Raisins and other dried fruits seem totally nutritious, but they're loaded with sugar and calories. "Just one serving of Craisins is 138 calories," says Berman. "You get more bang for your calories by adding fresh fruit."
Swap it: If you're looking for sweetness, top your salad with fresh strawberries, apple slices, mandarin oranges, blueberries, or sliced grapes.
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Too much salad
Here's the real kicker: There is such a thing as too much salad. "Portion control is a key factor," says Hillary Irwin MS RD. "We've gotten used to eating gigantic salads in restaurants. We want them at home too. The more greens you put on your plate, the more other stuff you need to flavor it."
Which greens you're munching on is also important. "Instead of iceberg or romaine lettuce (which are lacking in nutrients and not as flavorful anyway), go for baby spinach, kale, or mixed greens," says Kim Hoban, RD. "As a general rule, the darker the leaves, the more nutrients you'll be getting."
Fix it: Add healthy protein (lean chicken and fish) to your salad to help you feel more full and control your portion size.
Now that you know which healthy-looking toppings are sabotaging your salad, reward yourself with snacks that taste fatty, but are actually good for you.
Sometimes, there's nothing more rewarding than mustering up the strength to say "I'll just have a salad" come lunchtime. It makes me feel all high and mighty. And, in fairness, my "I'll have a salad" days are usually preceded by a string of drive-thru trips, late night pizza, and back-to-back birthday parties. A pat on the back for bypassing French fries for a plate of lettuce seems appropriate, no?
Food guilt aside, I've also upped my salad consumption because a salad is easy to assemble on a lunch break. Just pack some lettuce and a few salad toppings and bam, insta-meal.
Now, I don't sprinkle bacon bits over my bed of lettuce, but when it comes to salad toppings, my motto is "the more the merrier." Olives? Why not! Corn? Pile it on! If I'm at the salad bar at Whole Foods, my salad always weighs in above an acceptable weight class for a plastic container full of vegetables. And so the rationalizations begin: It's still technically a "salad," so I'm good to go, right? Wrong.
I asked a dietician to analyze my typical salad and she told me it's just a fat salad in disguise. Sure, it's (mostly) green and contains some vegetables, but if I don't step on the brakes to really consider all of my salad toppings, I might as well just be eating a burrito or burger.
Of course, we all know to avoid cheese, creamy dressings, and everyone's favorite offender, the crouton. But there are plenty of other, more sneaky salad toppings that can sabotage this supposedly healthier meal option. So I asked nutritionists and dieticians to reveal the unassuming salad toppings that are making my salad (and yours!) a total fat bomb, as well as what to toss on top of that baby spinach instead. How many of these ingredients are making your current go-to salad a fat bomb?
