and fat. Even fat-free isn’t a good option either because of the sodium. The recommendation is to go with a mix of virgin olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice.

How about cheese? Cheddar, mozzarella, American, provolone – doesn’t matter to me – I love cheese in salad – but with all its calories, saturated fat and cholesterol it really defeats the purpose of a salad.

And who doesn’t like croutons? But a bad choice. A half cup of croutons can add 100 calories to your salad. Go with slivered almonds or walnuts instead.

Iceberg lettuce. Not much nutritional value there. Go with green or red leaf lettuce, or spinach. It’ll give you more vitamin C and potassium.

Breaded fried chicken slices. If you’re looking for protein – go with skinless and you’ll save on the fat and calories.

SOURCE: TheDailyMeal.com