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It's been a habit that if I get a salad, it will most likely be a Caesar salad.

I'm wondering, how unhealthy is a Caesar salad? A regular salad would obviously be better but would the pros of eating a Caesar salad outweigh the cons?

Caesar salads taste great! However, depending on how the dressing is made, the dressing and bacon bits may be the downfall. In a restaurant, they usually make the full fat version of the dressing. Bacon bits are full of saturated fat. The croutons add to the carbohydrate count in the full meal.

The other drawback is that Romaine lettuce is the only vegetable in the salad. In a Chef's or Greek salad, you get a variety of vegetables, including tomatoes, so you get a variety of nutrients. Depending on the dressing used, there would be as many calories in Chef's or Greek salads as there are in Caesar salads.

The choice is yours...

It all depends on what diet you are on and what exactly is in the ceasar salad. If you are not going low carb and you have a cholesterol problem, make it a once a week kind of thing, or eat less saturated fat during the rest of the day. If that is not your circumstance, go for it.

On a side note, the latest research is showing saturated fat might not be much of a problem. It could be that transfat is 90% of the problem. The combination of high sugar/starch could also be a big catalyst for the effects of saturated fat on lipid levels. This is just an idication though, not totally proven.

The only problem with a Caesar is the SAME problem with any salad..the dressing.

Sure there's CHEESE in there too, but doesn't have to be a lot of it.

Salads are deceptive in the calorie department, because the veggies/lettuce are all so healthy, but depending on how much dressing and what kind you pour on it, it can be as calorie rich as a dang hamburger.

If you are watching your calories, you have to limit the dressings.

dian

If I am not watching my calories and instead, I am looking for some tasty vegetables to get my daily amounts of vitamins and minerals in, is a Caesar salad still good?

Basically, I'm asking if the benefits of the salad itself outweigh the negatives of the dressing, and by how much.

The dressig isn't that bad so I would say it's worth it. It's a good idea to take a multivitimin though. That takes care of your micro nutrients. Then you just worry about the macro.

Well, sure, but...Caesar salad is really only romaine lettuce and parmesean and croutons (traditionally)

If you want to increase your veggies for nutritional purposes, there are MUCH better veggies!

Broccoli, avocados, spinich, tomatoes, cauliflower..all of these are much denser in nutirents than lettuce, which is..really just filler.

If calories are not an issue, then you can do tons of stuff with all kinds of vegetables to make them more palatable if you don't generally like them.

I love almost any veggie just steamed, but you can also cover them with cheese sauce, or steam them then toss them in olive oil (heat that oil and stir in some crushed garlic, frying it just till it starts to turn golden, then toss in your steamed veggies and shake the pan)

Ask the produce manager at your local grocery store if they have a produce nutritional chart or can order you one from their supplier. I have a great one, about 2x3 feet which is on the wall in my basement gym. (Look around your produce dept, and you might see one on the wall..with pictures of all different fruits and veggies, showing their nutritient contents)

This can be a real eye opener about which veggies are highest in nutrition. Or..you can find this info other places too.

I guarantee you though, broccoli, cauliflower, spinich, carrots..these are all gonna pack a MUCH bigger punch per bite than lettuce. And if you don't care about extra calories, then making vegetables flavorful is really simple.

dian

Yea, I agree that is the better way. My comment was strictly regarding the cesar salad.

I'd recommend making your own Caesar salad. Use low-fat dressing (I can't tell the difference) and whatnot. When eating out, I get a Greek salad or Cobb salad with vinaigrette dressing on the side or something. Too much traditional dressing (bleu cheese, French) gets disgusting to me after a while anyway.

feta cheese and oil or some kind of vinaigrette rocks...

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