Well, no more salads from fast food places for me anymore. After reading this article from the Physician's Committee of Responsible Medicine (PCRM), I will stick to making my salads at home. I realize that some people must eat out due to work, etc. but you may find that these salads may not be your best bet. After reading the article, click on the "full analysis" link in the first paragraph of the article to see how they all stacked up.

Want to let us in on the link for the article?

I am not sure why you say you won't eat there other than the fact that they analyzed and compared with the high fat dressings? You have me confused.

For example the McDonalds Premium Salads without dressing (and yes the crispy chicken will be higher because the chicken is fried):

Crispy Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad is 370 cal/21 g fat/3 g fiber/20 g carbs -- Crispy Chicken Caesar Salad is 310 cal/16 g fat/3 g fiber/20 g carbs -- Crispy Chicken California Cobb Salad is 380 cal/23 g fat/3 g fiber/20 g carbs


Grilled Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad is 270 cal/13 g fat/3 g fiber/11 g carbs -- Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad 210 cal/7 g fat/3 g fiber/11 g carbs -- Grilled Chicken California Cobb Salad 280 cal/14 g fat/3 g fiber/11 g carbs

If you add your own low fat/no fat dressing they are very healthy. Remember you do need fat in your diet!

sorry! no point in posting about an article if there isnt one huh?

here it is:
http://www.pcrm.org/news/health030508.html

yeah i know it's mainly the whole fat/CHOLESTEROL thing...REAL chicken breast doesn't contain partially hydrogenated oils(trans fats...the worst kind!) but these salads are completely packed with as many as a burger and fries?! yeah thats good enough reason not to eat there. at least for me

I am sorry to disappoint people, but I have to go with the article. I am on a calorie counting/ fat counting program and even grilled with what you laid out, Kelly, as far as calories and grams of fat, the following is the bare bones on fat percentages for these three and there is no sense in even bothering with the crispy chicken ones as they are outrageous when it comes to fat. This is without adding any dressing at all.

Grilled bacon ranch 40% fat
Grilled Chicken Caesar 30% fat
Calf cobb 45% fat

You can either enjoy this and pay later, or better yet go with a salad without meat, egg, cheese, bacon in it. There is nothing wrong with once in awhile treating yourself because I have had the cobb salad and it isn't bad, but you definitely don't want to make a habit of it!

I have been working for several doctors who prescribe in the a

40-40-30 (carbs/protein/fat) to a 40-30-40 (carbs/protein/fat) ratio for their heart patients as well as ones to follow for high cholesterol.

W/O any dressing (BTW I usually take my own with me) the Bacon Ranch w/Grilled Chicken is:

270 cal/13 fat/5 sat fat/75 cholesterol/830 sodium/11 carbs/3 fiber/28 protein

and you can order it without for

140 cal/10 fat/4.5 sat fat/25 cholesterol/310 sodium/7 carbs/3 fiber/9 protein

I am not saying to eat them all the time.

To ensure a balanced diet you need to eat in moderation. These make a good 'MEAL' (which is what they are touted as) and are balanced.

Occassionally I'll enjoy a 'CRISPY' one if I have the points! But usually I have the grilled or have any of them without (the grilled chicken breast is 130 cal/3 fat/.5 sat fat/50 cholesterol/4 carb/17 protein).

Additionally eating some fat (since most of us cut it out of 90% of our diet) is needed for good health (remember the fat soluble vitamins) and having some bacon and/or cheese!

I wanted to ad one more thing to this thread. Last night I took the ingredients in my favorite McDonald's Salad (Grilled Chicken Bacon Ranch sans the high fat Ranch) and my favorite Jack in the Box Salad (Southwest sans the high fat SW Ranch) and recreated them at home for the same size. I came up with pretty much the same nutritional information with the except of not quite as much sodium as the Fast Food Places. I did substitute my fat-free or low-fat dressings for a great meal.

It is not the salads themselves that are 'EVIL' as much as it is the high fat (and if anyone things a fried piece of chicken is low fat they are fooling themselves) salad dressings!

These are good 'meals' and I will continue to eat them.

I will agree with Kel. One should not wonder why adding regular dressing and putting fried chicken on a salad makes the nutrition count plummet.

I will agree that they put on a face saying "hey we are healthy now because we have salad!" its a ploy to get you to eat there. they dont HIDE the fact the stuff they put on the salad makes it unhealthy but they dont offer it either.

Personally I get the chef salad at Jack n the box. I cant remember the actual points but its at dotties and its good for a meal. I dont use their dressing nor do i put the almonds or croutons. bascially i eat the salad, the grilled chicken (they give you all of an oz! lool) and yes I enjoy the cheese. I use FF italian.

Salad anywhere is a good choice but one must eat the salad not all the junk they offer to put on it like fried chicken and high fat salad dressings.

Its up to us to pick out what we know is not good to eat. The reason I like jack in the box is because all the extras come in individual packages and not ON the salad itself. You choose what you put on it.

so dont ward off Fastfood salads =) ward off the extras you get with em.

Salads are a meal and there are choices to be made about what to put on them. Without the dressing they are not a bad choice. It pays to be informed, but you have to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. Condeming all salads is silly.

i agree with susan. there are heathier choices for a salalads the restaraunt should wake up and serve healthier foood. kraft foods in canada is rethinking their products
ttfn glen

FYI Kraft foods in general is rethinking...not just in Canada...

The salads themselves are very healthy...it is the additions that end up adding the extra calories and fat.

Its not up to the restaurant to 'wake up and serve healthier food' . Its up to us to wake up and eat it. There are plenty of healthy food places to eat or healthy things you can eat at home. Where does this warped idea come from that someone else is responsible for the food you eat?Food is never 'evil' We all got fat because we made bad choices,too often, not because the restaurant made 'bad' food!

When they do offer choices that are healthier, like veggie burgers, no one will buy them.

wykyd, I second what you said!

The restaurants offer the food people want. Now they are trying with the salads -- to be utilized as a whole meal not just a side -- but it is up to the consumer to make the informed choice. I personally will choose it on occassion.


Quilter, you got that right. I wouldn't buy a veggie burger (don't eat them at home why would I eat them out there). LOL!