Pre-packaged salads

rlpomeroy

I love how convenient Dole's pre-packaged chopped salads are and really like the taste of some of them. The drawback on most is that they are all full calorie dressings. Does anybody know of anything similar that uses lower calorie dressing?

springlering62

I buy the bagged salad without dressing. I eat a whole bag almost every day. It only takes a few minutes to add carrots, cherry tomatoes, radishes, bacon, feta, chopped chicken or steak, halloumi.

I can make a mixing bowl sized salad with a ton of protein for under 400 calories that takes an hour to eat. 👍🏻😆

For dressings I use a shake of quality fruit or chocolate balsamic, a zero calorie Walden Farms dressing (the honey mustard is terrific), salsa (usually pineapple or cowboy caviar) at 20-25 cal/2 tbsp, or if I’m having tofu on my salad, I’ll stir in some Thai chili peanut sauce.

Or I’ll throw something already seasoned on top and forego dressing, like leftover fajita meat or gyro filling. Oh tatsiki is good, too!

springlering62

BTW if you have access to a Lidl, their bag salads are always really fresh, and don’t have the faintly bitter “chemical taste” I detect on some Dole and other store brands (looking at you, Kroger).

corinasue1143

I sometimes used bagged mixes, sometimes use the bowls without the dressing, sometimes add honey mustard (not dressing, just honey mustard, next to the regular mustard in the store). Sometimes I save the little package of dressing for another use, sometimes throw it away.
But if I find something similar with a lower calorie dressing, I’ll sure try it!

Luke_rabbit

I wish that their websites gave the calorie info without the dressing. I'd be perfectly happy to just replace it with a better option.

I don't have any suggestions, sorry. Several stores used to sell the chopped mix without dressing or extras, but those have all vanished.

Doing it ourselves would of course be the smarter way, but it's certainly not as convenient.

paperpudding

Here you can get pre mixed bags of salads and the dressing comes in a little pouch - you could just not use the pouch and replace with a small amount of a low calorie dressing you bring from home.

cmriverside

...and you don't have to use all of the included dressing. You can use half the dressing and add some nonfat Greek yogurt or some balsamic vinegar to it.

NVintage

I just started buying them this year because of covid, the kale and cabbage mixes because they last for a few weeks. I add oil and vinegar and just a tiny bit of the dressing, if any.

rosebarnalice

I typically make my own dressings using either a silken tofu or hummus base for creaminess and a protein boost.

Luke_rabbit

So, does anyone guesstimate the salad plus fixings without the dressing?

For example right now in my fridge is the Eat Smart Apple Gouda salad.

It had a bag of mixed greens, a little bag with dried apple and gouda and sunflower seeds mixed together, and a bag of dressing. Nutrition info is for all 3 together.

I'd love to just replace their dressing with a lower cal one like Bolthouse or O'Dang or Healthy Choice Power Dressing (all currently in my fridge).

Curious how someone would do this -- ideally without separating the gouda, seeds and apple to weigh individually.

L1zardQueen

@bold_rabbit How much is an equivalent dressing in the database? Subtract that amount and call it good.

corinasue1143

Agreed. The little tub of dressing gives the weight. I don’t think the sack does, but you can guess, or measure since you’re going to throw it away.

lemurcat2

I would estimate the ingredients without the dressing. I do it so rarely it doesn't matter, though, and tend to leave off other higher cal packaged ingredients like croutons. I'd weigh nuts or seeds or cheese.

I usually buy pre washed or chopped greens (our farmers market sells them) vs bagged salads bc I find the cost of bagged salads a waste if I am not using the whole thing. I did experiment with them during covid, but I found the dressings usually not so bad calorie wise (I'd normally add some kind of protein also), but not tasty vs something I would make, and I was paying for and then wasting croutons or the like.