The Unhealthiest Salads in America

If you’re looking to eat healthfully at your favorite restaurant, don’t automatically turn to the salad menu. Turns out, restaurant salads can often be as bad as—or worse than—any burger or steak on the menu. Sure, salads may contain a fresh produce base, but those leafy greens are too often weighed down with cheese, deep fried croutons, and high-calorie dressings. In fact, one salad from a popular chain restaurant contains over 1,500 calories! Surprised? Then check out this list of the Worst Salads in America, culled from the new book Eat This, Not That! 2010.
#6. Quizno’s Honey Mustard Chicken Regular Chopped Salad
920 calories
65 g fat (20 g saturated, 0.5 g trans)
1,685 mg sodium

The secret to this salad’s salacious calorie count is in the sauce. A general rule of thumb when you eat at Quizno’s: Serving sizes are often not what they seem. This “Regular Chopped Salad” accounts for nearly half your day’s caloric allotment. Even most of the small chopped salads pack over 500 calories. Unless you order the Pan Asian small, consider a salad at Quizno’s a meal unto itself, not a side dish.

Bonus tip: Want to make sure your lunch doesn’t destroy your diet? Familiarize yourself with this indispensable list of the 30 Unhealthiest Sandwiches in America. It’ll help you keep your waistline from ballooning.

Eat This Instead!
Pan Asian Small Chopped Salad
270 calories
11 g fat (2.5 g saturated, 0 g trans)
1,190 mg sodium
#5. Romano’s Macaroni Grill Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Salad
960 calories
16 g saturated fat
1,990 mg sodium
49 g carbohydrates

Here’s a little menu magic for you: Anytime you see the words “parmesan-crusted,” assume the dish has been slathered in cheese and given the frying treatment. Which is probably why this Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Salad has nearly a full day’s worth of sodium and half a day’s worth of calories. One of the biggest problems with Mac Grill’s menu items—though we love it in general—is the sodium content. We’d say order the Warm Spinach Salad, but it’s packed with as much salt as you’ll find in five large orders of McDonald’s french fries. Your only smart salad side dish selection at this chain is the Fresh Greens or Caesar.

Bonus tip: Order anything from the 20 Best Restaurant Foods in America and leave the restaurant feeling satisfied with your healthy and delicious dish. Or lose your belly fat fast by making all your favorites yourself with the new book Cook This, Not That! Kitchen Survival Guide.

Eat This Instead!
Fresh Greens
320 calories
5 g saturated fat
300 mg sodium
20 g carbohydrates

Like to know what is #1, click the link below.

[Source – Yahoo Health]