I recently read a great article about eating from salad bars and wanted to share some tips with you. This meal choice can be very heart-healthy or it can be worse than a fast food burger and fries, depending upon your choices. Here are my suggestions, with a nod to my favorite dietitans, who helped me to tune up this article.

1. Choose the high in folate and vitamin C dark leafy greens instead of iceberg lettuce. Good choices are spinach, endive, mixed "baby" greens containing multicolored lettuces and romaine.


2. Choose vegetables from "all the colors of the rainbow," such as red radishes, peppers and tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers and broccoli, yellow peppers, purple cabbage, orange carrots, and tan (fresh) mushrooms. Avoid veggies in marinades, dressings, sauces, or mayonnaise, which add fat, salt, and calories that you can't control. Avoid things or eat limited quantities that were probably once canned such as artichoke hearts and asparagus out of season, because they can be high in sodium. Limit quantities of olives, because they are high in sodium (about 10 medium olives equals 825 mg of salt, more than 1/3 of what the average person should consume in a day). On the flip side olives are a source of monounsaturated, heart-healthy fats and can be enjoyed in moderation if you like them.


3. Ditto choosing colorful fresh fruits from the bar, because they contain lots of vitamins A and C, carotinoids, fiber and potassium. Most have no fat as long as they are not bathed in a syrup (avocados are the exception, but again this is a monounsaturated fat). Just be mindful of the serving size of fruits especially if they are are canned or dried, as the calorie count will be higher, or if you have diabetes and are carb-counting.


4. Add beans: just 1/2 cup of chickpeas or kidney beans add about 5 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein. This will help to fill you up and will stay with you for longer than the veggies and greens alone. Count the sodium into your day if you are limiting sodium intake as this serving size can give you about 360 mg of sodium. (If you're adding beans to a salad at home rinse then first to remove a large portion of the salt).


5. Choose lean meats and fish such as chicken or turkey (white meat) that looks roasted (avoid the breaded pieces), tuna without mayo, or shrimp. Watch the salt content here too, don't have both beans and tuna or cured meats (bacon, ham, or salami) on the same salad or you'll OD on sodium.


6. If you really want the cheese, choose a tiny sprinkling of a highly flavored cheese like parmesan, feta, or blue, otherwise you'll be adding a lot of fat calories and salt. Choose low-fat options if they are available.


7. Avoid dressed items like pasta salad, tuna with mayo, coleslaw, or potato salad for what I hope are obvious reasons (fat, calories and salt you can't control sound familiar)?


8. Limit toppings such as croutons, nuts & seeds, and fried noodles & onions. They are very tasty and I can't help wanting a little crunch, but they can contain a lot of calories and fat.


9. Dressing can be low or high fat, depending on your choice. Creamy dressings tend to be higher in fat and calories than vinaigrette's and Italian dressings. Creamy dressings are about 160 calories per 2 tablespoons and contain about 16 grams of fat! Compare that to a reduced calorie dressing or "light" dressing, where you get about 60 calories and 6 grams of fat per serving. If you like it, dress with lemon or vinegar and olive oil, which are often available on the salad bar. These allow you to really control the fat that you place on the salad. If you have the option of putting your dressing on the side, do so. Then you can dip a corner of you forkful of veggies into the dressing just before you put it into your mouth. You'll get an initial blast of flavor without an excessive amount of dressing on your otherwise healthy salad.


10. I don't know about you, but sometimes I really want bread with my salad. If you do be sure to pick a whole grain option, thereby increasing your fiber and B vitamins.

Salads are a great option for a meal, but remember that salad bars are full of items that are there to entice you to purchase them because they add weight to the salad and increase the store's profits. Those items can also put weight on the customer due to high fat and calorie consumption. Don't be tricked into purchasing lots of items that aren't good for you by following these easy steps to a healthy salad bar meal!