How can I reduce the fat in my salads and still enjoy them?

People often order salads, thinking they’re making the healthiest choice, but they can be loaded with fat and calories. So loaded, you might as well have ordered a burger and fries!

I divide salads into two broad categories: side and main. Side salads are just vegetables with a little dressing, serving as your vegetable serving. By sticking to no more than 100 calories of dressing, you can’t go wrong with a side salad.

Main salads are basically one-dish meals, perhaps with a little bread on the side. Things go terribly wrong when you load them up with bacon bits, nuts, croutons, even fried chicken - then heavily coat with dressing. For instance, Ruby Tuesday’s Carolina Chicken Salad has 1,157 calories, 70 g fat (8 teaspoons) and well over a day’s worth of sodium.

If you build your main dish salad according to the guidelines below, you’ll wind up with a nutritionally stellar meal:

Start with a generous bed of plain vegetables: Think beyond the standard salad fixings. Try roasted red peppers (good stand-ins for tomatoes when they’re not in season), canned artichoke hearts (which add texture and fiber), and hearts of palm(rich-tasting but low fat). Or, take a shot at my winter-time faves: Orange or grapefruit slices, or sliced beets.

Toss in one high-fat addition: Two tablespoons of shredded cheese, a tablespoon of nuts, or ¼ cup sliced avocado are tasty choices. Keep your salad slim by choosing only one.