Not all salads are created equal
My lunch recently was an amazing and filling salad I created myself. Ann’s salad: 2 cups of spinach; hard boiled egg; serving of tofu; tomatoes; 1/4 cup bleu cheese; Brussels sprouts; carrots; mushrooms; red and yellow peppers; and all drizzled with balsamic vinegar.
I have always been a fan of salad. It can be a great meal or something on the side. It can be filling and healthy. And it can also be unhealthy.
Some salads are so loaded with calories and fat you might as well order a cheeseburger.
If you are ordering a salad to have a healthy meal choose wisely.
(If you don’t care and just really want that Buffalo bleu cheese salad because it tastes amazing and is super unhealthy then order it, just don’t order it too often. One of my many guilty pleasures.)
At work we have an amazing salad bar with so many healthy (and some unhealthy) options. When making my salad at work I focus on making it filling and healthy. I try to make sure my own made salad has at least three items that are high in protein.
High-protein items at our salad bar vary, but these items that can be found on any given day: garbanzo beans; at least two kinds of cheese; hard boiled eggs; kidney beans; tofu; tuna, chicken; black beans; and I am sure there are some items I am forgetting.
My friend’s salad: Romaine lettuce; hard boiled egg, chicken; sunflower seeds, carrots; cucumbers; tomatoes; and a little dressing.
If you want to order a healthy salad at a restaurant you can control it to an extent. Get the dressing on the side. I personally don’t like croutons. So I either order without or just remove. Many times when I go to a restaurant I order a Caesar salad with dressing on the side and grilled chicken added.
And then there are the times that if I eat, see or order another bleepin’ salad …
It can be difficult and frustrating at times to go out to eat.
Salads can (or can NOT) be a good option for a meal. Many chicken plates or fish plates can give you a healthy option. Or you can just order an appetizer or two or have the server pack up half your food order in a takeaway doggie bag before it even comes to the table. I am not comfortable with that. So I have to be more disciplined and make sure I only eat half of my meal, especially if it is a pasta dish. I love pasta.
And yes, here is my plug for protein, if you eat a meal with a lot of protein it is going to keep you full. That may prevent you from eating things you didn’t plan to or shouldn’t be eating or from drinking too much.