Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA, RD, a New York-based Spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, has been waxing dietetic about the potential pitfalls of salads to magazines and newspapers since the '80s, but many blissfully ignorant dieters are too busy loading up their salad bowls with croutons, hard-boiled eggs, cheddar cheese and ranch dressing to pay attention.
"Many people are under the illusion that salads are always low in calories because of the name 'salad,' but that's just not true," says Taub-Dix. Consider the fact that one cup of a typical potato or macaroni salad has around 360 calories and 20 grams of fat, while a typical chef salad, with at least three meats, cheese, hard-boiled egg and dressing, can have over 1,100 calories.
The nice thing about a salad bar is that you can forgo the fat, sugar and sodium-laden add-ons as well as the creamy side dishes, in favor of a wide variety of filling, fiber-rich produce; but bacon and Jell-O salad aside, there are some other, perhaps surprising options at the salad bar that are worth a second thought.
"You should actually be wary of some of the vegetables, such as broccoli or cabbage," says Taub-Dix. "If they look shiny, they are most likely loaded with oil. I'm not saying that olive oil isn't good for you, but it's easy to go overboard and add hundreds of unwanted calories, especially if you top everything off with additional dressing."
Other items to be wary of include nuts, seeds and avocado, says Kerry Neville, MS, RD, National Spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Although these items are all considered nutrient-rich "good fats," they are also very calorie dense. Avocados, for example, are certainly good for you (they are a great source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids, potassium and folate), but just one quarter of a medium-sized avocado contains around 70 calories. If you want to enjoy avocado, skip the creamy blue cheese dressing, and instead top your salad with a spicy mustard, some hot sauce or a flavorful vinegar.
Finding tasty alternatives to traditional salad dressings is actually one of the easiest ways to keep your salad waistline-friendly. What with the typically giant ladles or wide pour spouts, excessive dressing is where a lot of people tend to accidentally make their perfectly healthy salad into the calorie equivalent of a Big Mac.
"You want your salad to be very lightly dressed," says Neville. "The point is to taste the veggies and fruits in the salad, not the dressing - the dressing is really only there to enhance the flavor of those items."
To avoid overdoing it, you can serve yourself a small bowl of dressing on the side and dip the tines of your fork into it before you spear each bite of salad, or, if bottles of vinegar and oil are available, opt for lots of vinegar and just a dash of oil - it only takes a teaspoon (approximately 40 calories) or so to coat your entire salad with flavor. If you are really craving creamy blue cheese, go ahead and have some, but try taking half the normal amount and diluting it with an equal amount of balsamic or red wine vinegar, suggests Taub-Dix.
In fact, it's okay to indulge in most things on the salad bar, including that creamy potato salad or coleslaw, but the key is balance.
"The fun thing about salad bars is that you can sample a little bit of a lot of things, and balance the higher calorie tastes with bigger portions of healthier fare," says Neville.
For example, you should think of a small serving of potato or pasta salad as providing the starch and fat in your meal and then skip the crusty roll and croutons, as well as the dressing, suggests Taub-Dix. You get to have the flavor you were craving and then can fill out the rest of your plate with a rainbow of fresh produce: red tomatoes and beets, orange carrots, yellow peppers, lots of dark, leafy greens (skip the nutrient-deficient iceberg) and purple cabbage. Variety ensures you are getting a wide range of necessary vitamins and minerals. To round out your meal, add a little protein, such as grilled chicken, fish or tofu, a sprinkle of low-fat cheese (grated parmesan has around 22 calories per tablespoon), or beans, such as chickpeas or edamame, which also provide fiber.
A lot of busy people tend to load up at lunchtime with burgers, burritos and super-sized sandwiches, which is only going to make you tired. "Loaded with fresh vegetables and greens, salads are going to fill you up with less calories while also providing a lot of water and crunch, which is energizing," says Taub-Dix. "By all means, go to the salad bar; just pay attention to what you get."
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