This Wendy’s Salad Is Tasty But Unhealthy
As far as fast food chains go, Wendy’s is pretty decent. They have a large variety of foods including chili and baked potatoes, in addition to burgers, fries, and chicken sandwiches. And who doesn’t love a Wendy’s Frosty? Plus, their salads are actually pretty good, too. Their Apple Pecan Chicken Salad, in particular, is beloved by many, and filled with so many different ingredients that are beautiful and tasty.
One Twitter user even took to the social media platform to rave about the fast food chain’s salad achievements. “Wendy’s apple pecan salad is the best thing to happen to fast food,” the user wrote. Another raved as well, saying, “I’m gonna make a thread of every time I get an apple pecan chicken salad bc I’m literally addicted and maybe one day @Wendys will promote me,” they wrote on . The salad features “crisp red and green apples, dried cranberries, roasted pecans, crumbled blue cheese, and grilled chicken breast,” and comes with a delicious vinaigrette dressing, per the Wendy’s website.
Clearly, the Wendy’s Apple Pecan Chicken Salad is a favorite, but while people love it, it’s sadly not that healthy. It’s low in calories, even including the dressing, but high in fat, sodium, and sugars. In a nutshell, Wendy’s Apple Pecan Chicken Salad might not be the best, but it’s also far from the worst in the world of fast food salads.
Southwest Chipotle Ranch Salad Without Dressing
There are dozens of combinations to choose from at Saladworks, and the one Ball recommends is the Southwest Chipotle Ranch Salad . Featuring romaine, iceberg, avocado, corn, tomatoes, pepper Jack cheese and tri-color tortilla strips, this choice is packed with proteina satisfying 28 grams, thanks to grilled chicken and beans. Getting enough protein in your diet is important, as the macronutrient is an essential component of many bodily functions, like keeping muscles strong and aiding digestion.
Nutrition for Southwest Chipotle Ranch Salad without dressing: 440 calories, 25g total fat, 8g saturated fat, 85mg cholesterol, 710mg sodium, 27g carbohydrates, 6g fiber, 6g total sugars, 28g protein
Food6 Tasty Grain Salads That Wont Leave You Hungry
Avoid fried proteins and opt for grilled versions instead. Grilled or smoked chicken provides lean protein without the excess calories and fat from frying and breading, said Richards. Steak can be a decent protein, but you’ll want a leaner cut of beef.”
Fried onions and croutons are two toppings that quickly add empty calories, carbs and fat to any meal. Look for salads that are packed with nutrient-dense toppings like black beans, avocado, tomato, cucumber, low-fat cheese, corn, peppers and other fruits and vegetables, she advised. And when it comes to dressing, check the label for added sugars.
You May Like: Low Calorie Homemade Salad Dressing
Taco Bell’s Cantina Power Bowl With Chicken
Calories: 490Greens: This lettuce is like a romantic comedy… kind of sad and kind of funny, and also featuring Julia Roberts.Protein: The chicken is lumpy and fits the Border’s reputation for nebulous meat quality, but actually tastes smokey and healthy.Extras: Black beans, rice, partially melted cheese, and an optional package of fire sauce round things out. None of them are worth putting in your mouth.Overall:Taco Bell’s offering begs an important question: what differentiates a bowl from a salad? More research is required, but I think the answer is rice. It’s commendable for this chain to try to shed its gluttonous image for a moment while sticking to its marketing tone, but until a Doritos Locos salad is a thing, we’ll stick with the good stuff.
Mcdonald’s Premium Southwest Salad With Grilled Chicken
Calories: 330Greens: Despite wilt marks on the lettuce, there’s still a decent crunch. It’s like eating green air.Protein: Hints of McNugget, but not nearly enough hints.Extras: Paul Newman supplies the salad dressing and it tastes like Big Mac secret sauce, so there’s a plus if that’s your thing. The tortilla chips give much needed texture, but eating black beans at McDonald’s gave me a weird sense of dread. The shredded cheese was not a good addition.Overall: If this was a character in McDonaldland, it would definitely be Grimace, which is a confounding name for a character that has anything to do with food.
Read Also: What Goes In A Salad
Steak Salad With Black Beans Fajita Vegetables Tomatillo
Chipotle’s mix-and-match format makes it easy to make a healthy order. Our top pick in the salad department is a satisfying mix of salad greens, black beans, steak and fajita vegetables. Instead of dressing, which would add an extra 220 calories and 850 mg sodium, try topping the salad with their tomatillo-green chili salsa, which acts as a flavorful dressing.
Nutrition for Steak Salad: 330 calories, 8g total fat, 2.5g saturated fat, 80mg cholesterol, 965mg sodium, 35g carbohydrates, 11g fiber, 7g total sugars, 31g protein
How Bagged Salad Kits Compare To Other Salads
In my opinion, salads from bagged kits can hold their own against those from restaurants, likely because many of them are developed by professional chefs.
The fun and creative ingredient combinations far surpass any I could muster on my own and are much closer to a dish Id find on a restaurant menu. For example, my all-time favorite salad kit includes funky toppers like toasted quinoa, roasted sunflower seeds, dried edamame and more things I simply never have in my pantry.
The only way in which bagged salads might fall short to other salads is that many of them arent filling enough to be considered a main dish. Even so, adding shredded chicken, crumbled bacon, cubed ham, flaked tuna, drained beans and more can fix that in an instant.
Recommended Reading: Waldorf Chicken Salad California Pizza Kitchen
What Is The Healthiest Salad Kit
As Peggy suggests, the healthiest salad kits are going to be those with few calories and those that are low in sugar and saturated fat. Reach for salad kits with vinaigrettes, rather than creamy dressings plain nuts and seeds unsweetened dried fruit and dark leafy greens.
Its also easy to customize salad kits to boost their nutritional value. Ease up on the dressing exclude some of the less healthy toppings, such as cheese and corn chips or supplement with your own greens, vegetables and proteins. Turn it into a main dish by adding cooked shrimp, chicken, beef or chickpeas, Peggy says.
The Salad At Carl’s Jr Is Pretty Lackluster
When it comes to salads, there are a ton of different lettuce options you can use. There’s romaine, for a nice crunch. There’s also kale, arugula, spinach, and so many more greens that all have a ton of flavor and health benefits. But the worst lettuce a salad can be made of? Definitely iceberg. It might have a great crunch to it, but it doesn’t offer any flavor, or have nearly as much nutritional value as other lettuces . For that reason, the salad at Carl’s Jr. is pretty lackluster.
Specifically, while Carl’s Jr.’s Charbroiled Chicken Salad is low in calories, it also lacks decent veggies, says integrative nutritionist Karina Heinrich. “They only use iceberg lettuce, and other than that all they have veggie-wise is a few slices of tomato and red onion,” she told HuffPost. “The rest is cheese, croutons and chicken.” Yeah, the salad is basically the insides of a chicken sandwich minus the delicious bread holding it all together. So really, you’re better off getting a chicken sandwich at that point.
You May Like: Oxo Good Grips Little Salad Dressing Shaker Green
Choose Tomatoes For You Salad Wisely
Most tomato varieties tend to get grainy and dull in flavor outside of the summer months, but Campari and Vine-Ripened tomatoes are great options for larger tomatoes. They tend to keep both a more vibrant color and flavor even outside of tomato season.
If you plan to use one of these varieties for your salad, take care to remove the seeds before adding them to the salad so they don’t water down your lettuce. If you don’t want to mess with seeding tomatoes, try using grape or cherry tomatoes for your salad.
Dole Classic Caesar Kit
Of all the Caesar salad kits out there , this was our clear winner and has continued to impress us throughout the year. The croutons are well-seasoned , the lettuce is always crisp, the Parmesan cheese works its way into every bite, and the dressing is the right consistency and not too tangy.
Do you have a favorite salad kit? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Read Also: Is Eating Salad Everyday Healthy
How We Picked And Reviewed The Salad Kits
Our first goal: Try as many as possible! Fortunately our editors are widely spread across the country. Arie hit up stores in Los Angeles, I went to Price Chopper and Target in upstate New York, Meghan went shopping in Boise, Idaho, Sheela covered stores in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Faith ordered from Giant Eagle and Kroger in Ohio.
We bought up everything we could find from Earthbound Farm, Taylor Farms, Fresh Express, Ready Pac, Dole all the brands, all the grocery stores. We focused on salad kits that could be meals in their own rights .
Related: 10 Ways to Turn a Salad Kit Into a Satisfying Meal for Two
As we tried each one, we took detailed photos and notes. Then, we met in person to discuss our findings and our favorites. We took even more notes, culled through it all, and came up with this list for you the top five salad kits that stood out.
Oh, one note about this list! You might notice that we didnt include a single salad kit from Costco, Trader Joes, Aldi, or Whole Foods. Although we did eat kits from all four of those stores , we wanted to keep this list to the salads that we can all find in major grocery stores.
If you would like to see our picks from those specialty stores, check them out in their own posts.
The Best Salad Kits at Specialty Supermarkets
Taco Bell Fiesta Taco Salad
Speaking of Mexican salads, next up we would suggest giving the Taco Bell Fiesta Taco Salad a try.
This salad is great because you can order it standard, or you can customize it to suit your taste buds.
Choose whichever ingredients you want, and they will be delivered in a large tortilla. It is unique, and that is what makes it so great.
Also Check: Potato Salad Recipe No Egg
The Best & Worst Fast
Everyone wants to be able to say that they’re trying to eat healthier when they opt for a bowl of lettuce at a sit-down restaurant or make one at home instead of boxed mac and cheese for the night. For the most part, fast-food salads can indeed be healthy, but that’s with the right base and right toppings. So we went on the hunt for the best fast-food salad out there.
When eating out, you have no idea what exactly is going on top of your greens and how much sugar you could be consuming, especially at fast-food spots. Without examining how healthy the ingredients are and assuming just because it’s green that it’s good, you could be eating something that is more unhealthy for you than a fast-food burger. Dressings are loaded with sugar, and the toppings of your favorite go-to can add to your sugary demise.
Sarah Garone, an NDTR, health writer, and blogger for A Love Letter To Food, let us know her thoughts on the worst salads you can get at fast-food spots.
We applaud the fast food industry for trying to put out something that will let you enjoy your favorite fast food spots with a little more green, but there are some you just shouldn’t attempt to go near.
“I found it interesting that many restaurant websites list nutrients only in numbers, without the percentages you would normally find on a nutrition label,” says Garone, about each salad’s nutrition information.
And while you’re thinking about fast food, here are 20 Ways to Cut 200 Calories From Your Fast Food Order.
Our Dedication To Our Customers
The Salad Shop Florida is a family-owned and operated company dedicated to providing the freshest ingredients while promoting healthy eating for a healthy lifestyle. We strive to cater to the publics dietary needs by providing gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, organic, and raw diet options as well as filling special requests and special orders.
The Salad Shops chefs are involved in every detail of the food they make. They take extra steps to improve their recipes so that the food they create evolves into its best form.
We are passionate to make healthy eating more accessible to the public. It is extraordinarily rewarding that the Salad Shop has become a beacon of good health and positivity within the community.
Chef/Owner Alejandro Rubio a former chef of The Breakers is a passionate advocate for organic and all-natural food.
You May Like: Old Fashioned Potato Salad No Mayo
Asian Sesame Salad With Chicken
Whether you’re stopping by for lunch during your work break or grabbing a quick dinner, consider ordering the Asian Sesame Salad with Chicken the next time you’re at Panera. This flavorful meal features a bed of romaine lettuce, chicken, almonds, sesame seeds, wonton strips, cilantro and an Asian sesame vinaigrette. If you have a nut allergy, you can easily order the salad without almonds.
Nutrition for Asian Sesame Salad with Chicken: 410 calories, 22g total fat, 3g saturated fat, 70mg cholesterol, 800mg sodium, 29g carbohydrates, 6g fiber, 7g total sugars, 27g protein
What Is Chicken Salad
Chicken salad is a dish that traditionally consists of chopped or shredded cooked chicken mixed with mayonnaise and other seasonings.
This dish can be served on bread or rolls as a sandwich filling, scooped up with crackers, or eaten plain.
You can also mix in vegetables to make it more nutritious.
Some popular types of vegetables are celery and grapes because they complement the flavors well without overpowering them.
Recommended Reading: Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Salad
Is Amish Potato Salad Easy To Make
Amish Potato salad is easy to make. It is similar to other potato salad. While it seems like a long list of ingredients, any of these can be added or taken out. While all of the Amish potato salad ingredients are best if left in the recipe, it adds to the taste, it is ok to have them taken out. Use your own personal preference.
Parmesan Caesar Salad Without Dressing
A Caesar salad is a classic choice at any restaurant, and the Wendy’s version features grilled chicken breast, Parmesan crisps and a three-cheese blend atop crispy romaine lettuce. Skip the dressing, which saves 140 calories and 320 milligrams of sodium. The grilled chicken breast adds a boost of protein, and will help keep you satisfied until your next meal.
Nutrition for Parmesan Caesar Salad without dressing: 300 calories, 14g total fat, 7g saturated fat, 125mg cholesterol, 790mg sodium, 5g carbohydrates, 3g fiber, 2g total sugars, 41g protein
Don’t Miss: Chicken Salad Chick Lee Branch
Easy Homemade Amish Potato Salad Recipe
Creamy and delicious Amish Potato Salad should be a staple for picnics and summer events. Its has a creamy texture and the pizzazz of apple cider vinegar and mustard.
I love this easy potato salad recipe because it also has one of my favorite ingredientsEGGS! I know there are several people who choose to leave the eggs out of their potato salad recipes, but for me, its a must-have.
They add so much texture and flavor as well as some healthy protein too.
You May Like: What Salad Vegetables Are Keto Friendly
Zaxby’s Salads Are Super Popular
If you live in the South, then youve probably heard of Zaxby’s, the delicious fried chicken fast food joint that people can’t get enough of. But there’s more than just fried chicken on Zaxby’s menu the chain also makes salads that people can’t seem to get enough of.
Heck, even celebs are in on it. Tia Mowry was in a 2014 Zaxby’s commercial, and one fan reached out to her on Twitter about it, referring to her own favorite menu item. “I saw your #Zaxbys commercial for their salad and I think they have the best fast food salads,” the user wrote, which Mowry retweeted.
Nutritionist Sarah Garone told Eat This, Not That that the Grilled Cobb Zalad at Zaxby’s was an excellent option. “It’s not as high in calories, saturated fat, or sodium as the Fried Cobb also on the menu,” Garone said. “I don’t consider its seven grams of sugar a problem, as they come from fresh vegetables.” However, Garone did warn against the sodium content, which was pretty high. Still, you could do a lot worse than the Grilled Cobb Zalad at Zaxby’s, and it’s pretty delicious as well.
You May Like: Summer Strawberry Salad Wendy’s
Steak And Shake Garden Fresh Salad With Fried Chicken And Honey French Dressing
Steak ‘n Shake isn’t the most popular fast-food spot, but if you get dragged there and are trying to eat healthily, you may want to stay away from this salad. “For a lower-sugar version of this salad, you can opt for blue cheese, lite Italian, or Ranch dressing instead of honey French,” says Garone.
Starbucks Grilled Chicken & Cauliflower Tabbouleh Salad
You can find healthy drinksand healthy food at Starbucks. Youll find an unexpected blend of tastes and textures in this tasty salad. Its satisfying and nutrient-rich, containing 21 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber as well as vitamin C and calcium . Plus, its plated on a bed of peppery arugula giving you that cafe lunch feeling. If youre curious about tabbouleh , this is a great way to get a fast and filling introduction.
Recommended Reading: Tuna Salad Recipe With Egg And Relish