In an effort to offer nutrition-mined customers choice, fast food restaurants have added entr�e salads to their menu boards. But are fast food salads really better for your waistline or your arteries? It turns out many will break your diet. Our nutritionist, Leslie Beck, is here to give us the lowdown on fast food salads.
Q: Are some of these salads worse than a burger?
Just because it's lettuce, you can't count on a fast food entr�e salad being good for your waistline or your arteries. In many cases, yes, a virtuous-sounding entr�e salad does deliver more calories, fat and sodium than a fully loaded burger.
For instance, Wendy's Garden Sensations Southwest Taco Salad with toppings and dressing provides 720 calories, 42 grams of fat (18.5 of them saturated) and 1675 milligrams of sodium. In contrast, Wendy's Classic Single Sandwich with Everything delivers less of everything - 430 calories, 19 grams of fat (7 of them saturated), and 860 milligrams of sodium.
To put these numbers in perspective, people eating 2000 calories per day should limit their total fat intake to 65 grams, saturated plus trans fat to 20 grams, and sodium to 2300 milligrams. Anyone with high blood pressure should keep their daily sodium intake to 1500 milligrams.
Q: Tell us about your rating system.
The last time I rated fast food entr�e salads for Canada AM was in May 2004. Back then, only McDonald's, Wendy's, Arby's, Taco Bell and Subway offered entr�e salads. Today you can also order one Harvey's, KFC, Burger King, Mr. Sub, Quizno's, and Pizza Pizza.
31 entr�e salads were included in this analysis ; in 2004 there were only 18 (side salads were not included). I also excluded submarine sandwich shops were excluded since Quizno's does not provide nutritional information and Mr. Sub's salads are smaller than most entr�e salads.
Salads were analyzed with dressing that was served with the salad. If a reduced-fat version of the dressing was available, salads were analyzed with both. All nutritional information was provided by the restaurants.
Q: And the results? How bad are they?
The average fast food entr�e salad weighed in at 506 calories, 30 grams of fat (including 7 grams of saturated fat) and 1450 milligrams of sodium. That's half a day's worth of fat and almost two-thirds a day's worth of sodium from just one meal.
Q: Are some salads worst than others?
Of course, some salads strayed from the mean. Tipping the scale was Arby's Chicken Club Salad with Buttermilk Ranch Dressing at 969 calories, 72 grams of fat (15 of them saturated) and 1993 milligrams of sodium. You're better off ordering Arby's Crispy Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwich (with bacon!) for 650 calories, 31 grams of fat (6 of them saturated) and 1548 milligrams of sodium.
Taco Bell's Fiesta Salad also fared poorly with 850 calories, 45 grams of fat and 1690 milligrams of sodium.
Fast foods salads: the losers
Calories Fat (g) Sodium (mg)
Arby's Chicken Club Salad 969 Calories 72 1993
Taco Bell Fiesta Salad 850 45 1690
Arby's Sante Fe Salad 773 52 1823
Pizza Pizza Caesar 760 48 1850
Q: What are some of the best salads?
There were no "perfect" salads. That's because just about any fast food salad with dressing supply's more than half a day's worth of sodium. And it's not just the dressing that's to blame -cheese, bacon, croutons, breaded and seasoned chicken also contribute sodium.
Ideally, a salad should supply at least 4 grams of fibre, no more than 10 percent of calories from saturated fat, and no more than 1000 milligrams of sodium. The top 4 salads were:
Fast foods salads: the winners
Calories Fat (g) Sodium (mg)
Harvey's Entr�e Chicken Salad 280 15 790
Arby's Martha Vineyard Salad 471 22 838
Wendy's Chicken Caesar Salad 380 21 945
Wendy's Mandarin Chicken Salad 560 26 1230
Q: Any tips to cut fat and sodium in fast food salads?
Fast food salads are definitely a better option than an all dressed burger and French fries. And there are some easy measures you can take to save calories, fat and sodium.
1) Choose lower fat dressings. For many salads, half the calories and fat came from the dressing and about one-third of the sodium. If a reduced-fat dressing isn't available, use half the package.
2) Limit yourself to one fatty topping. Deep-fried croutons, crispy noodles, tortilla chips, cheese and bacon send the calories, fat ands sodium numbers climbing. If you want the creamy dressing, skip the cheese. If you want the sour cream on your taco salad, skip the deep-fried chips. Ask for grilled chicken, not fried, breaded or crispy.
3) Go for colour. To increase your intake of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals, choose salads made with spinach and dark green lettuces such as Romaine and Leaf. Order salads with plenty of colourful vegetables like tomato, bell pepper, shredded carrot, and purple cabbage.
4) Read nutrition information. All fast food outlets have the nutrition breakdown of their menu items on their websites. Many even have brochures with this information in the restaurant, but you have to ask for it.
