3 Scary Salads Over 1,000 Calories (and Healthier Swaps!) – Part I

Ordering a salad always feels so virtuous, right? After all, when faced with a menu full of rich, fattening pastas, burgers and entrées — you chose the healthy option.

What could possible go wrong?

Well, apparently, a lot. Just because there are veggies on your plate, doesn’t mean that the cheese, fried chicken or creamy dressing accompanying your carrots got any better for you.

1. Crispy Chicken Cobb Salad  

Beware the Cobb salad. Stuffed with bacon, blue cheese and slathered in ranch dressing, this dish can be calorically dangerous. Even made with grilled chicken, this salad is still a big no-no.

Make It Healthier: Turkey bacon and low-calorie blue cheese or ranch dressing helps make this Healthy CobbSalad less calorically horrifying. You’ll get your fix of veggies from the cucumber and tomato, plus a dose of healthy fats from the ripe avocado you’ll add into the mix.

2. Chicken Caesar Salad

Don’t be fooled by the grilled chicken, and minimalist ingredients in this Caesar salad. A combo of cheese, croutons and creamy, rich dressing — with zero veggies aside from lettuce — make this a nutritional miss.

Make It Healthier: Get a blast of nutrients by swapping out romaine or iceberg for vitamin-packed kale in our Kale Chicken Caesar Salad Healthy Recipe.

By replacing croutons with roasted chickpeas, you’ll the crunch you desire without all the carbs. Add a yogurt based dressing, and you’re home free.

3. Grilled Oriental Chicken Salad with Dressing

Holy sugar rush. This entrée seems simple enough: Fried chicken, toasted almonds, crispy noodles and “Oriental” vinaigrette. But somewhere along the way, this dish picked up a whopping 64 grams of sugar. That’s about as much as if you were to chow down on 2.5 full size Hershey’s bars in one sitting.

Make It Healthier: Enjoy this super low-cal AsianMango Slaw as a side dish to your next meal (or add some chicken to make it an entree). The combo of shredded cabbage, carrots, mango and scallions, with a light sauce, makes this dish a flavor win — in addition to being gluten-free, low-carb, dairy-free, vegan and egg-free.

Be Smart - Live Well

Asian Mango Slaw

Ingredients: Serving 3 cups 

2 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 mango, not fully ripe
3 medium scallions, chopped
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 lime, juiced
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or tamari for gluten free)
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp black and white sesame seeds

Directions:

Julienne the mango (cut into strips). Combine with the cabbage, carrots, scallions andtoss together in a large bowl.

Prepare the dressing by whisking together the rice vinegar, soy sauce, and lime juice; slowly whisk in the oil.

Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss to coat. Let it sit at least 15-20 minutes to let the dressing soak in.

Serve sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Nutrition facts:


Calories: 130 per cup

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Eat and Lose Weight

Kale Chicken Caesar Salad

Ingredients  - serving 2 cups

2 anchovy fillets
1 garlic clove, finely minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt 
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 cups chopped kale
1 (14-ounce) can hearts of palm, rinsed and thinly cut crosswise
1 apple, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 cup roasted chickpeas
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
12 ounces grilled or baked chicken breast, sliced

Instructions

With a mortar and pestle or a spoon and bowl, smash the anchovy, garlic and oil into a paste. Whisk in the yogurt, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, pepper and salt.
Place kale in a large bowl and add the dressing. Massage the kale with clean hands until the leaves start to soften. Add hearts of palm and apple to the bowl; toss to coat. Divide among 4 plates and top with chickpeas, cheese and chicken.

Nutrition facts:

Calories - 380 per cup

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Eat and Lose Weight

Healthy Cobb Salad

Healthy Cobb Salad

Ingredients - serving 2 cups

12-ounce bag mixed greens
1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, boiled and shredded with a fork
1 cucumber, chopped
4 Wine tomatoes, diced
2 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
1 ripe avocado, pitted and diced
3 slices cooked turkey bacon, crumbled
½ cup Yogurt Dressing

Instructions
In a large salad bowl combine all ingredients and toss.
Drizzle 2 tablespoons of dressing on each.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 343 per cup


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Eat and Lose Weight

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER BANANA CAKE

INGREDIENTS 1 cup = 225 ml

For the cake

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup cocoa

⅓ cup peanut butter, slightly melted

½ cup honey

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup mashed bananas

½ cup olive oil

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Banana slices

For the peanut butter drizzle

3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter+ 1 tbs honey

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a large pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the slightly melted peanut butter, honey, mashed bananas, olive oil, and eggs. After mixing, stir in cocoa, baking powder & soda, salt, and vanilla. Stir in flour last.

Pour into pan and top with thinly sliced banana pieces. Bake for roughly 55 minutes.

Once the cake has cooled slightly, top with peanut butter. Melt in a microwave-safe bowl for 30 seconds, then stir. It should become creamy and slightly runny.

Drizzle over cake. Serve!