Good Perspective

Tips to Building a Healthy Salad

All Salads Are Not Created Equal!

It’s no secret that health concerns caused by obesity are growing across the country. What’s even more alarming is that Chicago is one of the biggest contributors to the problem having recently been named the fattest city in America by Men’s Fitness magazine. While eating more salad and vegetables may seem like a silver bullet to address this issue, it’s important for people to recognize that all salads and vegetables are not created equal. People generally believe that by ordering a veggie salad they are making a healthy decision. However, depending on which salad you order and what’s contained within it, you often could be ordering more fat and calories than are found in a Big Mac!

Here are some tips on customizing your salad to create a healthy version:

Order dressing on the side
Choose low-fat and low-calorie dressings
Choose grilled meats instead of fried or breaded
Choose greens such as spinach and romaine instead of iceberg
Add extra veggies to your salad
Choose a salad with high nutritional content
Exclude less healthy toppings such as:
- Bacon Bits
- Cheese Tortellini
- Crisp Wontons
- Croutons
- Nacho Corn Chips
- Tortilla Strips
- Cheese

Another common misperception is that all vegetables are good for you. Wait…not too fast! This is another area most of us here in Chicago need to rethink. As a general rule, most peoples’ favorite vegetable choices are the least nutritious – potatoes, tomatoes and lettuce. In addition, not only is vegetable quality an issue, but vegetable quantity also is an issue. According to the FDA, people need at least three to five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. It is estimated that 30% of those living in Chicago only eat one serving of vegetables every week – not daily! The bottom line…Chicagoans are way behind!

Peoples’ Favorite Vegetable Choices

Vegetable	Lbs. Consumed Per Person Per Year	The Problem…
Potatoes	140	Potatoes are carbohydrate-rich and our body immediately converts them to sugar. In addition, we rarely eat potatoes without dollops of cheese, sour cream, or butter. …And out of the 140 pounds of potatoes the average American eats annually, 51 pounds are in the form of French fries!
Tomatoes	25	Rich in antioxidants and vitamins, tomatoes would be a great choice except for the fact that 80% are eaten canned or processed with added salt and sugar.
Lettuce	92	Iceberg lettuce, aside from small amounts of folate, has very little nutritional value compared to deeper greens such as spinach, romaine, and baby greens. For example, romaine has seven to eight times as much beta-carotene, and two to four times the calcium, and twice the amount of potassium as iceberg lettuce. Load these lettuces with extra dressing and its nutritional value really falls.

Four Easy Tips on Getting the Right Vegetables Into Your Diet

In a rush? While at lunch, order a salad “to go” with sides of dressing. When you come home, you have a fresh, already prepared salad to go with your dinner or to eat as an entrée.

Take extra time on Sunday and cut up a bunch of vegetables of your choosing (raw or lightly steamed) – broccoli, celery, carrots, cauliflower, jicama, cherry tomatoes. Keep them in the refrigerator so that after a day’s work you have ready-to-eat snacks with a low-fat dip.
For kids, arrange these cut up veggies on a plate with a low-fat Ranch dipping sauce. Kids eat whatever is most convenient, and so this is a great way to provide healthy nutritional snacks for you and your family.
Salads really are one of the easiest and preferred ways to eat vegetables, so make it worth it. Choose salads that are loaded with other vegetables and dark leafy greens versus mostly lettuce and a few vegetables as garnish. If you prefer simpler salads such as a Caesar salad, toss in some other vegetables for a nutritional boost.