salads...very irritating

Oompa_Loompa

It is VERY irritating that salads have so many freakin calories!? Like are you for real!? Im feeling like a salad today for lunch. Like a mexican style one. Go to Wendys website. Their santa fe style salad. Boom 740 calories. Um what? I don't know what to get for lunch today. Any suggestions anyone?

DanL66712

Perhaps just a normal salad. I had a crab salad for lunch, just some crab, lettuce, sweetcorn, tomatoes and a little light mayo and it barely broke the 300 calories mark. Things like Wendys get loads of calories from a MASSIVE amount of dressing on the salad!

00trayn

Salads can be really deceiving. Throw on dressing and protein that's been fried or something and you easily get 700-1200 calories salads. Chain restaurants are notorious. I suggest looking through the nutrition info to see what else Wendy's has. I've heard the chili isn't bad on calories. If you want a salad, always get dressing on the side. Make sure the chicken or whatever is on it is grilled and not fried or breaded. And avoid croutons, they just add empty calories.

rskidmore

The McDonalds salads are surprisingly low in calories. Go to their website and check it out.

veniceit

I know what you mean it's so upsetting. You think your making a good healthy choice and then they nail you with the dressing. I think McDonald's has a few low cal dressings. Not sure about Wendy's. Don't get the Asian salad whatever you do!!!

Rachelle

nisijam5

Make your own...my mexican salad is lettuce, black bean salsa, few tortilla chips, avocado, chicken and 1 TBSP of Marie's Chipoltle salad dressing...it's huge and reasonable fat and calories...you can tailor it to meet your needs

Sandeee

Wendys side salads are very low calorie..get a couple with fat free dressing and you are good to go!

nikki91950

you can get salads anywhere, as long as you stick to the basics. as soon as you start to add anything other than lettuce, cheese, vegetables, and meat, you get into trouble. the less in the salad, the better off you'll be! ha! good luck

sallyLunn

You know what's good at Wendy's? Get a side salad and a cup of chili and pour the chile over the salad and don't mess with the dressing and ditch the croutons. It's very tasty.

SweetPandora

Have you thought of making your own.

I bring a salad everyday for lunch. Spinach, 1/2 avocado, cherry tomatoes and 2 oz of chicken. If I feel like dressing I make one using olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard powder and maple syrup.

When you make it you are in control of what goes into your body and what stays in your pocketbook.

Karen

hill242

I prefer the apple pecan chicken salad at Wendy's. Just use one packet of the vinaigrette and it's like 540 cals. I'm sure if you asked them to drop the blue cheese you'd save more calories.

gambitsgurl

I've heard if you go to Wendy's get a baked potato (PLAIN) and pour the chili on it.

The problem with salads at fast food and chain restaurants are the "add ons". Dressing, croutons, "crisps", fried chickens, a ton of cheese.

elmct57

My shock was the Souper Salads bar--everything sits in salt water to keep in crisp...:grumble:

disnyfan

Chick-fil-A Southwest Salad with FF Berry Bals dressing. YUM and less than 300 calories!

SP0472

The McDonalds salads are surprisingly low in calories. Go to their website and check it out.

I had the Southwest Chicken salad from McDs and it was pretty low in cals - I didnt add the dressing - the chicken had enough glaze on it to act as a light dressing.

TXBlockhead

My fave fast food salad is the McDonald's Grilled Chicken Ceasar Salad w/Newman's Own Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette. It's only 260 calories and that's w the dressing and there's even cheese on the salad.

Nikkibella

I make my own salad using 3 cups baby spinach, 4 ounces of chicken chopped up, cucumber and tomato. I use 2 tablespoons of Ken's Steakhouse Balsamic Vinaigrette (yes I measure and weigh all my food). I pair the salad with a sweet potato and my entire lunch is 209 calories.

Valqis

Chick-fil-A Southwest Salad with FF Berry Bals dressing. YUM and less than 300 calories!

I was just about to suggest Chick-Fil-A. Almost every one of their salads (EXCEPT THE CHICKEN SALAD SALAD) is under 300 calories, and you can get a ff honey mustard too.

mlh612

I like Salsarita's taco salad - without shell.. There website has the nutritional value and you can "build" your own taco salad to calculate your calories....

Also like Chick-fil-A Chargrilled and Fruit Salad with the Reduce Fat Berry Balsamic (but don't use all the dressing)...

tam8374

I always get the wendy's taco or southwestern salad.. Not sure the exact name. But you get chili to put on it, so I get protein and low fat dressing all at once from the chili. Just a thought.

jillybeanruns

Take 5-10 minutes at night before you go to bed and pack your lunch. I pack way more food than I need so I don't eat the junk people bring to work. This way I control what I eat and stay on track.

On the rare occasion I do eat out, I go to Panera because you can build your own salad and get the nutritional information on their website. Sodium is higher than I'd like, but I'm not one to forgo the cheese

naguilar210

Make your own!
If you absolutely HAVE to go out to eat, so be it, but stick with just a normal side salad with a light dressing and a baked potato?
When I feel like having a mexican style salad, I have iceburg lettuce, fat free black beans, fat free shredded cheese, pace picante sauce and sprinkle just a small amount of cumin and mix. YUM and very low in calories compared to Wendy's anything. Hehe
Good luck.

loopybec2002

I make my own salad every day for work and -
Iceburg Lettuce - Tomato - Cucumber - Sweetcorn - Mushrooms - A whole can of Tuna and French Vinegarette(No Cals in sauce)

I find it very filling and very yummy & The only thing with big cals is the tuna

TheKitsune6

non-homemade salads just piss me off overall. First of all they aren't healthy, might as well eat that damn cheeseburger, secondly they cost a hella lot more which is just plain idiotic.

Sarahbear83

If you're absolutely feeling like the Mexican salad from Wendy's, you could ask for the toppings on the side and then only use half of them (like the chili and corn chips). That would probably cut it down by at least 200 calories.

army_munchkin

Taylor Farms brand has a great single serving salad, packaged with fork and dressing and they come in a bunch of different kinds. The chef salad is the highest caloric value and its still only 320. And the best part is you can just throw them in your lunch cooler and not have to worry about anything else They are available for purchase at grocery stores!

maryrshstattoo

This is my salad recipe and calorie count.
Generic -Lettus - Shredded, 3 cup 15
Fresh Natural Salsa - Salsa, 4 tablespoon 40
Generic - Red Bell Pepper, 1/4 cup 6
Cheese - Cheddar, 0.25 cup, diced 133
Great Value - Canned Black Beans, 1/8 cup 28
Poland Spring - Water-Bottle, 2 pt,0.9 fl oz, 18 oz 0 0 0 0
Raw Red Onion - Red Onion Slice, 1 Large Slice 5
total 314 calories
As of today I am making my own salad dressing with yogurt and the ranch dressing mix lots less calories and fat and a lot more protein.
I find making your own salad is better .

jac2lyn

Panera Bread has some good salads and they are very fresh. If I do not go their then I make my own at home. romaine lettuce or spring mix, Kumato (like a tomato only tastier), cucumber and some type of cheese (1 ounce). I also use all different dressings that are low in calories and make sure I measure. Also, no croutons. I use almonds for crunchy protein!!

Mindful_Trent

I bring my own salads quite frequently- it's a very easy, quick, inexpensive meal to make at home. Why spend the money (and the sodium/calories) on a fast food salad?

I will usually mix spinach and romaine or red/green leaf lettuce (not iceberg!) with a variety of veggies - cucumber, carrot, tomato, jicama, sprouts, etc., plus some type of protein (chicken/turkey/seitan) and then I'll mix in beans (no-salt added), usually black or garbanzo beans, but sometimes pinto or kidney. Sometimes I'll add avacado or nuts to get some healthy fats in there.

It gives me a great lunch that's filling, with a reasonable calorie count (250-300) and a good balance of carbs/fat/protein. And like I said, much cheaper to make at home than to order out, and I get to control exactly what goes in it.

If time is an issue, then you can pick one day a week (grocery shopping day, maybe?) where you pre-cut your vegetables for the week, then all you have to do is toss them in a bag or tupperware container each day. You could also make a big salad once or twice a week and just take portions of that each day. I also try to pre-cook my protein every Sunday and pre-portion it out as well, to make it easy to grab and add to my salad.

gambitsgurl

To everyone listing iceburg lettuce... try changing it to spinach and romaine or green leaf and see what it does to your nutrition levels. Iceburg is really just water.

Mindful_Trent

To everyone listing iceburg lettuce... try changing it to spinach and romaine or green leaf and see what it does to your nutrition levels. Iceburg is really just water.

Great thing to point out. We haven't had a head of iceberg lettuce in our house in probably a year or more. Romaine, Red/Green leaf, Spinach - all much tastier and much more nutritious than iceberg! We're also trying more greens like kale and chard. It's fun to try new things. :bigsmile: