Going out to eat when you’re trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle and watch your weight can be a challenge.
Selecting a salad can help you stay on track.
So what kind of salad should you choose?
There are side salads, chef salads, Greek salads, cobb salads — the list goes on and on…
Healthy Salad Choices
When you place your order healthy options include: leafy green lettuce, fresh spinach, sprouts, carrots, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, chick peas, any kind of beans, celery, and any other vegetable you can think of.
Salad ordered off the menu often comes with breadsticks soaked in oil or baskets of white bread with butter.
Avoid this temptation by telling the server your table is bread-free.
Making your own salad at the salad bar seems like the right choice until you are standing there faced with all the questionable choices.
The diced meat, cheese and eggs look innocent enough until they are piled on top of your lettuce. Croutons, seeds and nuts are usually available too. However, they are also full of fat and calories. By choosing these options you transform your salad from a low-calorie, high nutrient meal into a high-fat, high-cholesterol meal.
What goes on top of your salad is just as important as what goes in it.
Avoid high-fat salad dressings, especially blue cheese. Good choices for salad dressings are low-fat vinaigrette dressings or lemon juice with spices and balsamic vinegar.
The salad bar usually offers different varieties of fresh baked bread positioned next to pats of butter. Choose the whole grain bread and enjoy its’ natural flavors or lightly spread it with apple butter or jam.
When eating at home you can make this delicious, satisfying salad dressing.
Homemade Salad Dressing
High Protein, Non-Fat:
- 1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- Three large carrots peeled and chopped
- 1 T dried parsley
- A few squirts of fresh lemon juice
- Minced garlic to taste
- 6-8 T water
Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender until desired consistency. Add more water if needed. Dress salad and eat with a piece of whole grain bread.