Russian salad is the perfect example of how every dish with the suffix salad may not actually be “healthy.” One of the main ingredients in Russian salad is mayonnaise, which is made with whipping up lots of oil and eggs together. Your head would spin if we told you that a cup of mayonnaise (220 gm) can have anywhere from 500 to 1,495 calories! (Depending on the brand and amount of oil used). Surprised?! So, if you have been pinning all your weight loss hopes on Russian salad in order to lose weight, now you know why you have been gaining weight instead. While salads are generally considered healthy due to their focus on fresh vegetables and nutritious ingredients, there are a lot of salads out there that can be less healthy depending on the ingredients, dressing used, and the way they are made. Deep-fried chicken caesar salad is another example. This salad typically consists of deep-fried chicken strips along with romaine lettuce, croutons, cheese, and of course, the high-calorie dressing. The deep-fried chicken and croutons can add unhealthy amounts of fat and calories, while the Caesar dressing can be high in saturated fat and sodium. While this salad may provide nutrition from veggies, high-calorie ingredients like deep-fried chicken, croutons, and dressing choices make it unhealthy overall. Even though many consider a bowl of salad as a fool-proof way to lose weight, not all salads are healthy or diet friendly, and some of them can actually be high in calories. In this article, we list out 4 types of salads that do not fit into any weight loss scheme.

1. Salad from a Fast Food Joint: Many fast food joints have recognized the demand for healthier options and now offer salads on their menus. Though these chains offer a variety of salads, they have some common ingredients that are not exactly diet friendly. From a variety of cheese options, to lots of dressings that are used in combination (ranch, Italian, Caesar, honey mustard, oil, etc), to additional toppings that are added on personal preference (cheese, croutons, deep-fried stuff for example), picking salad from such joints can derail your progress unless you are very sure of the ingredients used. Also read: “6 Lunch Tweaks That Will Maximize Weight Loss Results.”

2. Salads Made with Store-Bought Dressings: One can turn a very basic,  home-made salad with lots of veggies unhealthy by using store-bought dressings with high amount of sugar, sodium, emulsifiers, etc. These also tend to be high in calories. One popular salad dressing bottle had these ingredients listed – refined soybean, liquid glucose, sugar, cheese, etc. So, do read the ingredients list or whip your own dressing to cut down unnecessary calories.

3. Lots of ingredients added to make it appetising: To make a bowl of bland salad flavourful, we kind of go overboard adding a lot of ingredients and dressings together – we add cheese, mayonnaise, sauces, roasted peanuts, and so many other things that we can find! Keep a tabs on the ingredients that go into a bowl of salad and do remember that every ingredient comes with its own set of calories and they all do add up at the of the day. With fewer ingredients and minimal preparation, you can whip up a healthy salad in a short period of time, making it a convenient option for busy schedules. Also, by keeping the salad simple, you have better control over the calorie content.

4. Adding Deep-Fried Things To Get Crunch Factor: Fri.d onions, croutons, fried chicken, fried cheese, and even fried noodles, people add these things to give a crunchy texture to salads. These ingredients can provide a contrast to fresh vegetables and leafy greens like lettuce, enhancing the taste of salad, making the salad flavourful to eat. Also read: “How To Get a Smaller Waist With Food.”

Overall, it’s not necessary to survive only on salads to lose weight. You can eat normal, simple, healthy food and manage to reach your goal weight and we will show you how through the diet plans on the Rati Beauty app. Download the app for more details and to access our easy-to-follow diet plans.

6 Lunch Tweaks That Will Maximize Weight Loss Results
How To Get a Smaller Waist With Food

The post Are All Salads Healthy and Diet Friendly? appeared first on Makeupandbeauty.com.