Five Myths About Your Salad
Everyone knows that salads are the healthiest meal you can make, right? Wrong! Depending on a number of different statements that you may have heard were true, you could be making decisions about your salads that are actually unhealthy. Today we will debunk some of the most popular myths about salads so that you can reap the benefits of a truly healthy salad. Be sure to stop in at Greenspot Salad Company in San Diego for your next healthy meal!
#1 – It’s Salad — It’s Healthy!
While many salads are healthy and good for you, not every salad is. In fact, some of the worst salads pack as many calories as a fast food meal. For example, a salad from the average fast food restaurant can contain anywhere from 360 calories to more than 1,300 calories depending on the ingredients and the dressing! Salads that are healthy for you are generally not loaded with items like shredded cheese and bacon bits. While there is nothing wrong with these delicious ingredients in moderation, you want to make sure that you do not go overboard with these types of food.
#2 – Fat-Free Dressing Is the Best
Many people believe that anything that is labeled fat-free is automatically a healthier choice. Unfortunately, this is another common myth. When companies create a drink or food that is fat-free, they have to replace the fat with something else, otherwise the flavor suffers. Usually, the fat is substituted with sugar. Sugar not only offers no nutritional value, but it also blocks your body’s ability to absorb the antioxidants in the salad. In addition to this, excess sugar intake results in weight gain.
#3 – Celery Has Negative Calories
Celery has an incredibly low caloric content at just six calories per stalk. This has led to the myth that the amount of energy used to eat the celery stalk is greater than the six calories it contains and thus it creates a calorie deficit, or negative calories. Sadly, the truth is that your body does not expend more calories to chew and digest the celery, which means that there is no such thing as a negative-calorie food. Don’t stop adding celery stalks to your salads though, they are indeed a healthy addition.
#4 – All Lettuce Is Created Equally
This could not be further from the truth. Not only do different greens have different tastes, they also have different nutritional values. For example, arugula provides a number of vitamins and minerals as well as beneficial phytochemicals, yet iceberg lettuce is almost nutritionally devoid. A general rule to follow when picking greens for your salad is to choose the darker leafy greens. These will provide the nutrients that you are hoping to get from your salad.
#5 – Salads Are Great for Weight Loss
Strictly speaking, this is not a myth. However, we have a couple of very strong caveats to add in order for you to fully understand why this might be a myth.
- You need to create a salad that tastes delicious and is healthy.
- Create a variety of salads at mealtime.
Salads that are boring, tasteless, or repetitive will quickly cause you to fall off the wagon of eating healthy salads for meals. You need to make sure that you are finding recipes for salads that will be full of flavor, but not full of calories. Yes, it is possible for you to find these types of salads! When you are making salads at home, be sure to find a few that you like and then rotate them so that you don’t get bored with your salad.
Greenspot Salad Company makes delicious and healthy salads from our menu every day. If you are looking for salads that will provide the nutritional value and delicious taste that you need to keep losing weight, then you need to stop in and enjoy one of our freshly-made salads. Visit us at one of our two locations in San Diego today!