Is this salad really 496 calories?

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!!

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.

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.

lorrpb wrote: »

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.

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 good http://www.wellplated.com/homemade-caesar-dressing/

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

ktekc wrote: »

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.

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.

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.

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.