Feeling virtuous about ordering a salad? You might want to think twice about that smug smile.
For, if you believe the experts, it could be your ‘healthy’ lettuce and tomatoes salad that’s making you fat.
FEMAIL spoke to the Australian nutritionist and expert, Susie Burrell, to find out the reasons why a simple salad could be expanding your waistline.
Some might surprise you.
FEMAIL spoke to the Australian nutritionist and expert, Susie Burrell (pictured), to find out the reasons why a simple salad could be expanding your waistline
SALAD ISN’T ALWAYS HEALTHY
According to Susie – whose ebook on salads is available to download here – just because you’re ordering a salad, it doesn’t mean it’s healthy.
‘A salad technically refers to small pieces of cut-up foods served with a sauce,’ Susie told FEMAIL.
‘In real life terms, this means that a salad can include anything from a varied mix of salad vegetables, leaves and olive oil to pasta with a few chopped vegetables served with pesto.’
The nutritionist explained that, of course, the ‘calorie and nutritional loads of these differ widely and can mean a salad ranges from an exceptionally low calorie meal choice to a complete calorie overload packed with fat, sugars and salt’.
Susie especially warned against food court salads – which are often far more calorie-dense than what you might make at home.
‘Ideally a salad that is consumed as a main meal will contain 2-3 cups of salad vegetables, a serve of lean protein such as chicken, tuna, egg or legumes, a serve of wholegrain carbs such as quinoa, sweet potato, corn or brown rice and a serve of fat via olive oil, avocado, cheese, nuts or seeds,’ she said.
She recommends ordering your salad in this specific way or making it yourself to make sure your macronutrient targets and total calorie intake ‘isn’t way off track’.
‘Ideally a salad that is consumed as a main meal will contain 2-3 cups of salad vegetables, a serve of lean protein, a serve of wholegrain carbs and a serve of fat,’ Susie said (stock image)
SALAD VEGETABLES AREN’T AS NUTRITIOUS AS WE THINK
When you think of traditional salad vegetables such as lettuce leaves, tomato, cucumber and carrot, you think of pure nutrition.
However, according to Susie, the irony is that ‘while they are low in calories and contain some key nutrients including Vitamin C, folate and fibre, the truth is that salad vegetables are mostly water and the amounts of these key micronutrients are relatively small’.
She said that even though this doesn’t make them a poor choice, it does make them a meal addition to both carbs and protein rather than the full thing.
‘Utilising cooked vegetables – pumpkin, carrots, zucchini and mushrooms – will help to boost the nutritional content of any salad, as well as including a source of fat such as olive oil or avocado, which will help with the absorption of a number of key nutrients from the vegetables themselves,’ Susie outlined.
While some traditional salad vegetables such as tomatoes and lettuce are low in calories, they are also low in nutrients – and so need to be supplemented with cooked veg etc (stock image)
THE DRESSING AND TOPPINGS QUESTION
According to Susie, while ‘salad dressings, nuts, seeds and cheese may all be tasty additions’, they are also ‘high fat choices and can quickly turn your thus far healthy salad into a calorie overload if you’re not careful’.
The nutritionist recommends aiming for just ‘one to two of these additions – such as olive oil dressing and avocado or nuts and feta – not all three’.
‘Adding some healthy fat to your salad has been shown to help regulate appetite for the remainder of the day so it’s worth adding some, you just don’t need a lot,’ Susie said.
The nutritionist recommends aiming for just ‘one to two salad additions – such as olive oil dressing and avocado or nuts and feta – not all three’ (stock image)
PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND SALADS
If you’re guilty of eating a salad and feeling virtuous and so ‘treating’ yourself to dessert or a snack later, you could be piling on the pounds without even realising.
‘We have all done it, ordered a boring salad only to finish the meal with a high calorie dessert that contains more calories than a regular meal would have,’ Susie explained.
She said that if this occurs, you need to do some ‘cognitive reframing to shift our beliefs about eating salad from that as a special weight loss meal to that of a nutrient-dense but standard meal choice’.
She said that once you do this, you will quit with the ‘plain, dressing-free options’ and make sure your salad has everything you need to function properly.
‘As a general rule of thumb, a meal salad will require 1/2 – 1 cup of total carbs – sweet potato, quinoa, brown rice and pasta strike a balance between calorie control, satiety and blood glucose control,’ Susie explained (stock image)
GETTING THE BALANCE RIGHT
Last but not least, Susie advised that the ‘standard salad that we order either contains too few carbs or too many’.
‘Pasta salad, brown rice salad, quinoa salad versus plain tuna salad, Caesar salad or sashimi salad. In each of these examples, the salad is either all carb or contains literally none,’ she said.
‘Too much carbohydrate will not support weight or appetite control throughout the day, while too few will leave you hungry and craving carbs an hour later.’
The key to success – she said – is to get the balance right.
‘As a general rule of thumb, a meal salad will require 1/2 – 1 cup of total carbs – sweet potato, quinoa, brown rice and pasta strike a balance between calorie control, satiety and blood glucose control.’
On the other hand, if you’re eating your salad as a side portion, stick to plain leaves, salad veg and dressing to keep it a low calorie addition to a meal.
Susie Burrell’s ebook on salads is available here.