Salads Soaked in Calories
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A salad sounds healthy, right? But lurking beneath those enticing leafy greens can be a surprising number of calories. Today the Daily Beast brings those figure conscious folks a guide to the nation's most unhealthy salads after analyzing more than 200 salads at about 50 chain restaurants across the country.
"In many national eateries, fatty meats, cheeses, and sauces overpower the veggies. With the sour cream and fried taco shell that accompanies a Mexican salad or the fried chicken and cheese atop the chicken-tender salad, many choices from the salad side of the menu contain more calories, unhealthy carbs, and artery-clogging saturated fat as the hamburger offerings."
Topping the list is Don Pablo's taco salad with beef in a taco shell weighing in at a whopping 1,596 calories. Within the top ten, you'll also find a chicken caesar salad, including bread, from Jason's Deli (1,399 calories) and the Buffalo bleu salad from Houlihan's (1,435 calories).
"The average adult requires between 18 to 30 grams of saturated fat, between 1,800 to 2,500 calories, and no more than about 1,500 milligrams of salt daily. The average salad on our list contains 1,300 calories, 20 grams of saturated fat, and 2,600 mg of salt."
But not all of those yummy additions to a salad are bad for you--avocados, nuts and olive oil are rich in heart-healthy fats.
(Photo credit: tamorlan; C.C. 3.0)
