Is this salad really 496 calories?
Replies
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Try making your own dressings. Mine usually come out to about 50-75 calories per quarter cup. I use a lot of dressing recipes from this site...
http://www.skinnytaste.com/0 -
I haven't tried this but here is her Caesar Salad Dressing at 77 calories for 3 TBL.
http://www.skinnytaste.com/skinny-caesar-dressing/2 -
Shane324534645 wrote: »Sorry I'm new here and just starting out and the amount of food I put into this salad as one of my 3 500 calorie meals seems rather large can someone double check that this is indeed 496 calories?
4 cups of fresh express double carrots- 30 calories (bag says 40 tho)
12 raw cherry tomatoes- 36 calories
100 grams of raw brocoli- 35 calories
4 ounces of turkey breast- 140 calories
100 grams of cucumber unpeeled- 15 calories
Caesar house light 6 tbsp- 240 calories (I'm trying to cut back on this the most little by little
All this comes to 496 calories (or 506 if you count the lettuce higher) and it seems like so much food after I made it all.
Any comments would be appreciated if I messed up something, thanks!
So I'm assuming you're worried that you're underestimating calories because it is a high volume of food? Just because something is voluminous doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be a ton of calories, particularly when you're talking about a lot of vegetables.
6 Tbsp of dressing is a lot of dressing though...I'm usually good with 2 Tbsp.0 -
Here's what I do with dressing. Put the base (lettuce etc) in a bowl, measure out say 30ml of dressing and mix it through with your hands, make sure you coat it all. Then add your meat and stuff. Easy, and you don't need buckets of it.0
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I eat my dressing on the side - dip the fork, grab some salad. Each bite is tasty, but the amount of dressing is minimized.
Ditto adding some lemon juice to Caesar to cut the calories without giving up the flavour.1 -
crzycatlady1 wrote: »Shane324534645 wrote: »
I'm a HUGE user of dressings/condiments and yeah-those can kill your calories
Just experiment with lower calorie ones (I now use Kraft's fat free zesty Italian dressing on a lot of things and it's only 15 calories per 2tbsp!), and then for the ones you decide to keep (I will never, ever cut out my beloved Hidden Valley Ranch lol), just slowly start using less. I went from pouring it on, to now using a half or 1 serving, measured out 
Be mindful of low fat dressings though because they can be quite high in sugar as they add more sugar for flavour to disguise less fat. Often better to have the calories and fat if your calories allow.1 -
Put dressing on the side. Dip your fork in the dressing then take the salad. You get the taste but fewer calories.0
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Shane324534645 wrote: »fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »Shane324534645 wrote: »Sorry I'm new here and just starting out and the amount of food I put into this salad as one of my 3 500 calorie meals seems rather large can someone double check that this is indeed 496 calories?
4 cups of fresh express double carrots- 30 calories (bag says 40 tho)
12 raw cherry tomatoes- 36 calories
100 grams of raw brocoli- 35 calories
4 ounces of turkey breast- 140 calories
100 grams of cucumber unpeeled- 15 calories
Caesar house light 6 tbsp- 240 calories (I'm trying to cut back on this the most little by little
All this comes to 496 calories (or 506 if you count the lettuce higher) and it seems like so much food after I made it all.
Any comments would be appreciated if I messed up something, thanks!
SIX tablespoons of dressing???? Yikes. No wonder. I use ONE in my salad. The calories in your dressing alone are more than in my entire salad with dressing. You definitely need to stop the dressing bath.
I must be doing something wrong because these 6 tbsp barely covered half of the salad, maybe I'm too use to smothering my salad and not caring about calories when I wasn't trying to lose weight. I'll try to cut it down to 3 tbsp which is still a lot on my next salad. How many cups are lettuce did you have for that one tbsp?
My salad is usually the same - 1/2 of a 10oz bag such as Fresh Express Italian Blend. But I have used the entire bag, occasionally. I might use tad more with a whole bag, but really 1TB is usually all I use.0 -
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OP, do you like heat? Asking because another option I can suggest is to use wing sauce. I use Moore's (it's our favorite) and it is 15 cal per TB. It adds a crap ton of flavor, for very little calories.1
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Have you tried putting the dressing in a little cup (measure it out) and then you dip your fork into the dressing before you take a bite of your salad? Sometimes that helps with the dressing and it cuts down the calories!!0
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Ilysandrew11 wrote: »Have you tried putting the dressing in a little cup (measure it out) and then you dip your fork into the dressing before you take a bite of your salad? Sometimes that helps with the dressing and it cuts down the calories!!
That's a great habit to cultivate. I learned that trick when I was doing WW. And I still use it at restaurants - I order my dressing on the side, always. It's just crazy how much the bring, and how much is always left!0 -
fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »OP, do you like heat? Asking because another option I can suggest is to use wing sauce. I use Moore's (it's our favorite) and it is 15 cal per TB. It adds a crap ton of flavor, for very little calories.
Or just dress the salad with your favorite salsa.2 -
It's probably correct on the calories. When i started to lose weight, i weighed 285lbs and I had a huge appetite and I turned to salads because they meant I could essentially eat a ton of food and feel full.0
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Sounds like we all agree the dressing is the demon here. I am a huge salad eater. Every day usually twice, I just like the taste of it. I have never used anything other than Italian dressing in over 50 yrs. I do not like anything with mayo or "creamy" stuff. I make my own concoction of dressing that is super low in calories and tastes good. Simply.... it's essentially good seasons italian without the oil.
I use mostly red wine vinegar (about 6 oz.), a little oil, splash of water, 1/2 package of good seasons Italian dressing mix, 5 packages sweet and low ( kills the vinegary taste and adds some sweetness) and then I add a little extra spices just for fun.
Probably is under 15 calories a serving (2-3 tbsp). Only problem is without the heavy oil to hold it all
together you have to shake the crap out of it before you use it or it separates. Been doing this for a long time and have yet to tire of it. I also love to put a little of this in a cup and dip raw carrots in it for a snack.1 -
sometimes a table spoon of warm butter tastes good sprinkled over my salad... around 70 on a splurgy day..but usually a vinegar oil homemade with garlic flavor... yum0
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Put dressing on the side. Dip your fork in the dressing then take the salad. You get the taste but fewer calories.
THIS. I did this initially to get used to eating salads with less dressing. What you're accustomed to eating plays a much bigger role in what you crave than I always thought. For instance, now that my diet has less salt and sugar, I've outright thrown things away because they were so salty or so sweet that I didn't enjoy it anymore.
Now I don't do the fork thing, but 1-2 tbsp in plasticware and I shake the heck out of it before eating so everything is evenly-coated.0 -
My dinner last night was a HUGE bowl of asian-inspired salad, included shredded chicken, cashew nuts, crispy noodles and a dressing, and it totalled 461 calories. The dressing was a mix of brown sugar, sesame oil, olive oil and soy sauce and a tablespoon of the dressing was roughly 50cals.
Not sure how to add pics but it looked as good as it tasted! 1 -
Making your own dressing is the key to healthy salads. Try making your own ceasar dressing using yogurt instead of mayonnaise it will cut down on A LOT of calories and probably be way tastier! This is the first one I found but it looks goodhttp://www.wellplated.com/homemade-caesar-dressing/ 0
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I dislike most salad dressings, so for the most part, I eat my salads sprinkled with salt instead. Gives a bit of flavor, but lower calorie0
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If you don't make your own salad dressings I highly highly recommend it, it will completely change your relationship with salad for the better! Here are a few of my own recipes. I suggest using about 1/2- 1 tbs of them and then adding extra balsamic vinegar if you need more flavour.
Sesame maple dressing (my favourite with spinach salad!)
0.25 cup(s), Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tbsp, Toasted Sesame Oil
1 tbsp(s), Syrups - Maple
0.75 tbsp(s), Lemon juice, raw
3 tbsp, Balsamic Vinegar
Sesame Tahini salad dressing
2 TBSP (15 ml), Tahini
2 tbsp, Balsamic Vinegar
1 clove, Garlic Clove, Smashed
2.50 tablespoon, Oil - Olive
2 tbsp(s), Water
0.50 tablespoon, Soy Sauce
Honey mustard
1 clove, Garlic Clove, Smashed
1 tbsp, White Wine Vinegar
1.50 tsp, Dijon Mustard
1 tsp(s), Honey
0.25 cup(s), Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
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I have found that if I salt and pepper my lettuce and veggies, that I can eat it with very little dressing if any at all. I just dip the fork now typically. The salt and pepper on the salad itself adds enough flavor, that I get by with only using maybe a half TBSP of dressing...0
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I use 2 tablespoons and cover it and shake the hell out of it for even coverage.
if you've ever gone to one of the "salad" places where you pick the ingredients , they usually put the dressing on the side of the mixing bowl before stirring it all around. Its the same principle. you can also add some salt and pepper to the salad and cut back on the dressing.0 -
Other people are pointing out the dressing and ways to reduce it and whatnot. (I agree that 6 Tbsp sounds like a lot, also I typically put just olive oil and balsamic or rice vinegar on mine and love the flavor it gives).
But also, if you're eating this as a meal, do you really need to reduce the calories? 500 kcal or so seems like a decent meal. Now, if you eat 3 of those in a day and you also tend to snack, I can see where it might be problematic. But my point is, don't go overboard on trying to make everything you eat low-calorie. I think sometimes with counting, people get in the mindset (say) of "750 kcal! That's way too high!" even if it's really nutritious and will fit their goals for the day.6 -
Ideally, replace the dressing with some tuna or chicken to change not-great calories for nutritious calories, though. The most calorie dense part of your meal shouldn't really be 1/3 cup of salad dressing.2
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Looks like a delicious salad!1
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Shane324534645 wrote: »sheermomentum wrote: »I'm sure you noticed this, but its the dressing that's half the calories. 6 tbsp seems like a lot. Are you sure you used that much? Caesar dressings do tend to be higher in calories than some others.
These are some of the best dressings I've tried: http://bolthouse.com/products/dressings/yogurt . You'll find them in the produce section at many stores. They are very flavorful AND low calorie, so that might help reduce dressing calories in two ways. Their creamy caesar is a favorite of mine.
Yeah, I noticed it and was in shock, I've never tried salad without any dressing so maybe I should try it next time and see how I like it. Also, thanks for the link I'll look through the flavors!
I don't really like salad with dressing ... I like salad, but I'm not fond of dressing and stopped eating it when I was in my early teens.
Prior to that, my mother fed me salads with dressing but I didn't like them and kind of picked my way through them, so one day she gave me a salad without dressing ... and it was so much better!
Give it a try, you might discover you like it better.
However, I do like a bit of salt and maybe pepper on my salads.
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Plain unsweetened yogurt with herbs/ spices/ seasoning/ lemon juice (any of them) works amazingly as a dressing. De Winkel yogurt has 62 kcal/ 150g and anchor greek (natural) has 90 kcal/ 150g (obviously you barely need a portion of that!) thin it out a little with lemon/ water and you have a creamy unique dressing for under 20kcal!
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OP, are you happy with the salad and the calories? If so, then I don't see a need for you to cut back on the dressing. IIFYM and all that. I would suggest though, that you start weighing your dressing, if you're not already. You'll get a much more accurate picture of how many calories you're eating. I would weigh everything, even the cherry tomatoes.1
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