Salad time!

mhernan8585

What is good to include in my salads and what should I avoid or eat in moderation?

Kexessa

Cheese like shredded cheddar in moderation. The calories add up quick. Feta is a good one to use if you like it. Avocado is good to include for healthy fats. I love avocado on my salads.

Read the labels on the salad dressing you are using. Many are surprisingly high in calories.

Mezzie1024

It really depends on your calorie allowance and your macro goals. I like adding beans because they fill me up, avocado because when it's mashed up and you add salt and pepper, you don't need dressing (I have nothing against dressing, but I kept forgetting it when I packed my salads for lunch, and then I realized I did just fine without it), and something sweet like a bell pepper or apple to add to the flavor complexity.

Beyond that, I switch it up pretty often. I change the greens I use as a base, sometimes I have purely vegetarian salads, sometimes I have protein and fat heavy cobb salads, sometimes I have chef salads, and often I just chop up whatever vegetables and fruits I get delivered from local farms, mix them together with any leftovers in the fridge, and see what happens.

The trick for figuring out what is good for you is to log before you go shopping until you get a macro (and micro if you watch those) profile from your salad that helps you meet your overall goals. This week my dinners are going to be pretty protein heavy, so there will be very little protein in my salads. If next week my dinners are light on the protein, then my salads will pick up some of the slack. The fun thing about making salads is absolutely everything goes, so you never have to get bored. Have fun with it.

br3adman

Any green or yellow veggie is fine. Just limit croutons/cheese. I like a nice pesto with not much grapeseed oil as dressing or yogurt dressings. Use lean protein turkey chicken pork loin fish

robertw486

For me, I can make a HUGE salad and even if I use cheeses and some meat it's still much more filling than most other meals of the same calories and nutrients. So use what you like and fits within your calorie and nutrient goals.

Be careful with salad dressings. There are some great tasting healthy options, but there are others that are pure sugar and some that are almost pure fat. Keep that in mind when you buy, and if you shop smart you can give yourself options to balance whatever you might be lacking for that day.

kiittenforever

Try to skip Cheese, croutons, bacon bits,

nuts (moderation)

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

I like to add 50-100g of cottage cheese, love calorie and high protein. I don't use dressings.

Jamr8231

Keep dressings simple, and stick to EVOO and balsamic or other vinegars. Salads are great, as they leave so much room for variation and hitting your five a day.

jennifer_417

You can literally eat anything you want within your calorie deficit and lose weight. Higher calorie foods (cheese, creamy dresings, etc) will give you less volume for more calories, so you may want to moderate them a bit, or not and pinch calories elsewhere. Up to you.