All salads aren't created equal

Have you walked past a salad bar in a grocery store or at Ruby Tuesday or really anywhere? Have you seen that nice fruit salad that is turned white with whatever 'dressing' is on it? Salads are healthy--this is a salad--this is healthy, right? Erm....no. Sorry.

Have you ever seen a self-proclaimed 'health nut' munch on a salad that all the topping on the salad look the same because of how much dressing the salad is swimming in? Well let's rewind and watch what that health nut is putting on the salad they decide is 'the healthy part of their meal'.
Lettuce--iceburg. Nice and white, crunchy, and pretty tasteless. This is good right? Well it's lettuce. Wrong. Honestly iceburg and other white lettuce isn't healthy for you. The brighter the color, the better it is for you, because it includes many more vitamins and nutrients so iceburg isn't equal to the spring mix, leafy part of romaine, or spinach to name a few.
Peppers, eggs, peas, carrots -- woohoo there! :)
Ham, real bacon bits, a mound of shredded cheddar cheese--not a woohoo here! Ham--go for chicken or turkey on this. Stay away from processed ham pieces...there's not alot of good stuff here for you. Bacon bits? I'm not even going to go here. Bacon isn't good for you. I'm not sure there's another way to cut it here. Cheddar cheese? Did you know that a serving of cheese is about the size of a domino? And cheddar is about the worst cheese for you. And a mound of it?

So, then we head to dress the salad (as if it's not dressed enough). We have a few choices--the cream based dressings or the balsamic vinegrette, or the oil and vinegar. Let's add some of this ranch dressing. And some more....and just...a...touch more :) Perfect right?
No. Sorry. The creamy dressings are not the way to top off a salad to keep it partially healthy. It takes the salad and pretty much negates all the potential positives that the salad itself can do for you. And a little bit and a little bit more? Swimming salads aren't good. It's a salad. Not a soup. Dressing is really meant to blend the flavors of all the ingredients and make them pop a bit. Not to drowned out the flavor to the point that ranch is the only thing you taste. Try a dressing you can't see and try a dressing you won't have in puddles on the plate once the salad is gone.

So the sides. You've seen that apple dessert salad, right? And how you can barely make out the fact that those are apples because they are coated with white? That, just like the salad, pretty much negates the benefits that fruits could offer you. What about that broccoli salad with cheese and bacon pieces, all coated in mayo mixed with vinegar and sugar? Opt for something different if you can barely see the green of the broccoli. You can go for this, though, if the dressing is an accessory, not the main ingredient....but why not leave the cheese and bacon on the plate?

Just a few ideas to clean it up a bit. That way your healthy meal is just that. Healthy and worth it :)