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How to Build the Perfect Salad
By: Scottsdale Weight Loss Center
Published: November 16, 2016
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Salad: the one word encapsulates so much of what it means to eat healthy. For some, the idea of a salad is the most enticing thing you can think of. For others, salad represents all that is wrong with trying to lose weight. But in either situation, it is fair to say that eating a salad means you are eating healthy, right? Not necessarily!
Salads may be one of the leading culprits of accidental unhealthy eating. Thanks to the healthy reputation of the dish, many people automatically associate a salad as being healthy without giving a second thought to what is actually inside of the salad bowl. But if you stop and have a deeper look at what is going into some of our favorite salads you may be surprised. Despite the word salad at the end of their name, items like taco salads, Fried-chicken salads and steak salads aren’t very healthy, and are certainly not conducive to weight loss.
This is one of those tricky things that you need to learn to look out for when you are starting a weight loss program. Just because the item is called a salad, that doesn’t mean you get to turn off your common sense and dig in.
There is a reason salads taste better off the menu than they do when you make one at home. The traditional home side-salad is likely just a bag of spring mix with a carefully selected dressing. But fast food and sit-down restaurants alike have large salad menus, many of which are filled with fatty meats, cheese, cream and croutons. Once you actually break down all of the ingredients that are often stuffed into salads, it is not uncommon for a salad to actually hold more calories per serving than some of the more traditional menu items. In fact, there are several salads at McDonalds that have over 700 calories! There are burgers on the menu that have fewer calories than that.
Salads can be a very healthy option, but commercially prepared salads just aren’t always the healthy option. Everything depends on what is in the bowl. The best thing that you can do is create the salad yourself with healthy food choices. A good healthy salad is going to include a combination of greens, vegetables and fruits, including different types of lettuce, like spinach or kale, plenty of carrots or beets, and then a small amount of fruit, like berries or sliced oranges. When you are looking at dressings, skip the fatty ranch and Caesar and opt for a healthy vinaigrette, instead. And finally, choose your protein carefully. Grilled chicken or steamed fish are usually a healthier option than anything fried.
Next time you want to have a healthy salad, try to make it yourself instead of picking one off the menu. Take advantage of restaurants with large salad bars to try new combinations of healthy ingredients. The salad can be your answer to flavorful and healthy eating, but it does take a bit of strategy and contemplation to make sure you are getting the healthiest meal possible.
Nick
Nick's Story
"I wish I would have come here first. We spend all our time reacting to the next great weight loss tip or program. It might work for a while, but does not last and we end up yo-yoing from one fad to the next – as we gain more weight." Read More
Gina
Lost 44.5 lbs
"I had no trouble adhering to the meals and they really helped catapult my progress! The classes were so beneficial to me because they helped change my thinking about how I viewed health, nutrition, and fitness.
I will always have my relationship with Scottsdale Weight Loss Center. They truly helped me change my life forever." Read More
Lauren
Lost 60 lbs
"Dr. Ziltzer and everyone who I have come in contact with at the Scottsdale Weight Loss office have been so encouraging and I look forward to seeing them each week. It is now a year and 2 months later since I started. I am down 60 lbs., which is the average amount a 9-year-old weighs, it is crazy to think I lost a whole person! I feel amazing, I hit my goal weight in November 2021 just before Thanksgiving. Nothing on my body hurts anymore..." Read More
Chuck
Lost 66 lbs
"The best thing I did was call the Scottsdale Weight Loss Center. I have a lot more energy, I'm not hungry, and it feels great.
You can take it from me that this is a program that produces results. The staff is always positive, supportive, and never judgmental.
Your visits always result in positive reinforcement, no matter if you had a good week or a bad week." Read More
Emily
Lost 101 lbs
"Here I am at the lowest I have been since high school weighing in at 155lbs. I have lost 101 lbs, BMI of 39 when I started, to 21.6, and of course at body fat % of 47.1 to 26.5%. I told myself by my 30th birthday I wanted to be confident in the way I look and I owe it all to SWLC. The entire staff is so welcoming and they are rooting for you just as much as you are rooting for yourself...." Read More
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Meet Our Team
Robert Ziltzer, MD, FACP, FAAP, FOMA
Obesity Medicine Certified Physician
Diana Bone, FNP-C
Specializing in Obesity Medicine
Craig Primack, MD, FACP, FAAP, MFOMA
Obesity Medicine Certified Physician
Kristen Ash, FNP-C, FNP-BC
Nurse Practitioner
Alicia Earley, FNP-C
Family Nurse Practitioner
