Best and Worst Salad Toppings

Very good information in the article. I read every comment and they contain some great ideas for keeping salads low-cal. Thank you! - 10/6/2012 8:41:25 AM

When I saw your email with provoking “Why Salad Isn't Always the Smartest Choice” subject matter I knew that I had to open it right away. Note to myself: excellent idea to get recipients to open our email.

Salads are essential part of my eating. I eat salads every day. By eating salads every day I feel fuller and eat less. This in turn results in fewer calorie intake and loss of weight. Grilled chicken (protein) and fiber in vegetables assures that do not feel hungry.

Eating salads every day is part of my weight loss approach, and during last two years led me to successful weight loss of 91 pounds.

Eating salads every day also offers numerous health benefits.

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- 8/18/2012 3:50:25 PM

My Chiropractor told me to eat all the salads I wanted while on a strict diet he put me on.
Meats and Cheeses are your best friends also he told me to stay away from store bought
salad dressings, to make my own.He told not to eat any kinds of beans because of the
double digits of Carbohydrates.The diet I'm on you can not have pastas,breads,whi
te potatoes or anything with flour in it and NO SWEETS.i CAN NOT HAVE ANYTHING WITH SUGAR,Aspertame which when heated to 80 degrees in the body it turns into embalming fluid and it begins to eat at your brain and splenda is not good for you.He told me to use Stevia in the raw,sweet-n-Low is not good for either.To make your own salad dressing go to cooks.com for recipes,Good Luck!!! - 8/13/2012 8:01:48 AM

i pretty much avoid salads all together. except for one at wal mart which is the southwestern chicken version. low calorie, carb, and fat. the only way i like a salad is by loading it with the "bad" list lol. - 8/13/2012 5:38:31 AM

A great dressing and dip is one 16 oz container fat free cottage cheese, one 6 oz container plain yogurt, and a packet of buttermilk ranch dressing in the blender until smooth. It makes a great dip, almost no fat and high in protein....add a little buttermilk to thin it down for a dressing....unbel
ievably good even if you are not a cottage cheese or yogurt fan! I have fooled many people at parties with this!! - 8/12/2012 3:22:40 PM

try one of the ranch dressing mixes - use half and half plain yogurt (try reducing the liquid or use greek style) and buttermilk. great flavor, low calories and carbs. - 8/12/2012 2:16:20 PM

I haven't found a low fat ranch dressing that I like so I buy the regular one and thin it with some milk. ( most commercial dressing are too thick anyway). - 8/11/2012 8:38:46 PM

I take my own light dressing in a small plastic container when I out for a salad! I always know the calories iI am intaking that way! - 8/11/2012 8:34:11 PM

I'm just not a fan of salads. I've ended up a few times with a salad that is healthy but contains only a few calories and a lot of fiber, which means that I was ravenously hungry an hour-and-change later. - 8/11/2012 1:54:12 PM

My favorite eat out restaurant has a wonderful salad bar. I can build a wonderful all veggie salad, I usually add 1 TBSP of sunflower seeds. They have salt. Best part is the huge selection of fresh cut veggies of all colors- at least 25 different choices every day. The salad stations are separated, one is all fresh veggies and cooked dry beans, one is fresh fruits one one end and shredded cheeses on the other end, breads in the middle, usually 3 flavors of mini muffins. At the far end, are high fat prepared salads, swimming in dressing. Easy to skip as they are far from the beginning and plate is usually already full. At the end are 3 soups. This week, I got fresh vegetarian vegetable, locally sourced veggies. Tomato based broth, and thick as stew. They also have a full menu of sandwiches, dinners, breakfasts, lunches, senior menus. And they carry a lite dairy free ice cream that is just wonderful for a treat.
A different thought was on cottage cheese. Which I love. I stick with fat free or 1%. And my favorite salad is cottage cheese with fresh or juice pack pineapple. But cottage cheese with a bit of fruit juice makes a great dressing on its own. I thought the pineapple juice was enough, but learning to live with less of any dressing is a good thing. My DH eats lots of salads, plain - no dressing. I can't do that, but I can dress a large salad with 1 TBSP of thing dressing. Every good choice helps. - 8/11/2012 1:01:17 PM

Thanks for the reminder!! It's so easy to drift back into bad choices on a salad and still think you are eating healthily:). - 8/11/2012 11:07:03 AM

I've gone from starting my salad with a base of lettuce, to one of a spinage/lettuce blend then just spinage and now I just have the toppings! That consists of broccoli, carrots, red or yellow peppers, tomaotes, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, feta cheese and Paul Newmans Balsamic Dressing. YUM! - 8/11/2012 10:37:21 AM

Wow! I just read everyone's comments and now I have MORE IDEAS for salad dressings ~woot!! Thank you everyone!!

I am a super picky veggie eater! I cannot stand tomatoes, peppers, onions ETC. I despise "seasonings" beyond salt and pepper, garlic, lemon... typically... so I never cook with anything else... My hubby and I tried Avocado and do not like it. 1 Avocado wasted - but it was worth a tasting! Now we know :) -- We will try anything once... or twice to make sure!! LOL

I love cucumbers and fruits though! As I said before, I love cottage cheese!! So it's a staple in my salad typically!! I am going to look into Yogurt as a dressing.

I like the idea of dry dressing mix mixed over all the salad! I also like the idea of using the can juices to a good advantage, but, doesn't the can liquid add extra salt, etc into the mix...? I always wash my can beans off before I add them to my salad. If the can liquid doesn't add much extra, I might consider leaving them unwashed!

I made a chart from this article... Thank you everyone for your thoughts, ideas and suggestions!

If anyone wants a copy of my chart, please leave me a message in my inbox, with your email address. I will be happy to share!

~Becca~ - 8/11/2012 9:25:32 AM

I typically go to a store that has a Salad Station that I can built my own salad from. I always grab a heaping spoonful of Cottage Cheese... anywhere from a 1/4 cup to a 1/2 cup. Is that good or bad?! - 8/11/2012 8:56:28 AM

I find my problem is the salt content to any bottled dressing no matter what it is. They usually over exceed the daily amount of salt (1 tsp) by double or triple the amoung. Its better to use some salsa and maybe a TLBSpoon of Mayo or Miracle Whip as your dressing. I also find instead of pouring it over the salad to drip the tines of the fork into the dressing and then stab your salad ...you get just enough dressing for each bit and in the end you will have dressing (whatever you use) left over. - 7/22/2012 1:44:38 PM