Are Salads Healthy
June 29, 2009
A diet where you consume a lot of salad is considered healthy, where you consume a whole lot of vegetables etc. Salads are generally easy to prepare and very light to eat. They are full of minerals, vitamins and other vital nutrients. Salads are considered a dieter’s dream if chosen correctly. Salads like juices can ruin your diet plan if you don’t select them wisely. It is not at all difficult to ruin your favourite salad and make it from an excellent diet food to an option loaded with calories.
Stay away from unhealthy salad choices:
Unhealthy Toppings: Salad dressings and toppings laden with mayonnaise, cheese, cream etc. can ruin your entire diet plans. The amount of calories these unnecessary dressings would add on your favourite, ‘supposedly’ healthy salad would be huge. You can forgo the dressing to have a perfect diet salad; instead you can add a dash of lime or some salsa sauce.
Iceberg Lettuce: Iceberg lettuce which is used widely for salads contains no nutritional benefits at all, you can choose from leaf lettuce, spinach, basil etc.
Extra toppings: Extra toppings can pile-on as much as 100-200 calories to your salad. Crouton or cheese can spoil your entire diet dish. Choose more nutritional option like walnut or chicken breast which is roasted etc.
Be careful when you choose your Meat: Adding red meat or fried chicken/beef/pork to your favourite salad can be a disaster. Roasted chicken breast or fish can be a perfectly healthy option.
Choose the following:
Lean protein rich meat: As suggested you can choose from chicken breast which is grilled, lean turkey, instead of crisp fried chicken, bacon, salami etc. which would load you with calories.
Chopped nuts: Chopped nuts are lower in calories
Fresh Fruits: Fruits are your saviour, and make sure you choose fresh instead of dried fruits. They would add up to the taste (make the salad more juicy) without increasing the number of calories and fat you have consumed to a large extent.
Steamed/Raw vegetables: Tomatoes, capsicum, onions, olives, jalapenos, peas, corn, etc. try to keep them in their freshest or rawest form. This would not only add to the taste but saves on extra calories.
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