If you're health conscious, and most of us are, and you watch what you eat, the salad bar can be both your best friend and a diet saboteur. Just because a particular food is found at the salad bar doesn't necessarily mean it's good for you. Here's how to get from one end to the other without loading your plate with unwanted sodium, fat, and refined carbohydrates.
Get a dinner plate. Most salad bars have these really small plates, which are totally useless for making a nice big salad, particularly if it's a dinner salad. So make a detour to the hot food part of the buffet and get yourself a big dinner plate.
Start layering. Start by loading your plate with a combination of spinach and romaine lettuce or, if available, spring mix (a mix of different lettuces). You'll have your day's supply of Vitamin K, and about half your Vitamin A already. Pass up the iceberg lettuce, which is mostly water and not as nutritious as the dark green leafy veggies. You should have at least one cup of dark veggies.
Go big and go bright. Next comes a layer of bright veggies. Most salad bars will have a selection of colorful vegetables like beets, carrots, cherry tomatoes, broccoli and red and green peppers. There's nothing wrong with celery and cucumbers; they're just not as loaded with vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants as bright colored veggies. Aim for at least one cup total.
Protein power. Now, add about half a cup of a protein such as kidney beans or chickpeas, provided they don't come floating in a sea of oil. Hard boiled eggs are a good choice as well, just go easy on the yolks if cholesterol is an issue for you.
Crunch time. For some added crunch, add a tablespoon of sunflower seeds to your salad. Some salad bars offer walnuts, which are a good choice as well. For added flavor, try a tablespoon of parmesan cheese.
The Finishing Touch. The dressing. If you're a calorie counter, skip the ready made dressings; they're full of fat. Even low fat dressings have added sugar and salt (well something had to make them taste okay!). Personally, I never put dressing right on my salad, since I tend to put too much on. Instead, I grab a small bowl and put my favorite blue cheese dressing in there, then I just dip my salad. A little goes a long way. Alternatively, try oil (I find olive oil tastes best on a salad) and vinegar with a grinding of fresh pepper. That's it! You're done.
You've avoided ready made salads like potato salad, macaroni salad, coleslaw and mixes like broccoli and raisins or carrots and raisins. Yes they have veggies in them, but most times they're also loaded with fats from the oil, and refined carbohydrates from the added sugar, not to mention the salt. Likewise the chicken, crab and tuna salads. You've also passed up the croutons; again lots of fat and refined carbs.
In a nutshell, when you're at the salad bar, you're looking for colorful raw food, without additions of salt, sugar or fats.
