Tips to Slim Your Salad

With the warm weather finally here, many of us turn to salads for lunch. They can be the best of lunches … or the worst!  Veggie filled salads can be a great way to boost your intake of vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxants and phytochemicals … or they can pack in tons of calories and saturated fat. Read on for tips on how to slim your salad.

Salads can be an excellent choice if you are trying to lose weight. Studies have shown that starting your meal with a salad (or having a big salad for a meal) can help you consume fewer calories at that meal. This is because the volume in a salad fills you up.  The key is adding the right dressing and ingredients – otherwise you can pack in more calories than a giant cheeseburger!

Here are some tips to help you navigate the salad bar:
1. Beware of the salad dressings as they can make or break the salad. Choose a low fat or fat free dressing if possible.

2. If you use the “real thing”, order dressing on the side and use sparingly (no more than 2 Tablespoons) Add extra vinegar to your salad if desired. And keep in mind that while olive oil is heart healthy, it does contain 120 calories per Tablespoon.

3. Most regular salad dressings contain over 160 calories and 10 grams of fat for 2 Tbsp … and most of us use double this amount!

4. Try the “dip” method. Order dressing on the side and dip your fork in it before taking a bite of salad.

5. Keep your favorite low calorie dressing in your home and office refrigerator.  My favorites are Paul Newmans Lighten Up dressings – there are so many good flavors. I actually had 12 bottles in my refrigerator! Scary…..

6. Start with the nutrient-rich dark green, leafy vegetables, such as spinach, romaine, and endive.

7. Add lots of healthy low calorie veggies such as peppers, broccoli, carrots and tomatoes. Variety means more nutrients and more volume with fewer calories.

8. Make sure you add some lean protein such as grilled chicken, turkey, tofu or plain tuna to your salad. This will help to keep you feeling full longer.

9. Go easy on high calorie extras like croutons, chow mein noodles, crumbled bacon and shredded cheeses.

10. While certain high fat foods are healthy (olive oil, olives, avocado, nuts and seeds), the calories add up quickly – so eat them in moderation. Your fat cells don’t know the difference between a “good” fat or a “bad” fat.  If you are watching your weight, I might suggest picking one of these ingredients. My favorite is avocado … I am slightly obsessed with them actually.

11. Select the smaller container when building your salad.

12. If you are traveling, you can actually find decent salads with low cal dressings at many of the fast food restaurants (i.e. McDonald’s salads)

 13. Avoid entree salads such as Cobb or Casear as they can easily pack in over 1000 calories. Better bet – grilled chicken or shrimp over greens with dressing on the side.