Fresh, healthy and green are the only words that come to our mind when we think of salads. And it’s true too: vegetables in a bowl. Salads once seemed like a smart choice until fast-food chains stepped in. It is in vogue nowadays that the fast-food chains are offering salads in their menus. But the bad side of this is that it is being offered with high calorie and fat loaded accompaniments and dressings. Their menu contains pictures of burgers and fries and right beside a healthy green option.

Is salad dressing a blessing?

The salads may be healthy when it comes to their basic ingredients that is a bowl full of lettuce and all sorts of salad veggies you can think of. But it’s the dressing that creates the red danger mark. These dressings are probably mayonnaise, Caesar, sweet onion, honey mustard etc. While the mayonnaise may be the creamy fatty option, so the health freaks avoid it. Ok, sounds good. But what about those fat-free dressings? No doubt, they may be created to keep the salad low in fat, but do they mention about the sugars? Let me clear it here, these dressings are loaded with sugars and sodium and that is what makes the salad so palatable.

Do the cheese please?

The easiest and quickest way to add calories to any meal is to add cheese to it. And we very happily go for adding cheese with a grin. Were you thinking all this while that this cheese is gonna give you calcium for healthy bones? It’s irritating to think even that while we preferred the salad over those junk items, we were ditched by eating more calories than from a burger.

Are those edible salad bowls a healthy poll?

What’s new now-a-days on restaurant menus is their edible bowls for salad say, tacos, tortillas, burritos and nachos. Yes, it’s yum! But what is that makes it so crispy and delicious? It’s the version that has been processed and fried beyond the word ‘healthy’.

Are the salad ingredients obedient?

Most fast-food chain salads just offer high-calorie items on a bed of greens. It’s just to please the eyes and make us eat guilt free.

So, before applauding yourself for choosing a so-called healthy salad over burger and fries, have a closer look at the ingredients.

Have a look at few handy tips-

• Avoid anything that contains the word ‘crispy’ as it is a code for fried. 
  
• Choose the healthiest salad from the salad options from your fast-food restaurant.
  
• Keep it low in dressings as dressings are loaded with sugar, fat probably the saturated one and sodium.
  
• Don’t go for those extra cheese. 
  

The final word

Salads can be a good news, just watch out for the extras! It’s time to rethink your choice of indulgence.