Sensible Salad Solutions - Tasty & Fat Free Alternatives - Lose Weight
Simply put, nobody likes to eat salads, it is a known fact. Aside from the bland greens and lack of salty or greasy texture that we are used to, it’s one of the most dreaded foods at the dinner table. In turn, this gives us the excuse to load up our salads with fatty dressings, greasy chicken strips, and more bacon than a Sunday morning at the Waffle House to just get our desired fix. It could get out of hand real easy, and there would be no sense of continuing a diet if you we are going to cheat ourselves. But have no fear, there are lots of flavorful additions we can add to the basic salad to give it all the benefits that we look for in our weight loss mission. It’s time make the perfect salad we would all like to eat.
The most heated topic of discussion for a healthy salad has always been meat. It’s hard to avoid meat as it gives our salads substance, plus it gives us the feeling of a full stomach, and it’s more satisfying. Well I’ll tell everybody one thing, toss out fried chicken strips, bacon, and steak strips, it is the wrong idea and we will all be left feeling guilty afterwards. If you must have the chicken, stick with grilled, it has a lot lower fat content and you don’t have the added carbs from the batter. Most grocery stores sell the packs of cut up grilled chicken, already cooked and there is literally no grease or fat. Secondly, let’s not ignore seafood, there are lots of healthy types to add to our salad plus most of them have that healthy omega-3 fatty acids that have many benefits toward heart health. My perennial favorite is imitation crab meat, they are flavorful and a full serving adds only about 80-100 calories, believe me, it sounds like a lot more than it looks. Additionally, imitation crab is fat free, low in cholesterol, and packed with protein!
They say too much of a good thing can be bad for you, and this goes for the dressing. At first, I felt pretty good ordering the Caesar salad until I found out it had more fat and calories than some hamburgers, what?! That’s right, Caesar and ranch are some of the least healthiest dressings around and begs for a great alternative. Low fat dressings are a great bet, but how about some of the oil based dressings. The oil based stuff is great, in conjunction with balsamic vinegar, can help enhance metabolism and don’t have that thick taste like we are drinking a full cup of sour milk. There are also great tasting herbs in these dressings, and most come in a low fat variety as well. To further regulate dressing intake, do what most folks do and dip the prongs of your fork in a small tub of dressing, so that way you don’t overeat the fats.
Croutons are not a low calorie/fat addition to our salads, but what if we are watching our starch intake, what’s a great alternative? You most definitely can’t lose with nuts. They are packed with fiber and nuts like walnuts fill up the stomach. Another great nut are pine nuts, they just have an overall good rustic taste. For some healthy antioxidants, fruits like dried cranberries, mandarin oranges, and even regular good old orange slices have all the vitamin C we can ask for. Add a little something different with some pineapple slices for that Hawaiian flavor, plus if you have back pain, there is a natural enzyme in pineapple that helps heal that spot.
And so, there is a short list of flavorful salad accessories that have a great kick in flavor and are healthy. Cheese must always be avoided at all costs, if you must have some, a little dab of Parmesan cheese is acceptable. Experiment with some other things, you’d be surprised what easy healthy salad solutions you can find.
If you enjoyed this article, please feel free to get more weight loss tips and advice to a healthier lifestyle here: http://kookoox10-weight-loss.blogspot.com
Shaun Davidson-Automotive and Finance Consultant-2008
Leave a Reply