Monday, June 22, 2009

What's On Your Salad?

What's on your salad?


Most people automatically think that a salad is diet food. They are a great way to get more vegetable and fruits in your diet, but they can also cause you to gain weight if your not careful. In order to eat the salads that will be figure flattering follow these tips:


Apply the "quarter" rule

Many people wanting to lose weight think that as long as it is served over something green and leafy, it's healthy. That's not necessarily true, loading up on full-fat cheeses, pastas, croutons, and iceberg lettuce add a lot of calories. Instead of full-fat cheeses, have low-fat cheese - such as cottage cheese. Instead of croutons try adding crunch and flavor with nuts, that way you get your good fats (omega-3's), olives and avocados are sources of good fats also. Also instead of iceberg lettuce, try fresh spinach, leafy lettuces, and cabbage. Don't forget the other veggies like raw carrots, cucumbers, or broccoli. Follow the rule of filling your plate 3/4 full of green leafy or raw veggies and 1/4 full of small portions of higher-calorie ingredients.


Dressing on the side good or not

Salad dressings can add hundreds of unwanted calories to a salad if you let a restaurant put it on for you so always ask for dressing on the side, that way you control how many calories go on your salad. When you ask for the salad dressing on the side rather than dipping your salad in the dressing, pour a small amount over your salad and put the remainder out your reach, that way it is less tempting to keep adding more. If you are like me you can eat your salad without any dressing and cut out even more calories, just me personal preference, not everyone likes a plain salad.


Don't get in a rut

Don't eat the same salad day after day, you'll eventually get tired of it and not want salads anymore. Try adding different ingredients, like fruits, lean meats, all sorts of fresh veggies. I love this time of the year when there is a farmer's market every place you look. Be sure to wash all the fresh ingredients thoroughly to remove any dirt, pesticides, or bugs.


Here's one of my favorites

I love fresh spinach leafs, tuna (canned in water) that is drained, mandarin oranges, and sliced almonds, no dressing.


Blessings for a Glorious Day!

3 comments:

  1. Hi Susie,

    Not all salads are created equal! LOL You make an excellent point that what we put on our salads can actually add more calories, making it a not so healthy meal.

    We make all our salads with spinach, too! Will definitely have to try your suggestion. I love mandarin oranges! Also, when we're wanting a little extra zest with our salads, we add a bit of lemon juice. Much healthier than dressing.

    Excellent post! Keep them coming! :-)

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  2. Hi Roxanne,

    If you like mandarin oranges and fresh fruit, I think you would like the salad we had for nuch yesterday. It have lettuce, spinach, strawberries, blueberries, pinapple, mandarin oranges, and pecan halves in it, delicious! I like your idea of using lemon instead of salad dressing, I'l have to try it.

    Thank you for your encouraging comments, God Bless and have a great night,

    Susie

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  3. Yummy! That sounds so delicious!
    Will definitely try this one! :-)

    Many Blessings....
    Roxanne ~ Believe Achieve

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