Health

Not All Salads Are Created Equal

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

January 31, 2002 / 8:42 AM EST / CBS

When you're in the mood for a light, healthy meal, a salad seems to be the easy answer. But depending on what kind of salad you're getting, it actually may not be as low-calorie as you think. Our beauty and wellness contributor, Dayle Haddon, shares her tips on how to make a healthy salad.

Everyone assumes that ordering the salad off the menu, or even making your own, is a no-brainer, low-fat, low-calorie, good-for-you meal. It may not be, however. With all the toppings available today, plus rich, creamy dressings, sometimes you'd be better off having a greasy burger!

As people become more nutrition conscious, salads become an essential part of a healthy meal, or may be meals in themselves. But our efforts to choose nutritious salads can often be sabotaged by hidden fats and calories.

Here are some tips on how to make a healthy salad:

Choose dark, leafy greens.

The basis of any green salad is lettuce. Americans eat fewer than 20 different varieties of fruits and vegetables. Among the top five of our favorites is iceberg lettuce, which unfortunately happens to be the least nutritious of all lettuces. As a general rule, the darker the greens, the more nutritious the salad. Romaine lettuce, watercress, and arugula have more beta carotene and vitamin C than iceberg or Boston lettuce.

Here are some lettuce facts:

Two cups of Romaine lettuce provides 58% of the total recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamin A and almost half (45%) of the RDA for vitamin C.
Two cups of watercress contains 25% of the RDA for vitamin C and 32% of the RDA for vitamin A.
Two cups arugula has eight times the amount of calcium in 2 cups of iceberg lettuce.

When in doubt, choose "mesclun." Mesclun means "mixture" in French. The types of leafy greens used to create a mesclun mixture varies depending on who puts the mixture together but typical greens found in a mesclun mix are baby spinach, radicchio, and arugula, all of which are great sources of iron, beta-carotene, and vitamin C.

Add color to your plate.

When we choose foods and salad fixings bright in color, we are not only reaching for fresh fruits and vegetables, but we're also more likely to boost our intake of antioxidants and vitamins. Choosing foods bright in color is a simple way of choosing the healthiest low-fat foods, without obsessing over the calorie and fat count.

Avoid vegetables sopping in oil or creamy sauces.

Foods bright in color are also "bonus foods"--foods that are high in nutritional value and low in calories (They add color, flavor, and texture with minimal calories).

These are some good colorful foods:

Green peppers.
Baby carrots.
Cherry tomatoes. (Though they provide half the RDA of vitamin A, five cherry tomatoes have only 18 calories.)
Red cabbage and red peppers.
Garlic, chopped leeks, sliced onions, sliced mushrooms.
Slied oranges, sliced grapefruit. (These fruits are packed with an antioxidant called betacryptoxanthin.)
Artichokes, asparagus, and leeks are all high in flavonoids, which protect against cell damage.

Steer clear of the extras at the end of the salad bar.

Bacon bits, croutons, and chow mein noodles can add 40-100 calories to your salad. As a general rule, avoid processed foods like bacon bits and opt instead for whole foods--those that may have more calories, but also have nutritional value (whole cheeses, for example).

Add parmesan cheese, sliced or sprinkled (parmesan packs more calcium than any other cheese) or mozzarella cheese. Or add beans, which are a low-fat, high-fiber protein source rich in iron and vitamin B.

By adding 1/2 cup of white kidney beans, red kidney beans, or chick-peas to the salad, you've almost fulfilled the daily recommended allowance for fiber.

Add nuts. They are high in calories, but they are also packed with calciu and iron. Dried sunflower seeds (a handful) and sesame seeds (a handful) are good additions, too. Or choose low-fat, high-powered protein sources, such as boiled eggs (without the yolk)

Make your own dressing.

Make your own dressing to carry with you, or ask for your dressing on the side.

Two tablespoons (which will not cover half of your plate) of creamy dressings like ranch, blue cheese, French, or honey mustard can add over 150 calories to your salad, and 91% of the calories in these dressings come from fat. By ordering the dressing on the side, you have more control over the amount of dressing you use. Instead of cream- or cheese-based dressings, choose olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Or try a variety of vinegar flavors without the oil. Raspberry, rice, champagne, fruit, sherry, or white wine vinegar can add a splash of flavor to any vegetable, fruit, chicken, tuna, or pasta salad.